PAS 99 - An Overview

Management system standards have now become a way of life in many industries with a standard or specification being produced to address a variety of stakeholder needs. The structure and content of these new standards are becoming very similar often incorporating common elements such as control of documents and records, internal audit, corrective and preventive action, management review and continual improvement. In fact, the Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) improvement cycle, popularised by Deming in the 80’s, has become the foundation for many of these new standards.

At the same time, there’s been a growing recognition of the value that robust management systems can bring to the business. Today, many organisations are implementing management systems not just to fulfil the requirements of individual standards but to operate in a more combined, efficient and effective way. And in doing so, organisations can look to achieve significant internal benefits as well as meeting any external demands.

However, the way forward for the combination and effective integration of these systems hasn’t always been clear, often lacking a real structure on which to build an integrated system.

Until now …

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Introducing PAS 99

If your organisation is one of those who are approved to more than one international management systems standard, then PAS 99 could be what you are looking for.

PAS 99:2006 is a specification of common management system requirements as a framework for integration. It has been developed to help organisations who are looking to implement the requirements of two or more standards in an integrated way.

Structure and content

PAS 99 has been developed using the same guidance used for any new management system standard, ISO Guide 72:2001, which categorises the main requirements into the following:

• Policy
• Planning
• Implementation and operation
• Performance assessment
• Improvement
• Management review

While each management system standard has its own specific requirements, these 6 subjects will be present in all of them and could be adopted as a basis for integration.

The diagram below, adapted from Figure 2 in PAS 99, shows the basic structure based around the 6 categories listed above and the PDCA cycle.

Figure 1 - PAS 99 Structure and PDCA

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How can PAS 99 benefit your organisation?

PAS 99 introduces a generic framework by which the ‘common’ requirements of standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, etc. can be addressed in an integrated manner. In producing this specification, the writers considered that consolidating the common requirements in all management system standards and managing these requirements effectively could deliver real benefits such as:

• improved business focus
• a holistic approach to managing business risks
• less conflict between systems
• reduced duplication and bureaucracy
• more effective and efficient audits

To achieve this holistic approach it requires organisations to apply the highest level of control from any individual standard across the whole integrated, system. For example, there is a requirement at 4.3.3 for contingency planning which is not a specific requirement of ISO 9001:2000. While it could be implied, through management system planning and preventive action, there is not a direct requirement for contingency planning.

This requirement in PAS 99 ensures your organisation applies a consistent and risk based approach to contingency planning for products and customers which may be happening in practice but may have been considered outside the quality management system (QMS).

Organisations will gain internal benefits from integration through efficient operations, reduction in duplication of effort and improvement in the management of business risks.

The ‘integratedness’ test

One of the key benefits suggested through the application of PAS 99 is to reduce duplication and bureaucracy by ensuring management systems work in harmony. How much harmony is actually achieved is a measure of the integrated management systems ‘integratedness’ or synergy.

An organisation considering integration could consider the following approach:

• identify all stakeholders needs and expectations and describe these in terms the organisation understands and can measure
• identify where in the organisations processes these needs are fulfilled and the management systems that manage the delivery of these needs
• identify the potential efficiency gains and opportunities for taking waste out of the system through an integrated approch to delivering stakeholder needs
• Monitor effect, audit and review performance after change

How can you find out more about PAS 99?

Attending our new PAS 99 workshops has been designed to give delegates a firm grounding in the requirements of this new specification and provide an insight into the potential benefits for your organisation. For more information or to secure your place, book online or contact a Training Advisor on 024 7688 2323.

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