August 4, 2005
ISO 9001 AND ISO 14001
While driving home from the gym this morning, I noticed a couple of large banners hanging from a fence in front of the Indianapolis Water Company's Fall Creek Parkway location (note: all of the city's' waterworks-related operations, including maintenance, billing, construction, and customer service are managed by a publicly-traded company named Veolia). One banner reads "ISO 9001 Compliant Certified" while the other proclaims "ISO 14001 Compliant Certified" (and actually, I'm not 100 percent positive about the word "Compliant", so next time I drive by I'll make sure I've used the right word).
Nonetheless, even if the word "Compliant" (or some similar word) were absent from the banners, I know enough about the world around me to know that an ISO [insert number here] designation has something to do with an organization meeting certain standards, and then having been certified or accredited for having met said standards. But exactly what "ISO 9001" and "ISO 14001" are reflective of, I have no idea; and what's more, I'd bet donuts to dollars that 99 percent of the people driving down Fall Creek Parkway at 8:30 a.m. have no idea either.
Wanting to know why these designations were on display, and exactly what they were reflective of, I contacted Carolyn Mosby-Williams, Veolia's Vice President of Communications & Community Affairs for Indianapolis. Carolyn told me that the water company is proud of its recent ISO-related designations, and therefore felt it was appropriate to announce them using the fence in front of one of its more highly visible locations. Carolyn was also kind enough to tell me that the ISO 9001 designation was received in July of this year for Veolia's 'Quality Management System' related to its production, water quality, field services, customer service, shared services, environmental, contract management, and maintenance at 10 or so of its Indianapolis managed locations, including Fall Creek, and that the ISO 14001 designation was received because the 'Environmental Management System' related to the same factors and locations (also received in July of this year).
So there you have it... if you happen to see the large banners on display in front of the water company's Fall Creek location, you'll now know what they refer to. But what if you don't read this blog (a category which 99.999999 percent of the people who drive down Fall Creek Parkway fall into)... what about those people? Will they care enough to look for themselves to see what "ISO 9001" or "ISO 14001" mean? No, of course not. Why then do companies like Veolia insist on hanging their laundry out to dry in such a highly visible location? I'll tell you why... because it's clean laundry that's hanging off of that fence, and companies like Veolia feel a need to share their good news with the public, even if 99 percent of us don't have a clue as to what it means.
Mosby-Williams told me that the ISO designation of its Indy-managed facilities demonstrates Veolia's commitment to the community of Indianapolis. My sense is that while that's certainly a true statement, Veolia's primary motivation for seeking ISO designation has more to do with the lowering of its insurance premiums (and the maximizing of shareholder value) than anything else. Still though, if as a result of the ISO designation our city's water is cleaner and safer to drink, I tip my hat to everyone who works at Indianapolis Water.
Posted by Mikal at August 4, 2005 10:48 AM
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I knewÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖ
We are ISO 9001 Certified and I was an ISO 14001 auditor.
Getting certified as an ISO 14401 auditor was Soooo much fun, sit there for 40 hours listening to this guy drone on and on. I think it is a great idea to have environmental management, but once an international standards organization gets involved, it become how forms can you fill out and how much paperwork you can generate.
