ISO 22301 Certification
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“At the core of Silicon Valley is a passion for ‘Yes.’”
The world’s renowned hub for Technology, Silicon Valley, is home to the headquarters of many of the world’s largest high-tech companies. During the World Economic Forum, Marc R. Benioff said, “Speed is the new currency of business.” Companies face the biggest challenge in maintaining their momentum and profitability. Is there any provision or tool to fuel business continuity?
It is significant to safeguard an organization from unprepared incidents or events, such as power cuts, IT breakdowns, equipment failure, and supply chain issues. ISO 22301-certified organizations implement appropriate tools to protect their business and enable it to thrive in the long run. In this blog post, we will learn what is ISO 22301 Certification and how it helps organizations to obtain business continuity.
All about ISO 22301 Certification
An organization’s ability to respond effectively to the unexpected determines its capability to survive in the long term. ISO 22301 standard measures an organization’s level of preparedness to maintain critical functions even during a crisis or unexpected incident.
ISO 22301 certification outlines the requirements for a Business Continuity Management System (BCMS). It provides a comprehensive and systematic process for organizations to incorporate adaptive and proactive measures to eliminate the potential factors that might cause disruptions.
ISO 22301 standards follow a dynamic approach to identify the amount and type of impact it is willing to accept following a disruption and tailor a business continuity plan sized correctly for the organization’s needs. It is a set of interrelated elements that provide a holistic framework for organizations to build resiliency and agility.
A Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) is based on the organization’s legal, regulatory, organizational, and industry requirements to ensure that a business is not vulnerable to disruptions. ISO 22301- Certified organizations follow a High- Level Structure (HLS) and incorporate the Business Continuity Management System standard into core business processes to achieve the desired outcomes. It consists of four components.
Four Components of BCMS
- Formulating a business continuity policy.
- Assigning roles to competent people and defining responsibilities.
- Defining management processes relating to –
- Policy
- Planning
- Implementation and operation
- Performance Assessment
- Management Review
- Continual Improvement
4. Documented information supporting operational control and enabling performance evaluation.
These components help organizations to determine the needs and the necessity to establish business continuity policies and objectives. It addresses the cause of disruptions to prevent business failure. BCMS standards offer ten clauses that are part of the requirements to maintain consistency.
The Ten Clauses of ISO 22301 Certification
ISO 22301-certified organizations follow the Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology that provides a simple and effective approach to managing changes and problems. It is an effective management tool used to improve the performance of organizations.
List of Organizations that Can Apply for ISO 22301 Certification
ISO 22301 is not a sector-specific standard; moreover, it seeks to strengthen the resilience and ability of an organization through the effective application of the Business Continuity Management System (BCMS). A list of organizations that can go for ISO 22301 Certification:
- Manufacturing Industry
- Construction Industry
- Food Industry
- Automobile Sector
- Healthcare Sector
- Educational Organizations
- Information technology Industry
- Transport and Logistics
- Pharmaceuticals
- Textile Industry
- Small Scale Industries
Any organization can become ISO 22301 certified, and the cost of ISO 22301 certification varies from organization to organization. The advantage it offers to an organization outweighs the cost incurred to achieve an ISO 22301 certificate.
Tips to Maintain ISO 22301 Certification Compliance
In order to maintain compliance with the ISO 22301 certification, an organization requires to keep a check on the following things:
- It requires implementing, maintaining, and improving a BCMS
- It measures compliance with the business continuity policy
ISO 22301 Standard at a Glance
“An entrepreneur reduces risk in many places in order to focus on what’s most important, which is the PRODUCT.” – GUY KAWASAKI
Product is indeed the most significant element of any business, and it becomes essential to maintain business continuity to deliver goods and services to customers. ISO 22301 certification provides tools and techniques for organizations and strengthens an organization’s ability to manage the unexpected.
ISO 22301 Certification sets down the requirements for Business Continuity Management System BCMS. It enables an organization to take adaptive and proactive measures to ensure the survival and sustainability of the core business activities in the long run.
Is ISO 22301 Certification right for my Organisation?
ISO 22301:2012 was developed as the first international standard by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for helping organizations develop a Business Continuity Management System (BCMS). The purpose of this standard is to ensure the operational continuity of the business even in the face of external threats, such as catastrophic weather conditions, Cyber threats, and so on. Recently, we have all been witness to the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic for businesses across the globe. Its impact on the global supply chain has impaired the economies of a majority of nations. This has hurt many businesses and even led to the closure of some of them.
By adopting the requirements of ISO 22301, you can make your organization resilient against any such risks and assure your customers and shareholders regarding the robustness of your processes. A Business Continuity Standard – ISO 22301 Certification is proof that your organization has a management plan in place that assigns roles and responsibilities to your staff in order to hold your fort in times of emergencies. The global acceptance of this standard ensures all interested parties that the international best practices have been incorporated
Benefits of ISO 22301
We all have witnessed how Coronavirus has changed the dynamic of world economies and how business operations can be stopped due to incidents or crises. In such scenarios, ISO 22301-certified organizations manage to pave their way and maintain a minimum level of output. Let’s understand the other benefits offered by ISO 22301 Certifications:
- It provides a comprehensive approach to ensure a minimum level of production even during a crisis.
- ISO 22301-certified organizations save a significant amount of money and time by eliminating the negative impacts of a disruptive event.
- It improves cyber security and aligns with ISO 27001 Certification to attain business continuity in the Information Technology Industry.
- ISO 22301 Certification compliance protects an organization’s brand value and helps in winning new businesses, clients, and customers.
- It enhances an organization’s assets, profitability, marketability, turnover, and reputation.
ISO 22301 Requirements
The business continuity Management System standard consists of ten Clauses. Out of these ten clauses, three clauses are introductory in nature, while the rest seven clauses define the mandatory requirements for ISO 22301 Certification.
Context of the Organization– Determining the scope of the Business Continuity Management System BCMS and ensuring compliance with all the legal and regulatory requirements. An organization shall identify both external and internal factors that might cause disruptions and affect its ability to achieve intended outcomes.
Leadership– The senior management should ensure the implementation of the business continuity policy and business continuity objective within the organization. The organization shall assign roles and responsibilities to employees and implement an effective communication system to measure ISO 22301 compliances.
Planning – An organization shall determine potential risks and opportunities to design appropriate plans and policies to address them accordingly. It requires an organization to establish its business continuity objectives and formulate policies to achieve them.
Support – An organization requires determining and providing the needed resources to implement BCMS successfully. It shall give necessary training and education to employees to increase their competency. ISO 22301 directs organizations to establish an active and productive communication system.
Operation – Clause 8 and Clause 6 go hand in hand. Clause 6 comes in the domain of planning, while clause 8 is associated with the action. An organization shall conduct a risk assessment to detect weak areas and implement significant changes where required.
Performance Evaluation – An organization shall monitor, measure, analyze, and evaluate its BCMS performance. It requires an organization to conduct internal audits to identify non-conformities and eliminate them.
Improvement – It requires organizations to take corrective actions and implement necessary changes to achieve the desired outcomes. It follows the principle of continual development that promotes the sustainability, adequacy, and effectiveness of a BCMS.
ISO Certification Process
3 Steps to Certification
With the help of SIS Certifications, the certification process can take as little as 40 days to complete
Gap Analysis
- Assess your management system's compliance with the requirements of the applicable standard.
- Discuss what needs to be included in the project plan and agree on any remedial action.
- Identifying any non-conforming areas.
- Set the groundwork for a project plan.
Implementation
- ISO certification is an extensive procedure that necessitates knowledge and experience.
- SIS Certifications is not engaged in the implementation or preparation of documents to obtain ISO Certification.
- SIS Certifications does not participate in this implementation phase since it would jeopardize our integrity and impartiality as a certifying authority.
- Organizations need to dedicate the appropriate resources, time, and effort to implementing management systems and procedures.
Certification
- Application Form : Clients must fill out the basic data of the organization in the application form.
- Contract Review: Our quality team evaluates the client's requirements.
- Audit: Stages 1 and 2
- Decision Making : The DM team makes the decision to provide the certification.
- Stage One (documentation review) – At this stage, the auditors from the certification body verify that your documentation meets the requirements of ISO 22301.
- Stage Two (main audit) – In this stage, the realities of your processes are matched with your statements in the documentation for their compliance with the requirements of the ISO 22301 standard.
the certification process goes further. Click here to view the next steps in the ISO certification process
ISO 22301 Frequently Asked Questions about Business Continuity Management System (BCMS)
Answer: ISO 22301 is an international standard for implementing business continuity management system in an organization. It helps the organizations to identify risks to their business continuity and strategize measures for its prevention and mitigation.
Answer: ISO 22301 can be applied to any type of organization, regardless of its size or sector. Any organization that aims to build its business for the long haul should implement the requirements of ISO 22301.
Answer: There is no predefined cost for ISO 22301 certification. It depends upon several factors, such as complexity of your business, total workforce, number of office branches, branch location, etc. Once you have made up your mind for the certificate, you must contact a certification body that will analyze the above factors and quote a price for you.
Answer: Once you have built and implemented your BCMS as per the requirements of ISO 22301, you must undergo an internal audit and management review. After closing the gaps that were identified in these processes, you must invite a certification body to conduct the audit and award you with an ISO 22301 certificate.
Answer: The ISO 22301 certificate is valid for three years from the date of receiving it. However, in order to maintain the certificate, you must undertake annual surveillance audits.
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