Which ISO standards are right for your business?

ISO are guidelines that have been set into place by the International Organization for Standardization. There are many options available to you. Some will work with your specific industry, and others will not.

If you go through all their guidelines, you will see that there are a number of choices. That is why you have come to this article, so we will get right to it. Keep in mind that this is a limited article so we will not be covering any of them in depth. That will be up to you when you decide which ones will work best for you.

1. ISO 9000: The Advisera ISO 9001 set of guidelines is one of the most commonly used and gives straight forward ways to build and improve your systems that you are using for your particular business, no matter what industry or size.

2. ISO 14000: These are the guidelines that help your business implement environmental management systems (EMS). These are all the requirements that you need to implement to define rules, implement processes, make plans, and keep records. These are the basic everyday guidelines that many of us take for granted, but we should be zeroing in on creating a work environment that is good for all people involved.

3. ISO 22000: This is where you will find guidance for any companies that deal with food, and food safety. Food safety is not just a company concern, but it is a public one, so these guidelines will help any food service, or food selling business no matter the size or location.

4. ISO 2600: This is a newer set of guidelines that deal with your social responsibilities as a business owner. It helps your business build platforms and rules that make you a socially responsible business, which is becoming an important aspect of business today.

5. ISO 27000: This one covers your information systems and the security protocols and programs that need to be in place. We are all in the midst of the technological era, and as such we need to protect our customers, suppliers, and ourselves against online criminal activities.

6. ISO 31000: These guidelines are the ones that address risk management issues. Throughout your daily operations you will run into risky situations that you will need to tackle head-on. These guidelines help steer you in the correct direction.

7. ISO 50000: This is the final one that we will be covering here. This one is a voluntary action that you can take with your company, but it is another one that is becoming more important as people try to leave as small of a footprint as they can upon the world. Energy use is becoming a big concern, so these guidelines help you reduce your energy usage throughout your company.

That is the basic run down of the several types of guidelines that set standards for your company. Some of them may apply to you, some may not. After reading through these short summaries, if you see some that you fall under you can do some research or contact someone at Advisera and get detailed answers from professionals.