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Welcome to the ACI Global "Quality Matters" the Global newsletter keeping you up to date on all matters pertaining to Quality! Remember Quality is Contagious.
Quality
ACI Global has announced a new ISO/IEC 17050 standard which clearly defines requirements for suppliers (including manufacturers) to meet when suppliers make formal claims that their products, services, systems, processes or materials conform to relevant standards, regulations or other specifications.
This new standard is expected to inspire greater confidence among governments, regulatory authorities, consumers and end users that their claims are supported by an Internationally recognised standard. This is because the standard represents an international consensus on good practice and establishes a benchmark that can be applied in all business sectors and in all countries.
Planning for Quality Management System Improvements?
We at ACI Global think Quality is Contagious, we have cost effective training modules in Quality, Environmental, OHS&S and Food Safety to assist your organisation get on the path to Global Business Excellence. With most organisations busy planning future budgets for the coming year now is the time to plan for your QMS Upgrade contact us now and and we will send you out an information pack to assist you in planning your QMS Upgrade.
Corporate Governance
 GRI News Update Click here
ISO has issued a new work item proposal for development of the SR standard to its member bodies. These member bodies will have three months to vote on the proposal which will be accepted if approved by a majority of the members voting and a commitment by at least five members to participate actively in the work.
Environmental
Trans-Tasman partners find new ways to respond to climate change
Seven projects have been announced under the Australia-New Zealand Bilateral Climate Change Partnership. The new projects create more opportunities for Australia and New Zealand to work together to respond to climate change. The Partnership, formally announced by the New Zealand and Australian Governments in July 2003, focuses on concrete and practical ways to address climate change.
http://www.deh.gov.au/minister/env/2004/mr04nov204.html
OHS&S
Fourth International Conference on Work Environment and Cardiovascular Diseases
The Fourth International Conference on Work Environment and Cardiovascular Diseases will be held on March 9-11, 2005, in Newport Beach, Calif. The conference is presented under the auspices of the International Commission of Occupational Health, Scientific Committee on Cardiology in Occupational Health. NIOSH along with the UC Irvine, Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, the UCLA Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, the Center for Social Epidemiology, the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, the American Psychological Association and the Japan Association of Job Stress Research will cosponsor the event focusing on characterizing the changes occurring in work in both industrialized and developing nations. The role of globalization and the importance of social movements, including unions, will be explored. More information on the conference is available at http://www.coeh.uci.edu/ICOH.
ACI Global OHS&S 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System Developing and Implementation Programme How to assess Risk and Hazards
If the organisation has not undertaken an Initial Status Review it may need to do this in order to help identify the hazards and risks.
It is essential to develop a repeatable method for identifying all hazards and those risks, which are significant. Such a method is provided either manually or electronically see below and explained further within the Programme.
Led by the SMR/Project Manager your organisation should tailor the approach described to match your own needs, taking into account the nature of the organisation's work and the seriousness and complexity of the risks.
For many years OH&S risk assessments have been carried out usually on an informal basis. It is now recognised that risk assessments are a key foundation for pro-active OH&S management and that systematic procedures are necessary to ensure their success.
A risk assessment based on a participative approach provides an opportunity for management and the work force to agree that an organisation's OH&S procedures:
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are based on shared perceptions of hazards and risks
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are necessary and workable
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will succeed in preventing accidents/incidents
Hazards and risks relate to an organisation's Activities, Products and Services and must be considered under two states:
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routine activities
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non routine activities
The following steps are necessary for organisations to carry out effective risk assessment. Each step is described in more detail in the pages that follow.
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Step 1 - Classify Work Activities - prepare a list of work activities covering premises, plant, people and procedures and gather information about them
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Step 2 - Identify Hazards - identify all hazards relating to each work activity. Consider who might be harmed and how.
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Step 3 - Determine risk - make a subjective estimate of risk associated with each hazard assuming that planned or existing controls are in place. Assessors will consider the effectiveness of the controls and the consequences of their failure
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Step 4 - Decide if risk is tolerable - judge whether planned or existing OH&S precautions (if any) are sufficient to keep the hazard under control and meet legal requirements
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Step 5 - Prepare risk control action plan (if necessary) - prepare a plan to deal with any issues found by the assessment to require attention. Organisations should ensure that new and existing controls remain in place and are effective.
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Step 6 - Review Adequacy of Control Measures - re-assess risks on the basis of the revised controls and check that risks will become tolerable.
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Step 7 - Prepare a Register of Significant Risks - whilst not a requirement of OHSAS 18001 it is considered best practice to prepare a register. (It may well be required by other statutory or regulatory bodies)
NOTE: - The word tolerable here means that risk has been reduced to the lowest that is reasonably practicable.
Web based solutions for Monitoring Hazards and Risks
Features of "Advent Manager" from Quality Award Partners Pty Ltd are:
contact us now and and we will send you out an information pack to assist you in planning your QMS Upgrade.
Food Safety and HACCP
Food Safety Warning
Pasted below is a media release from the Food Safety Information Council about a new fact sheet advising people cooking for elderly relatives or friends to be extra careful as poor preparation could result in serious illness. There is more information on the Food Safety Information Council’s website at http://www.foodsafety.asn.au/publications/factsheets/doyoucookandbringfoo2743.cfm. Food Standards Australia New Zealand is a member of the Food Safety Information Council.
Aluminium in food and water
Concerns have been raised in the Australian media about levels of aluminium found in bottled water of up to 1.4mg a litre. Overall, the intake of aluminium from bottled drinking water represents a very small percentage of the total exposure of Australians and New Zealanders. FSANZ considers that levels of aluminium in bottled drinking water and in the food supply are safe.
Reasons:
Aluminium occurs in bottled and tap water because of natural leaching from rocks and, in the case of tap water only, from the use of aluminium coagulants in treatment. There is no safety limit for aluminium in water set in Australia or by the World Health Organization (WHO). But both the WHO and the National Health and Medical Research Council have voluntary quality guidelines that recommend maximum levels of 0.2mg per litre to ensure the water looks clear. Surveys in the US and United Kingdom have found aluminium levels in natural water sources ranging from 0.014mg a litre to 1.2 mg a litre. In Australia aluminium levels have been found in water sources as high as 18mg a litre due to clay minerals that contain alumino-silicates.
In Australian adults, the mean aluminium intake from food and water is estimated to be 5-7 mg /day. Aluminium is permitted as a food additive and is used in colourings, emulsifiers, stabilisers and anti-caking agents. Drinking water contributes to less than 2% of total aluminium consumption.
Pharmaceuticals (such as antacids and buffered analgesics) potentially contribute substantially to the total body burden of aluminium (up to 5000 mg/day in users of antacids). There is also some absorption through the skin from deodorants containing aluminium.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) sets maximum limits for a range of naturally occurring chemicals in bottled water where there could be a safety risk if too high a level was consumed. These include levels for arsenic, barium, borate, cadmium, chromium VI, copper, cyanide, fluoride, lead, manganese, mercury, nitrate, nitrite, selenium, sulphide and zinc. All these chemicals may also be found at low levels in tap water. There are also limits for bacterial contamination and levels of organic matter. FSANZ has not set an upper limit for aluminium in bottled water.
Aluminium in the diet from food and water is poorly absorbed through the gut. Less than 1% of aluminium in water is absorbed and the rest being excreted through the faeces. Of the aluminium absorbed, most is excreted via the kidneys and only a very small amount accumulates in bone, liver and brain tissues.
In the general population, the major concern is related to the association between the intake of aluminium and the neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. Higher than average levels of aluminium have also been found in the brains of Alzheimer patients, but the World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed strong reservations about drawing a causal relationship between aluminium in drinking water and Alzheimer’s disease as there are many confounding factors.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand 2003-4 Annual Report
The Food Standards Australia New Zealand 2003-04 Annual Report was tabled in the Australian Parliament on 1 November 2004. It is available on our website at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/mediareleasespublications/publications/annualreport/fsanzannualreport20032004/index.cfm.
This information is reproduced with permission of the Food Safety Information Council. for further information contact info@foodstandards.gov.au).
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