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Spring 2012

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Welcome to our new e-zine! I thought it was about time we shared our news and updates on the latest in ‘Best Practice’ with our clients and associates!

I hope you find our e-zine informative, helpful and fun! (how can standards be fun I hear you say? Well it is a challenge, so we’ve added a cartoon at the end!). We’ve intentionally kept our articles brief as I know we are all far too busy to read lengthy newsletters. So every quarter we will provide you with brief snippets of news and pearls of wisdom to help you to keep up to speed with all the latest updates in the sexy world of QHSE! (That is Quality, Health, Safety and Environment to those QHSE virgins).

Any comments or topics that you would like us to cover in our future quarterly editions are gratefully accepted!

Get savvy with Social Media….

Technologies advance, so processes and systems have to evolve to keep up. The latest technology we have been tackling is social media. Social Media is increasingly becoming more popular, and is now evolving into a very powerful communication tool, giving businesses, consumers and prospects new ways to research purchases, learn about a company and share experiences. Thus opening another facet to sales and marketing opportunities for business.

Do you have a social media policy or strategy? Are you wondering what all the fuss is about? Well, like it or lump it social media is here to stay and is growing in popularity at a rapid pace. If you would like a free consultation on social media then we have an specialist Social Media whizz who can assist you. Whether it is to find out how you can connect with a target audience, conduct research, find out about the competition or to simply workout how you can control employees use of social media during business hours (for work or pleasure!) feel free to connect to us by clicking on the link below or if you are a social media virgin send us an email to enquiries@bqms.co.uk or call 01462 450591.

We will be regularly updating our Linkedin profile, so follow Blackmores for updates on new ISO and BS standards, products and services.

To find out how Blackmores can support your business on QHSE matters contact us on 01462 450591 or email enquiries@bqms.co.uk Further news and information can also be found on www.bqms.co.uk

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BS ISO 50001:2011 Energy Management Systems Due to the success of the British standard for energy management BS EN 16001 (launched in 2009), the demand for it to become an ISO standard meant that it was fast-tracked through the British Standards Institution. In 2011 it become an internationally recognised and approved standard. It is now known as BS ISO 50001:2011 Energy Management Systems standard.

What is the point of implementing ISO 50001 when you already have ISO 14001? Well, we’ve found that for those organisations that use high volumes of energy which result in significant costs to the organisations, ISO 50001 helps to really focus on optimising energy resources and provides a mechanism to reduce energy, carbon emissions and costs.

It is an ideal tool for helping your organisation to establish the systems and processes necessary for achieving improved energy efficiency, financial savings and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, through systematic management of energy.

Benefits include an improved energy performance in a systematic way. Several of our clients have implemented a combined environmental and energy management system (EnMS).

So what is the difference between ISO 50001 and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Standard)? BSI explains the key differences; click http://www.bsigroup.ae/ upload/Tools/ISO14001_ISO% 2050001_Comparison.pdf

Integration of ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 captures the commonality of the two standards whilst also focusing on technical aspects such as building fabric, heating and ventilation, catering and combustion are also considered.

A case study of how we implemented an EnMS and helped an NHS Trust save ÂŁ1million in energy costs alone is available by clicking http:// www.bqms.co.uk/downloads/ SLaM_EMS_Case_Study.pdf or you can view our NHS EMS video by using the following link http://www.bqms.co.uk/ features.html.

Blackmores was the first consultancy firm to train its consultants on energy standards back in January 2010. If you would like an energy management consultant to facilitate the support required to establish your 'energy management programme' and to help your organisation to achieve its objectives & targets please contact us to arrange a chat.

Please note: if any of the hyperlinks in this article do not connect, please copy and paste them directly into your web browser toolbar.

To find out how your business could reduce its impact on the environment by implementing an Environmental or Energy Management System, contact Blackmores on 01462 450591 or email enquiries@bqms.co.uk Further news and information can also be found on www.bqms.co.uk

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Latest addition to the team...

Due to the growth in business, Karen McDonald is the latest addition to our Consultancy team. Based in Oxfordshire, with a background in Engineering, Karen has QHSE experience across a number of industry sectors including manufacturing, telecommunications and traffic management.

Her professional memberships include Member of the Chartered Quality Institute, Technician Member of IOSH and Associate Member of IEMA. In her spare time Karen also works with her sons’ school on the Eco-schools programme. After helping St Mary’s Primary School in Bicester achieve the Green Flag Eco-schools award Karen has trained to be an Eco-schools assessor.

See www.eco-schools.org.uk for more details.

Blackmores partner with Barbour EHS Blackmores are delighted to have been chosen as Barbour EHS’ approved standards consultancy firm to provide consultancy services on their behalf. Barbour EHS are an organisation that has been established for over 40 years and provide EHS online information services on a wide range of Health and Safety matters including the latest updates on legislation and regulations. As a leading service provider in its field, Barbour EHS is also the approved information service provider to IOSH (the Chartered Body for Health and Safety Professionals) www.iosh.co.uk This successful partnership has resulted in Blackmores delivering services to some of Barbours’ key clients including Heineken UK. Further information on Barbour EHS and their subscription services can be found at www.barbour-ehs.com. If you are interested in their subscription service please quote ‘Blackmores EHS’ to receive a discount.

Taking the plunge...

We thought it was high time we practised what we preached so in 2011 Blackmores took the plunge, and are now proud to have achieved certification to ISO 9001: 2008.

Mel Blackmore, Managing Director comments, “Achieving ISO 9001 has allowed us to evaluate our own business operations and helped us to exceed our clients’ expectations. We recognise the value that our clients gain from achieving ISO 9001 such as winning tenders, and helping to retain clients, which we are now reaping the benefits of ourselves.”

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TRIPLE AWARD WIN FOR BLACKMORES!!

Blackmores are delighted to announce its recent success at the Hertfordshire Green Awards and the Hertfordshire Business Awards 2011.

Blackmores won two awards at October’s Green Awards ceremony for their development of an online Environmental Management System for NHS Trusts. They were presented with awards for ‘Best Environmental Project of the Year’ and the ‘Green Innovation Award’.

Following the success at the Green Awards, Blackmores went on to win the ‘Creative Innovation’ award in November at the Hertfordshire Business Awards 2011.

LEGAL U P

DATES

Environmental

Health and Safety

Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011

Proposed amendment to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR)

The Waste Regulations 2011 (SI 988) have been in force since 1st October 2011 and amends the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 and the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005.

The Regulations require businesses to apply the waste management hierarchy, introduces a two-tier system for waste carrier and broker registration and excludes some categories of waste from waste controls.

Your waste transfer note, or for hazardous waste your consignment note, will need to declare that the waste management hierarchy has been applied for the disposal of waste.

The consultation on RIDDOR ended in 2011. This consultation sets out the amendment to regulation 3(2) of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) proposed by Lord Young in his report "Common Sense, Common Safety".

If adopted, the period of incapacitation after which an injury to a person at work must be reported to the enforcing authority, will change from over three to over seven days. It seeks views on the proposal itself and on the impacts that it would have if it became law.

To find out how Blackmores can support your business on QHSE compliance matters contact us on 01462 450591 or email enquiries@bqms.co.uk Further news and information can also be found on www.bqms.co.uk

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Service Focus

Q -Care gives you access to a QHSE manager, whenever you need one Q-Care is a service where we take care of all your Quality, Health & Safety and Environment ISO management system requirements. It allows companies to reap the benefits of a dedicated professional on a time-shared basis to compliment your existing management team, without the cost of employing a full-time Manager to manage your ISO certified system.

This is a popular option for companies wishing to outsource certain time-consuming tasks to keep overheads low, yet achieve optimum levels of excellence within the organisation.

Depending on your requirements, your Q-Care consultant could attend on a weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual basis.

Your dedicated QHSE Manager can offer support with the following:• • • • • • • • • • •

Maintenance of your Quality / Environment / Integrated Management System; Conduct internal audits; Initiate corrective and preventive action.

Report on key performance indicators and service improvement.

Liaise with statutory and regulatory bodies, customers and suppliers.

Maintain and update QHSE Legal Registers.

Carbon verification and Environmental supply chain management.

Liaise with your Certification Body and provide ISO assessment/surveillance visit support.

Develop your system to incorporate elements of other ISO standards i.e. information security, energy management, business continuity.

Chair management review meetings.

Conduct supplier audits.

Provide impartial professional advice on business improvement.

For a free, confidential and no-obligation consultation for all your Q-Care requirements, please contact Blackmores on +44 (0)1462 450591 or e-mail enquiries@bqms.co.uk Further information can also be found on www.bqms.co.uk