In Brief
- Transforming certification management is not just a theoretical aspiration; it’s an operational necessity in today’s fast-paced business environment.
- What challenges does an organisation face when aiming for multiple certifications, such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, etc.?
- How can software tools simplify the cumbersome processes of documentation, policy management, and reporting and help a company stay on track after achieving certification?
- Clarendo partnered with Gislen Software to develop TIM 2.0—a scalable certification management tool—that has revolutionised how organisations approach and manage certifications.
- For companies seeking efficiency, ease, and excellence in their management systems, the Clarendo-Gislen partnership offers a robust roadmap toward streamlined certification processes and long-term success.
About the Client
Clarendo (www.clarendo.se) helps companies and organizations implement cost-effective certification management systems. Clarendo’s clients use Clarendo’s expertise, consultancy services and IT tools to certify their businesses to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and many other management standards/systems.
Over the last 20 years, Clarendo has successfully supported many companies and organisations in Sweden and works with its clients to customize their management systems. The aim is to deliver maximum effectiveness with minimal administration and documentation. Clarendo also helps its clients select a certification agency and prepare for a successful certification audit.
TIM (abbreviated as Tool to Improve Management System) is Clarendo’s IT tool. TIM provides the roadmap for each client’s journey to certification.
A summary of the opportunity and problem solved
Clarendo’s client services began as typewritten manuals and documents. The earliest version of TIM (TIM 1.0) was produced in 2009. This initial version was a customisation of a system for lawyers. While it brought early success to Clarendo, it was insufficiently flexible and could only support a limited number of management standards.
A new, enhanced TIM was needed to reflect Clarendo’s vision of helping clients implement practical solutions that achieve tangible results rather than just organising ample documentation and policies. The early version of TIM was inflexible, lacking features and self-service capabilities and not in line with Clarendo’s business philosophy of encouraging clients to customize their systems and standards with the self-service capabilities. It was not part of Clarendo’s vision to provide record-keeping and tool management for clients.
Clarendo decided to conceptualise and implement a new and enhanced TIM (TIM 2.0) from scratch and started by appointing a development partner. This required a company Clarendo could work with for the entire software life-cycle, from development to launch and ongoing management. With time to market another crucial business imperative, Clarendo approached Gislen Software towards the end of 2018.
A summary of the solution
A senior Gislen business associate worked closely with Clarendo in Sweden and India to conceptualise and build an agreement on the broad requirements. A complete understanding of Clarendo’s business, methodology and specific requirements was essential, and special attention was paid to the good features of TIM 1.0. The user experience was prototyped, iterated and designed. Over a series of sprints, the new TIM was developed and built to incorporate an impressive feature list that includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Create clients and users.
A “super admin” role creates clients and authorised users. Client users receive activation emails to activate their accounts. A client user is designated as an admin for the client. Other types of users that can be created include auditors and Clarendo consultants.
Define templates
Templates are defined and associated with certifications. Clients can use these templates to create documents for the management systems and certifications they are interested in. A WYSIWYG editor supports document creation. Clients can also create specific templates for management systems and certifications. - Tasks and Policies
The implementation of management systems will involve tasks and policies. The client admin can create tasks and assign them to users. The client admin is supported by a dashboard for a full view of the tasks and can follow these tasks to completion. - Non-conformities and deviations
Client users can highlight non-conformities to a process as defined. A workflow can be followed within the client organization to validate the non-conformity. The non-conformity can then be logged as a deviation. A team can be assigned, and tasks can be created to mitigate the deviation. Auditors can also raise deviations. - Charts, visualisations and goals
Process and organization charts can be created and detailed as related to a management system. Projects can be defined as a set of tasks related to certification activities. Goals and KPIs can be defined and assigned to users. Status and action on these can be measured. - Supplier evaluation
Clients can choose to evaluate suppliers through the tool. The client admin can create and designate tasks pertinent to the supplier evaluation. - Folders and document repositories
The client admin creates and manages a document repository and folder structure on behalf of the client. The document repository helps collect and taxonomy documents related to the implemented management system.
Benefits gained and business value delivered.
The new TIM was designed and developed from requirements to launch using an agile process at Gislen Chennai in a short cycle of 5.5 months. It provides excellent flexibility for Clarendo’s clients to manage their system and certification needs within a self-service mechanism. Gislen continues to assist Clarendo in going live with each of its 45 active clients. A tool for migrating clients and client data, along with a manual method of managing each migration, assists Clarendo and the client through the process.
The association between Clarendo and Gislen has proved excellent and mutually beneficial. Clarendo has found Gislen to be client-focused and fast on feedback throughout the process. Gislen has been ISO 9001 certified since 2008, which has helped considerably in understanding Clarendo’s business and working methods.