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ISO 27001 certification

The implementation duration depends on many variables (e.g., size and complexity of the scope, financial resources, and expertise available, etc.), but for very small and small-sized business generally is possible to implement ISO 27001 within 3 months. I suggest you take a look at our ISO 27001/ISO 22301 Implementation Duration Calculator at this link: https://advisera.com/27001academy/free-tools/free-calculator-duration-of-iso-27001-iso-22301-implementation/

This tool can help you estimate the implementation duration considering your company scenario.

Regarding ISO 27001 implementation approaches, you have three options:

• Implementing with your own employees (in general the cheapest and longest)
• Hiring a consultant (in general the costliest and fastest)
• Implementing by yourself with external support (a balanced solution)

Each one of them has its advantages and disadvantages, related to time, resources, and knowledge. For more information, I suggest you the following materials:

• 3 strategic options to implement any ISO standard https://advisera.com/blog/2016/04/11/3-strategic-options-to-implement-any-iso-standard/
• Implementing ISO 27001 with a consultant vs. DIY approach https://info.advisera.com/27001academy/free-download/implementing-iso-27001-with-a-consultant-vs-diy-approach

Advisera is specialized in the third approach. We offer toolkits with templates and expert support, and also free material in the form of articles, papers, and webinars, to help you with your implementation project. Please see these materials for more information:

• ISO 27001 Documentation Toolkit https://advisera.com/27001academy/iso-27001-documentation-toolkit/
• How to use a Documentation Toolkit for the implementation of ISO 27001 / ISO 22301 [free webinar on demand] https://advisera.com/27001academy/webinar/how-to-use-a-documentation-toolkit-for-the-implementation-of-iso-27001-free-webinar-on-demand/

Internal and external parties

The reason that ISO 45001 has you identify internal and external parties in clause 4.2 is so that you can identify the needs and expectations that each of these parties has that you need to incorporate into your OHSMS. So, if you identify a government agency and an external party, and identify that they have a law that they expect you to meet on chemical handling; this would become a part of the processes within your OHSMS. In short, the effects of these interested parties on the OHSMS is that they identify the requirements that need to be included int eh OHSMS processes.

You can learn more about the requirements for interested parties in the article: Determining interested parties according to ISO 45001, https://advisera.com/45001academy/blog/2018/03/14/determining-interested-parties-according-to-iso-45001/

Scope of BCMS

You do not need to include all the functions in the Organisation to go for ISO 22301 certification.

The best approach would be to define the BCMS scope in terms of the products and/or services you provide, and from the nature of each one of them identify which functions should be included in the BCMS. In case you have multiple divisions and locations, you should consider independent certifications, so any problem in one site cannot impact the certification of other sites.

This article is related to ISMS but can provide some tips about defining a BCMS scope:

• How to define the ISMS scope https://advisera.com/27001academy/knowledgebase/how-to-define-the-isms-scope/

These materials will also help you regarding BCMS scope definition:

• Book Becoming Resilient, The Definitive Guide to ISO 22301 Implementation  https://advisera.com/books/becoming-resilient-the-definitive-guide-to-iso-22301-implementation/ 
• Free online training ISO 22301: An overview of the BCM implementation process https://advisera.com/27001academy/webinars/

PDCA definition

A PDCA is a method used in business for the control and continuous improvement of processes and products, so the things you need to do is to define the improvement you want to implement and how you can measure if it was achieved. E.g.: improve information security, by implementing an ISO 27001 compliant ISMS, or bring information risks to acceptable levels, by implementing a Risk Treatment Plan.

The definition of time for each activity needs to consider the available resources and the competence of the personnel involved.

For staring a project, the first activity you need to consider is getting top management buy-in.

These articles will provide you a further explanation about ISO 27001 projects:

• ISO 27001 implementation checklist https://advisera.com/27001academy/knowledgebase/iso-27001-implementation-checklist/
• 4 crucial techniques for convincing your top management about ISO 27001 implementation https://advisera.com/27001academy/blog/2016/09/12/4-crucial-techniques-for-convincing-your-top-management-about-iso27001-implementation/
• Has the PDCA Cycle been removed from the new ISO standards? https://advisera.com/27001academy/blog/2014/04/13/has-the-pdca-cycle-been-removed-from-the-new-iso-standards/

These materials will also help you regarding ISO 27001 projects:

• Book Secure & Simple: A Small-Business Guide to Implementing ISO 27001 On Your Own https://advisera.com/books/secure-and-simple-a-small-business-guide-to-implementing-iso-27001-on-your-own/
• ISO 27001 Foundations Course https://advisera.com/training/iso-27001-foundations-course/

ISO 27001 implementation

Do I need to list individual software licenses in the risk assessment or can they be put into broader categories? I’m thinking ahead to an eventual audit and what an auditor might want to see to show that we are taking everything into account.

i.e.
Software tools that may contain PII and/or confidential information
Software tools that do not contain PII and/or confidential information

And do they need to be separated by whether they are run on premises only or in the cloud?

Or, do I need to put:
Salesforce.com
Microsoft Office,
etc and list all threats/vulnerabilities of each?  We have a list of all software tools that contain PII for GDPR already in the Appendix – Inventory of Processing Activities.

You don't have to fill in each and every software license separately - you can just specify that you have a class called "software licenses" and associate to it the threats and vulnerabilities common to all of them. In case you have threats and vulnerabilities related to a specific software license, then you can list that software license separately for that set of threats and vulnerabilities.

For further information, see:

• How to handle Asset register (Asset inventory) according to ISO 27001 https://advisera.com/27001academy/knowledgebase/how-to-handle-asset-register-asset-inventory-according-to-iso-27001/

Is there an easy way to know which controls would apply for each vulnerability? I.e. a mapping to the vulnerabilities that are pre-populated in the Risk Assessment? I think that each vulnerability listed probably has a specific control so having a mapping would save a lot of time vs trying to match them one by one.

There is no definitive document we can recommend, since, for each organization, the applicable controls may vary according to the organization's risk tolerance and results of risk assessment (for the same vulnerability one or more controls may be applicable). Additionally, such documents may mislead organizations while implementing their own practices, because they may understand that these are the solution for their risk, without considering their own organizational context.

These materials will also help you regarding risk treatment:

• Diagram of ISO 27001:2013 Risk Assessment and Treatment process https://info.advisera.com/27001academy/free-download/diagram-of-iso-270012013-risk-assessment-and-treatment-process
• The basics of risk assessment and treatment according to ISO 27001 [free webinar on demand] https://advisera.com/27001academy/webinar/basics-risk-assessment-treatment-according-iso-27001-free-webinar-demand/
• Book ISO 27001 Risk Management in Plain English https://advisera.com/books/iso-27001-annex-controls-plain-english/

 When creating the risk assessment using the Asset-Threat Vulnerability method and assigning a Likelihood do we take into account the current state of that risk given our already implemented (pre-ISO27001) controls? i.e. if we have multi-factor authentication the risk of access to our email system is lower, therefore would we put a lower number for likelihood? I assume this is the case, but am not clear.

Your understanding is correct. When you perform a risk assessment, you need to consider the risk values including the effects of implemented controls. You only need to ensure that the information about the implemented controls are also documented in the risk assessment.

Do you suggest using the OCTAVE Allegro worksheets (or something similar) for polling the risk owners while creating the Risk Assessment, or is there a questionnaire available that can be sent to them with specific questions that I am missing?

Octave or other approaches for identifying risks are not needed. You can ask your asset owners to simply identify threats/vulnerabilities that can affect their assets based in the catalog of threats/vulnerabilities included in the Risk Assessment Table, located on the folder 10 Risk Assessment and Risk Treatment.

For further information, see:

• ISO 27001 risk assessment: How to match assets, threats, and vulnerabilities: https://advisera.com/27001academy/knowledgebase/iso-27001-risk-assessment-how-to-match-assets-threats-and-vulnerabilities/

Calculating environmental aspects

Each organization can develop its own method for calculating significant environmental aspects, considering its own reality, complexity and dimension. Please consider the guidelines in this article - Environmental aspect identification and classification - https://advisera.com/14001academy/blog/2019/08/27/key-iso-14001-benefits-to-customers/nowledgebase/environmental-aspect-identification-and-classification/

You can find more information in the following links:

• Article - Article - Catalogue of environmental aspects - https://advisera.com/14001academy/blog/2019/08/27/key-iso-14001-benefits-to-customers/nowledgebase/catalogue-of-environmental-aspects/
• Free webinar - ISO 14001: Identification and evaluation of environmental aspects - https://advisera.com/14001academy/webinar/iso-14001-identification-and-evaluation-of-environmental-aspects-free-webinar-on-demand/
• ISO 14001 document template: Procedure for Identification and Evaluation of Environmental Aspects and Risks - https://advisera.com/14001academy/documentation/procedure-for-identification-and-evaluation-of-environmental-aspects/
• Enroll for free in this course – ISO 14001:2015 Lead Auditor Course - https://advisera.com/training/iso-14001-lead-auditor-course/
• Book – The ISO 14001:2015 Companion - https://advisera.com/books/the-iso-14001-2015-companion/

Supplier quality plan

First, not all suppliers are equal, or have the same impact on the project. So, your organization can start to evaluate supplier’s potential impact on the project with quality problems or delays.

Second, for the critical suppliers your organization can require a quality plan. As soon as you realize that a supplier is or will be critical a quality plan should be requested. Ideally, the quality plan should be part of the supplier proposal when answering to a request for quotation.

In this case a quality plan is a document setting supplier’s arrangements needed to ensure and demonstrate that quality is embedded in products and services during its creation and not just before sending to the customer.

The following material will provide you more information about quality plans:

• Article - Making the best out of ISO 9001 Quality Plan - https://advisera.com/9001academy/blog/2015/12/08/making-the-best-out-of-iso-9001-quality-plan/
• Free webinar on demand - Measurement, analysis, and improvement according to ISO 9001:2015 - https://advisera.com/9001academy/webinar/measurement-analysis-and-improvement-according-to-iso-9001-2015-free-webinar/
• Enroll for free course - ISO 9001:2015 Foundations Course - https://advisera.com/training/iso-9001-foundations-course/
• Book - Discover ISO 9001:2015 Through Practical Examples - https://advisera.com/books/discover-iso-9001-2015-through-practical-examples/
   

Legal and statutory requirements

If you check ISO 9001:2015 clause 0.4 you can find something like: ISO 9001:2015 does not include specific requirements from what could be from other management systems like environmental management, Health and Safety or finance management.

So, when it comes to legal and statutory requirements an ISO 9001 certification auditor will check if your organization identified and complies with those that are applicable to your organization’s products or services and contracts with customers, and processes. For example, you may have to comply to legal requirements about the qualifications of someone doing a particular job or function.

The following material will provide you more information about ISO 9001:2015:

• Article - How to include statutory and regulatory requirements in your QMS - https://advisera.com/9001academy/blog/2017/02/14/how-to-include-statutory-and-regulatory-requirements-in-your-qms/
• Enroll for free course - ISO 9001:2015 Lead Implementer Course - https://advisera.com/training/iso-9001-lead-implementer-course/
• Book - Discover ISO 9001:2015 Through Practical Examples - https://advisera.com/books/discover-iso-9001-2015-through-practical-examples/

QMS in a town hall

No, it is not difficult to implement a quality management system in a town hall. The point is that one does not implement a quality management system generically to all activities of a town hall. One has to define the scope of activities to be included. For example, a town near where I live has the town hall certified with the following scope:

• Urban Solid Waste Collection;
• Management of the Eco-center and Transfer Station;
• Urban Hygiene and Cleaning;
• Maintenance of Green Spaces. 

The following material will provide you more information about ISO 9001:2015:

• Article - ISO 9001 – How to define the scope of the QMS according to ISO 9001:2015 - https://advisera.com/9001academy/knowledgebase/how-to-define-the-scope-of-the-qms-according-to-iso-90012015/
• Article – Six Key Benefits of ISO 9001 Implementation - https://advisera.com/9001academy/knowledgebase/six-key-benefits-of-iso-9001-implementation/
• Free webinar on demand - Overview of ISO 9001 implementation steps - https://advisera.com/9001academy/webinar/overview-of-iso-9001-implementation-steps-free-webinar-on-demand/
• Enroll for free course - ISO 9001:2015 Foundations Course - https://advisera.com/training/iso-9001-foundations-course/
• Book - Discover ISO 9001:2015 Through Practical Examples - https://advisera.com/books/discover-iso-9001-2015-through-practical-examples/
   

Involving employees in the implementation process

Ensuring employee participation and consultation is an important part of the ISO 45001 standard, but remember that this does not mean that every employee needs to be part of the implementation process. I would suggest that you have different departments decide on representatives to aid in the implementation, much like some joint health & safety committees are formed, as this would give all employees a voice in the implementation process and a contact for questions and feedback.

You can read more about the Iso 45001 requirements in the article: How to meet participation and consultation requirements in ISO 45001, https://advisera.com/45001academy/blog/2016/03/16/how-to-meet-participation-and-consultation-requirements-in-iso-45001/