Monitoring project objectives

First of all, let me state that management system objectives are of paramount importance. Just remember the management system definition, something like. A system to establish a policy (a general orientation), translate that into objectives, and work, and change to meet those objectives.

So, clause 6.2.1 is about establishing management system objectives. Something to stretch your management system performance. You want your management system performance in the future will be better than today. What happens is that performance is not an accident, does not happen by chance, performance is the output of the present system. If you want a different performance in the future, you need to have a different organization, a different management system in the future

Clause 6.2.2 is about planning what needs to be done to change the organization in order to meet those objectives. That is, what needs to be done to create the organization of the future.

An action plan is about what needs to be done, when and by whom and can include things like: Improve current practices; Introduce new practices; Invest in infrastructure; Train people; How to measure progress and results; …

After 6.2.1 and 6.2.2 you have a plan to meet your management system objectives. The problem is that there is uncertainty. The plan may be incomplete or wrong, the plan may not be implemented in some way, or the world may change during the journey into the future, making the plan obsolete in some way.

So, after defining what to do we need to include some sort of monitoring and control to check if context assumptions are still valid, a kind of situational awareness, and to check if activities included in the plan were implemented, and also to check if already implemented activities are contributing to a convergence in performance to the desired results.

During the journey for the future what can happen?

You can see the free preview of our ISO 14001 document template: Environmental Objectives and Plans for Achieving Them - https://advisera.com/14001academy/documentation/environmental-objectives-targets-and-programs/ as an example about how to monitor project objectives.

For example, considering ISO 14001:2015, check clause 6.2.2 e). What indicators can you use to measure progress during the journey and the success at the end? When will be appropriate to check progress against those indicators? Then, include checking the progress of the implementation of activities.

You can find more information below:

• How to Use Good Environmental Objectives - https://advisera.com/14001academy/blog/2019/08/27/key-iso-14001-benefits-to-customers/nowledgebase/how-to-use-good-environmental-objectives/
• Examples of ISO 14001 objectives based on the different company sizes - https://advisera.com/14001academy/blog/2019/10/22/iso-14001-objectives-examples-for-different-company-sizes/
• Enroll for free in this course – ISO 14001:2015 Foundations Course - https://advisera.com/training/iso-14001-internal-auditor-course/
• Book – The ISO 14001:2015 Companion - https://advisera.com/books/the-iso-14001-2015-companion/