Continual Improvement

ISO 9001:2015 Clause 10.3 · ISO 14001:2015 Clause 10.3 · ISO 45001:2018 Clause 10.3 — Continual improvement of the integrated management system

Procedure overview

A M Water Services pursues continual improvement of the suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of its IMS through a structured pipeline that captures improvement opportunities from many sources, evaluates and prioritises them at the Directors' level, and implements the prioritised set with named owners and tracked progress. Sources include customer satisfaction signals (SOP 2.1), customer complaints and NCRs (SOP 7.1), internal audits (SOP 6.2), site inspections and Director Site Tours (SOP 6.3), analysis of long-term performance trends (SOP 6.1), Management Review outputs (SOP 6.4), worker consultation (SOP 2.2), and observation of non-value-added use of internal or external assets. Where opportunities are no longer supported by the current HSQE policy and objectives, the Directors evaluate strategic-level changes to the policy, objectives or context. Long-term improvement projects are initiated through Management Review (SOP 6.4) — this corrects a typo in the previous issue which referenced a non-existent SOP 6.6. Records are retained per SOP 4.7.

Continual Improvement — Process Flow

Source of Improvement Opportunities

Everyone — Directors,
HSQE Consultant,
Site Supervisor, Operatives, Clients

Capture

Customer satisfaction monitoring

SOP 2.1

Customer complaints & NCRs

SOP 7.1

Internal HSQE audits

SOP 6.2

Site inspections & Director tours

SOP 6.3

Analysis of long-term data trends

SOP 6.1

Management Review outputs

SOP 6.4

Worker consultation & participation

SOP 2.2

Non-value-added use of internal or external assets

Directors & HSQE Consultant

Aaron Mason (MD)
Leanne Mason (Director)
Sean Ashton

Evaluate & Prioritise

Improvement opportunities are evaluated by the Directors at regular management meetings (weekly compliance call cadence)

Quick-win opportunities from feedback on service performance are evaluated and continuous improvement actions are implemented

Long-term improvement projects are initiated through the annual Management Review (SOP 6.4) and tracked alongside SOP 7.1 corrective actions

Where an improvement is no longer supported by the current HSQE policy and objectives, the Directors evaluate strategic changes to policy, objectives or context

Action Owners

Named owner per project
(Director / Supervisor / HSQE)

Implement & Document

Causes of non-conformities and customer complaints are investigated; corrective actions implemented to ensure non-recurrence (SOP 7.1)

All improvement-project documentation and records are managed per the document control framework

SOP 4.7 Control of Records

Process / Activity

Document / Cross-reference

Implement / Close

Prioritisation criteria for improvement opportunities

When the Directors evaluate the open set of improvement opportunities, the following criteria are applied in order: (1) Safety / regulatory exposure — opportunities that close out a current or potential RIDDOR / regulator issue, or that address a systemic root cause from SOP 7.1, are prioritised first. (2) Customer commitment — opportunities tied to a contractual obligation, a client KPI breach, or a Drinking Water Inspectorate / water-company quality requirement go second. (3) Cost of poor quality — opportunities where the cost of inaction (rework, NCR cost, plant downtime, insurance claim risk) measurably exceeds the cost of action go third. (4) Strategic positioning — opportunities that support pursuit of new contract types, new accreditations, or growth into adjacent water-services segments go fourth. (5) Quality of working life — opportunities that improve operative experience, retention or culture without the above drivers go last. Each open opportunity is tagged with its highest-applicable category in the NCR / Improvement Log so the prioritisation is auditable.

Continual Improvement

Continual Improvement — Process Flow

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