The ISO 22301 standard outlines the requirements for a Business Continuity Management System (BCMS). The aim of the standard is to help organisations identify threats to their ongoing operations and prepare and test arrangements to ensure business continuity.
The current version of the standard is structured similarly to other standards such as ISO 9001. It requires organisations to prove they are well structured with clear roles and responsibilities for individuals. Additionally, organisations must demonstrate that documented information is controlled, that risks and opportunities are considered and that actions to address these are identified and implemented.
Meeting the requirements of this standard
In order to meet the ISO 22301 standard organisations are required to produce several pieces of documentation. Firstly, they must generate a business impact analysis and risk assessment to demonstrate that they have examined the risks to their operations and the potential impact these could have. Secondly the organisation will need to produce business continuity strategies and solutions to communicate how the risks to business operations will be mitigated. As part of this evidence will need to be produced to show that a programme of testing has been conducted to ensure that all potential risks to the business have been identified and that prevention and recovery systems are in place and are effective. Finally, the organisation must also produce a business impact assessment to show that it has examined all of its business-critical functions and the impact unplanned events and disruptions could have on them.
Meeting the requirements of this standard requires that an effective Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) has been prepared, that business continuity plans and arrangements are in place and that business continuity objectives are set and monitored.
ISO Assured can assist with the preparation of management systems to meet the requirements of this standard. Please visit our ISO Consultancy page for details on our onsite and remote consultancy services. The page also contains details of how our alpha-Z documents package can help you meet the requirements of this standard.
ISO 22301 Certification Process
We offer a straightforward certification process which can independently confirm that your organisation meets the requirements of the ISO 22301 standard. Once we have completed a satisfactory audit of your management systems we will issue you with an ISO22301 registration certificate which will authorise you to display our “ISO 22301 Registered” logo.
Benefits of ISO 22301 Certification
- Achieve better score in pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQ’s)
- Ensure preparedness for unplanned disruptions to critical business operations
- Establish an effective Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and Business Continuity Management System (BCMS)
- Demonstrate to suppliers and other interested parties that formal systems are in place to ensure continuity of service
- Establish systems for ongoing checks of continuity arrangements