SINGAPORE - Spring Singapore and the Singapore Standards Council have contributed revisions to two international standards to ensure that they remain relevant in the rapidly changing business environment.

ISO9001:2015 Quality Management Systems - Requirements and ISO14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems - Requirements with Guidance for Use were launched on Thursday.

They will impact close to 8,000 companies in Singapore which have already adopted one or both standards.

The companies would need to implement the new changes in the standard to keep their respective ISO9001 and ISO14001 certification.

Singapore enterprises have been leveraging on ISO9001 and ISO14001 management systems standards to help them put in place robust practices, processes and values systems to achieve quality growth.

With the enhancements in the revised ISO9001 and ISO14001, it will bring even greater benefits to small and medium-sized enterprises, Spring said.

First, top management are now expected to drive the implementation of management systems and align them with business goals. This focuses and motivates the entire enterprise to address strategic needs and challenges.

Second, enterprises must now consider risk and life-cycle factors when implementing their management systems. This spurs enterprises to adopt a sustainable approach when seeking out new business opportunities and expanding to new markets.

Third, these standards use a common structure making it easier for enterprises to adopt other critical management systems standards such as ISO 22301 on business continuity.

Using these standards in an integrated manner allows the enterprises to reap benefits of reduced implementation costs and resources.