Navigating the current landscape is extremely challenging for any business. The global COVID-19 crisis is imposing constraints everywhere, presumably for a longer period. Companies must first and foremost keep employees safe while challenged to continue business when normal operations are made impossible and global supply chains threatened.
Any crisis situation requires a rapid response, from managing the immediate to planning and implementing new ways to continue operations. Extraordinary measures to manage and mitigate risks with the same level of diligence is needed. A prolonged new normal may demand that companies tackle immediate challenges while simultaneously identify and implement actions to adapt their operations to a long-term scenario.
Ensuring robustness during fragile times starts with understanding, managing and mitigating current gaps and risks. Assessing crisis management plans, maintaining certificates and supplier qualifications, secure remote working and competence development requires a pro-active approach. DNV GL can help understand, identify and adapt actions and solutions needed ensure effectiveness and productivity, enabling operations tomorrow and more long-term.
We can help you navigate the following dimensions:
- Continued operations
Remote audit plans and executions designed to apply required audits according to requirements, ensuring that your certifications or other recognitions do not expire when physical audits are not possible. This includes product certification and management system certification audits to standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 22000, ISO 27001, ISO 45001, ISO 50001, ISO 55001 & ISO 22301. Compliance with necessary scheme owner and accreditation audits for remote audits is continually monitored and assured. - Business continuity preparedness
From insight into what a business continuity management system is, best practices according to the ISO 22301 standard and free access to an online self-assessment tool to assess your current maturity, this builds an understanding of systems and processes put in place to manage situations like the current, identifies way to improve and build future resilience. - Crisis management implementation
Times like these put companies’ crisis management plans to the test. Plans are often made in a controlled environment; the execution takes place in times of turmoil. Assessing gaps between plans and actions now helps companies understand if plans work as intended or whether instant or more long-term mitigating measures are required. - Supply chain management
Supplier qualification systems and verifications are essential during a crisis to continue operations while upholding quality and safety, and safeguarding customers and consumers. Whether forced to qualify new or actively continue management of existing ones, implementing new processes and systems or adapting existing ones to continue qualification audits can help manage supply chain risks. - Secure remote workforce enablement
Remote during COVID-19 has quickly become the norm for many companies, whether prepared or not to enable employees to work from home. Ensuring the right level of information and cyber security, combined with a sound security culture, is essential when business is conducted through a remote workforce. Knowing if you have the right systems, processes and training in place can help you ensure a secure and effective way of operating. Remote competence building Investing in your employees’ competence and continue planned and required training, regardless of topic, continues to be a need. While not able to come together, different remote learning modules can ensure that you keep training on track. In-house courses can be adapted and online courses delivered through different means, making them accessible whether your employees are located.
Whether immediate challenges imposed by the current crisis or finding ways to operate and respond to what is ahead, business continuity in difficult times is of the essence and making necessary adjustments as our current normal seems to be prolonged. DNV GL is here to help you respond by understanding, identifying and adapting actions and solutions needed to keep the wheels turning.