2.6 Correlations of the Framework with other systems

The Framework is not intended to duplicate or replace management systems that are adequately working; rather, it is intended to be compatible and complementary. The Framework includes principles of established systems such as HACCP, ISO 9001 and AS/NZS 4360:2004, and is sufficiently flexible to allow implementation to be built on programs and systems already present in an organisation. However, the relationships between the Framework and these systems should be understood.

The HACCP system was developed for the food industry and has become an internationally recognised risk management system to prevent or reduce the health risks from hazards associated with food processing. It is designed primarily as a preventive system of control to assure product safety while reducing reliance on end-product testing.

The application of the HACCP system to drinking water supplies has received increasing recognition due to the many parallel issues in food and drinking water supply. The HACCP system comprises seven principles. These principles and the equivalent Framework elements are shown in Table 2.2.

The HACCP system offers a systematic approach to the identification of hazards and their prevention, with a particular focus on process control to ensure that preventive measures are operating effectively. HACCP was not designed to be a fully comprehensive management system but was intended to be added on to existing good management practices. Thus, its scope and application are limited in several important areas of the Framework such as commitment, stakeholder involvement, emergency response, employee training, community consultation, and research and development. Furthermore, while HACCP is aligned quite readily to the treatment component of drinking water supply, its application may not transfer as easily to the important areas of catchment and distribution systems.

Table 2.2 Correlations between HACCP and the Framework

HACCP	Framework for Management of Drinking Water Quality
1. Hazard identification and preventive measures	Water supply system analysis, hazard identification and risk assessment (element 2) Preventive measures and multiple barriers (element 3)
2. Critical control points	Critical control points (element 3)
3. Critical limits	Operational monitoring (element 4)
4. Monitoring system for each critical control point	Operational monitoring (element 4)
5. Corrective actions	Corrective action (elements 4 and 5)
6. Verification / validation	Equipment capability and maintenance (element 4) Drinking water quality monitoring, consumer satisfaction (element 5) Validation of processes, design of equipment (element 9) Audit of drinking water quality management (element 11)
7. Documentation and record keeping	Management of documentation and records (element 10)

ISO 9001 provides a generic framework that specifies requirements for quality management systems to address customer satisfaction by assuring a consistent end product. The standard puts emphasis on continuous improvement; it adopts a process model approach that sets out the responsibilities, processes and resources needed to achieve specified objectives with respect to quality.

Table 2.3 lists the detailed ISO 9001 requirements and identifies links and correlations with the Framework. While the Framework and ISO 9001 are compatible, the structures of the two are somewhat different and correlations between them are not as close as those with HACCP. Table 2.3 shows correlations of general themes and areas.

Table 2.3 Correlations between ISO 9001 and the Framework

ISO 9001	Framework for Management of Drinking Water Quality
Quality management system
General requirements	See Section 2.5 Applying the Framework
Documentation requirements	Management of documentation and records (element 10)
Management responsibility
Management commitment	Drinking water quality policy, regulatory and formal requirements (element 1) Review by senior executive, drinking water quality management improvement plan (element 12)
Customer focus	Regulatory and formal requirements (element 1) Community consultation (element 8)
Quality policy	Drinking water quality policy (element 1)
Planning	Regulatory and formal requirements (element 1) Operational monitoring (element 4) Drinking water quality monitoring (element 5)
Responsibility, authority and communication	See Section 2.5 Applying the Framework
Management review	Long-term evaluation of results, audit of drinking water quality management (element 11) Review by senior executive, drinking water quality management improvement plan (element 12)
Resource management
Provision of resources	Drinking water quality management improvement plan (element 12)
Human resources	Employee awareness and involvement, employee training (element 7)
Infrastructure	Equipment capability and maintenance (element 4) Design of equipment (element 9)
Work environment
Product realisation
Planning of realisation processes	Preventive measures and multiple barriers, critical control points (element 3)
Customer-related processes	Community consultation, communication (element 8) Regulatory and formal requirements (element 1)
Design and development	Investigative studies and research monitoring, validation of processes, design of equipment (element 9)
Purchasing	Materials and chemicals (element 4)
Production and service provision	Operational procedures, operational monitoring, corrective action, equipment capability and maintenance (element 4) Validation of processes (element 9)
Control of measuring and monitoring devices	Equipment capability and maintenance (element 4)
Measurement, analysis and improvement
General
Monitoring and measurement	Operational monitoring (element 4) Drinking water quality monitoring, consumer satisfaction (element 5) Audit of drinking water quality management (element 11)
Control of nonconforming product	Corrective action (elements 4 and 5) Incident and emergency response protocols (element 6) Reporting (element 10)
Analysis of data	Operational monitoring (element 4) Short-term evaluation of results (element 5) Long-term evaluation of results (element 11)
Improvement	Review by senior executive, drinking water quality management improvement plan (element 12)

ISO 9001 includes several aspects of the Framework, but in a general sense, and it does not always provide a good fit to the specific requirements of drinking water quality management. The most important limitation of ISO 9001 is that it fails to address the preventive requirements of system analysis, hazard identification and control, and risk assessment, which are all critical for effective management of drinking water quality. There are other limitations in the areas of stakeholder involvement (for stakeholders other than consumers), research and development, management of large-scale emergencies, communication and reporting.

There is scope to implement the Framework within the structure of these established systems by expanding them to encompass all the necessary elements for drinking water quality management. For example, when integrated, HACCP and ISO 9001 can satisfy many of the key elements for drinking water quality management. However, if established management systems are applied to meet the requirements for management of drinking water quality as outlined in the Framework, then it should be ensured that all the necessary elements of drinking quality management are addressed.

Table 2.4 provides a general comparison indicating the applicability of established quality and risk management systems to the Framework.

Table 2.4 Comparison of features from various management frameworks

Framework for Management of Drinking Water Quality	HACCP	ISO 9001 (2000)	AS/NZS 4360 (2004)
Commitment to drinking water quality management
Drinking water quality policy		+++	+++
Regulatory and formal requirements	+++	+++
Engaging stakeholders
Assessment of the drinking water supply system
Water supply system analysis	+++
Assessment of water quality data
Hazard identification and risk assessment	+++		+++
Preventive measures for drinking water quality management
Preventive measures and multiple barriers	+++	+	+++
Critical control points	+++
Operational procedures and process control
Operational procedures	+	+++
Operational monitoring	+++	+++
Corrective action	+++	+++
Equipment capability and maintenance	+	+++
Materials and chemicals	+	+++
Verification of drinking water quality
Drinking water quality monitoring	+++	+++	+++
Consumer satisfaction		+++
Short-term evaluation of results		+++	+
Corrective action	+++	+++
Management of incidents and emergencies
Communication
Incident and emergency response protocols
Employee awareness and training
Employee awareness and involvement		+++
Employee training	+++	+++
Community involvement and awareness
Community consultation		+++	+++
Communication	+	+	+++
Research and development
Investigative studies and research monitoring
Validation of processes	+++	+++
Design of equipment		+++
Documentation and reporting
Management of documentation and records	+++	+++	+++
Reporting			+++
Evaluation and audit
Long-term evaluation of results		+
Audit of drinking water quality management	+++	+++	+++
Review and continual improvement
Review by senior executive	+++	+++	+
Drinking water quality management improvement plan		+++

Notes:

+++ Aspect explicitly stated

+ Aspect not explicitly stated but interpreted to include