ISO 9001 Quality Management System standard undergoing revision

Similar to other ISO standards, ISO 9001:2008 is under going review to make sure it remains relevant and useful to businesses; the first stage in the revision process was the development of a Committee Draft which closed for comment on Friday 12 July 1013.

Proposed Timetable

• June 2013 – Committee Draft is published and closed for comment on Friday 12 July 2013.
• Early 2014 – following comments from the Committee Draft, a draft revised standard is anticipated to go out for comment in early 2014.
• End of 2015 – it is anticipated the new standard will be published by the end of 2015.

What are the proposed revisions?

The reviewed standard will follow a new high level structure which is common to all new management systems standards this is to allow ease of integration across all ISO standards. The revised standard should bring the following benefits to organisations as noted below as outlined in a news article on the ISO website dated 26 June 2013.

• Provide a stable core set of requirements for the next 10 years or more.
• Remain generic, and relevant to all sizes and types of organisation operating in any sector.
• Maintain the current focus on effective process management to produce desired outcomes.
• Take account of changes in quality management systems practices and technology since the last major revision in 2000.
• Reflect changes in the increasingly complex, demanding and dynamic environments in which organisations operate.
• Enhance compatibility and alignment with other ISO management system standards.
• Facilitate effective organisational implementation and effective conformity assessment by first, second and third parties.
• Use simplified language and writing styles to aid understanding and consistent interpretations of its requirements.

My company has ISO 9001 or is considering ISO 9001

There will be a transition period, typically two years for companies already registered to ISO 9001:2008 to transition to the new standard before it is out of date.

For companies considering ISO 9001, the current version ISO 9001:2008 will remain valid and companies will continue to be certified and re-certified to this version until the new version is published.

For companies transiting to the new versions of the ISO Standards to include 9001 and 14001 when published, Mabbett IMS specialists will be able to advise your company on the new standard and revisions from the previous standard and support with implementation of the changes.

For more information, please contact Jamie Roddie, Senior Environmental Consultant via email roddie@mabbett.eu.