In September 2015, the newly revised ISO9001 Standard for Quality Management Systems, will supersede the 2008 version. The revised standard does contain a number of changes which will need to be addressed. Namely:
i)The adoption of a ‘Higher Level Structure’ (HLS) as set out in the ISO Directives Part1. This basically requires more of a strategic look at what the organisation does, and how best to make the most out of its strengths.
ii)An explicit requirement for risk-based thinking to support and improvethe understanding and application of the processapproach.
iii)Fewer prescribedrequirements.
iv)Less emphasis ondocuments.
v)Improved applicability forservices.
vi)A requirement to define the boundaries of theQMS.
vii)Increased emphasis on organizationalcontext.
viii)Increased leadership requirements.
ix)Greater emphasis on achieving desired outcomes to improvecustomer satisfaction.
2.0.Basic Transition Period
As with all previous revisions to this standard, Certified companies have three years in which to become fully aligned with the new requirements, although I would suggest that as before, Certification Bodies will prefer the transition to be made sooner rather than later!
3.0.Key Transition Strategy
I believe there are five main actions to be completed:
i)Identify organizational gaps which need to be addressed to meetnew requirements.
ii)Develop an implementationplan.
iii)Provide appropriate training and awareness for all parties that havean impact on the effectiveness of theorganisation.
iv)Update the existing quality management system (QMS) to meet therevised requirements and provide verification ofeffectiveness.
v)Where applicable, liaise with their Certification Body fortransition arrangements.
4.0.Other Considerations
I believe the reduced emphasis on documentation in the new standard, represents a great opportunity to thin down existing systems, replace ‘wordy’ procedures with more dynamic flow charting and move away from hard copy documents into more intranet/PC based systems.