ISO 9001:2015 – What’s Changed

You’d have to have been living under a rock not to have noticed that ISO 9001:2015 is changing. New standards, and changes to old ones brought into play from September, will focus more on the changes technology has made possible when it comes to quality, and to accommodate the changes in international trade brought about by the dropping of trade barriers. More companies than ever before are trading overseas, and because of the complexity of supply chains arising from this, ISO 9001:2015 has been developed to achieve new expectations from both domestic and international partners.

The devil is in the details

As far as figures go, the transition doesn’t look too scary. ISO 9001:2015 has 1 less principle, 2 more clauses, and the same number of mandatory records. One significant change however, is the referral to “mandatory procedures”. This has been amended to mandatory documents, which don’t necessarily have to by procedural in context. However, there will be a holistic spreading of the responsibilities of quality management that span entire organisations, including some focused on top level management. This will include performance monitoring, control of external provisions, and the QMS scope. As with the amendments to ISO 14001, the main changes reflect the context of the organisation, risks and opportunities and interested parties.

Context of the organisation

As far as context of the organisation is concerned, this revision is meant to focus on the differences between businesses, and apply the QMS to the specific organisation to ensure that internally and externally, structure is focused and specific influences and outcomes are considered.

Risks and Opportunities

ISO 9001:2015 considers the identity of risks and opportunities imperative to QMS as through risk identification, new opportunities for improvement can be found and made. This highlights the need for businesses to be on a course for continual improvement, something that is inherent to ISO 9001.

Interested Parties

As with ISO 14001:2015 changes, a holistic approach to quality is required, in order that all interested parties, whether suppliers, customers or other stakeholders are working towards the same goals.

The benefits

It’s clear to see with a more sound structure that caters to every business in a very specific way, ISO 9001:2015 will have benefits to those wishing to gain accreditation. Promised benefits will include the additional responsibilities that come with considering risk, ensuring the organisation can adapt to changing environments, spreading the responsibility or quality to cover the whole organisation, yet bringing more top level management into the quality circle, and better agility when it comes to integrating quality into existing activities.

Interested in attaining ISO 9001:2015?

If you’re working under the standards of ISO 9001’s 2008 revision, you’ve still plenty of time to transition. ISO 9001:2015 can be given to businesses any time now, but businesses looking to transition have until September 2018 to do so.

Of course, considering the needs of the business, and the benefits that can be achieved by transitioning early, we’re happy to report that we have space to accommodate businesses that want to attain ISO 9001:2015 for the first time, or that want to transition over from ISO 9001:2008. If you’re interested in talking to us about your quality management certification, then why not call us on 01484 817 444 or alternatively, email [email protected] and we’ll be happy to help you out.