ISO 9001:2015 Final Draft from the Auditor's Perspective
Communications
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1 minute read
The Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) of ISO 9001:2015, the world’s most popular management system standard, has been released.
This long-anticipated publication is the next stage of the first major revision of the standard since 2000.
Kenny Hannah, SQMC Director of Operations discusses the impact this has for businesses and quality professionals:
“The FDIS brings with it positive changes to a standard that so many organisations, both big and small, and individual auditors are certified against. We believe 9001:2015 is a big improvement on its predecessor, reinforcing process approach first set out in ISO 9001:2000 and adopting Annex SL (the new framework for ISO management systems standards), which will help organisations to streamline their quality management systems and make efficiency improvements and cost savings.
“It is essential that auditors fully understand what is meant by process approach and what is required of them when assessing the implementation of process approaches by organisations - evidence suggests that process approach is still not well understood – so the increased emphasis now added in 9001:2015 will help to inform businesses and auditors of its importance.
“Annex SL is a really positive step forward for international standards as it means there will be greater integration of standards – like quality, health & safety, environment – making them more logical and easier to comprehend and implement. By streamlining standards and their implementation, Annex SL also allows for quicker audits.”
“Auditors already certified against the current ISO 9001:2008 standard will have three years to get themselves certified against ISO 9001:2015.
“SQMC will be holding a series of transition courses that allow auditors to formally learn about the changes in the ISO 9001 standard and receive and IRCA-certified transition certification. We welcome back everyone who has previously certified with us against ISO 9001:2008, offering a £100 discount on this course.
“IRCA also requires auditors to do an additional information day prior to a transition workshop specifically on Annex SL, of which SQMC will also hold a series.
“In addition to the transition courses, all of SQMC’s IRCA-certified auditor courses give a thorough explanation of process approach.
“The FDIS (or Final Draft International Standard) ISO 9001:2015 won’t change significantly from the final published standard, save some grammar amends, so it is already recognised by certification bodies and IRCA.”
