Organizations are running out of time to transition to ISO 9001:2015 and 14001:2015

Is your organization certified against ISO 9001:2008 or ISO 14001:2004?

If so, you need to put in place arrangements to upgrade to the latest versions.

Come September 2018, the older versions of these standards (the quality management standard ISO 9001:2008 and the environmental management standard ISO 14001:2004) will no longer be valid. Organizations who have not updated to the 2015 versions will be forced to seek certification from scratch, a process which takes considerably more time and money than a transition.

Can I not wait until nearer the time to start worrying about recertification?

The question we would encourage you to ask yourself is – why would you want to wait?

Back in 2015 when the new standards were released, The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recommended that organizations upgraded their management systems to fit the new standards as soon as possible, thinking many companies would delay, as 3 years was such a long time away.

Well, the time is now upon us and there are now only months left until the deadline for ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015.

Furthermore, the process of transition itself - including identifying and implementing the necessary changes – will require time and effort. We recommend 3 to 6 months to have your changes fully developed and implemented, so start making arrangements today.

Is this not just about getting a new certificate?

It’s not all about having the certificate.
The process of achieving certification to updated standards will bring about improvements across your organization. Done well, ISO 9001:2015 can and will help businesses be more efficient, save money and improve customer satisfaction. ISO 14001:2015 improves environmental performance, helping create competitive advantage through more efficient use of resources.

In addition, the new versions of the standards are aligned through a new high level structure called Annex SL, which makes running your system against the new standard much easier.

The certificates are really just proof to clients and potential clients that you have gone through the rigours of the process!

Can I just get one of my people to do this for me?

It is important to demonstrate leadership commitment, as it sets the standard for the rest of the organization to follow. There may well be people in the organization who are best placed to put the arrangements in place but this must be done with your active involvement.

Experience tells us nothing ever goes exactly to plan. Start now and in the event that your 2015 transition meets an obstacle - by perhaps clashing with another priority - you will thank yourself for not leaving it until the last minute.

About the Author

Chris Docherty

Chris is the facilitator for PLUS Specialty Training’s ISO9001:2015 Transition Training and Data Analytics

Chris Docherty is a leading trainer and consultant in Quality Management with a career spanning more than 27 years focused on Quality Control, Quality Assurance and Risk Based Quality Management. Chris spent 20 years of his career as a Quality Engineer / Manager / Senior Manager working across the globe for large blue chip organizations such as Motorola and Samsung, before taking over as Managing Director of a leading Quality consultancy and training organization in the UK.

His expertise has seen him work across a multitude of industries, starting out in the Electronics Engineering industry, where he spent much of his career in the US and Far East, before moving in to general Engineering and being responsible for more than 70 Quality Engineers working across the globe in every continent. Recently, Chris has used his skills to work within the Energy Sectors, Manufacturing, Steel and many others.

Chris has delivered training to thousands of participants from production floor workers through to top level executives and has been highly rated for bringing true life experience to the training room, with numerous recent examples and case studies from consulting on the ISO 9001:2015 standard.