- The forum participants reflect a mix of anticipation and skepticism about the upcoming changes to ISO 9001 and raise questions about the future direction of quality management standards.
- A notable change is including guidance material within ISO 9001 for the first time, aligning it with other Management System Standards.
- Some participants were critical of ISO’s approach, viewing these changes as symptomatic of a trend toward overreach and a move away from the fundamentals of quality management.
This forum discussion centered around the revision of ISO 9001, following the SC2 plenary meeting in October 2023 and the first meeting of Work Group 29 in December 2023. The forum participants reflect a mix of anticipation and skepticism about the upcoming changes to ISO 9001 and raise questions about the future direction of quality management standards.
The design specification for the revision of ISO 9001 has been approved, with the scope of the standard remaining unchanged. The revision process will be carried out in conjunction with the revision of ISO 9000, ensuring coherence in quality management concepts and principles. The ISO Online Standards Development platform will be utilized for these revisions.
A notable change is including guidance material within ISO 9001 for the first time, aligning it with other Management System Standards. Additionally, Clause 4 of ISO 9001 is being amended to include considerations for climate change following a resolution by the ISO Technical Management Board. This amendment will require organizations to determine the relevance of climate change to their operations.
Forum participants expressed varied reactions to these changes. Some saw the inclusion of climate change as a significant expansion of ISO 9001’s scope, questioning its relevance to quality management. Others raised concerns about the potential for these changes to lead to vague and open-ended interpretations.
There were suggestions that the revisions might not align with other standards derived from ISO 9001, such as AS9100 or IATF 16949, potentially leading to calls for their decoupling from ISO 9001. The overall sentiment was that including broad issues like climate change might dilute the focus of the standard and overcomplicate the quality management process.
Some participants were critical of ISO’s approach, viewing these changes as symptomatic of a trend toward overreach and a move away from the fundamentals of quality management. The discussion also touched on the potential need for separate standards for manufacturing and service organizations, reflecting their unique challenges and risks. However, there was no consensus on this, with some arguing for integrating service-specific requirements into ISO 9001.
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