Be prepared for changes to ISO standards

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) are due to release changes to ISO 9001 for Quality Management Systems and ISO 14001 for Environmental Management Systems.

Those members who currently have either of these certifications or are in the process of going for the standard will soon be subject to proposed changes from the current 2008 and 2004 requirements respectively to the 2015 versions.

The ISO 14001 revision has now moved to Final Draft International Stage (FDIS) and is expected for publication in September, whereas the ISO 9001 revision is almost at this stage and is expected by the end of 2015.

There will then be a 'honeymoon' transition period, which is planned to give businesses a three year window to ensure that any of the required changes are made to your procedures.

It is believed that the certification bodies who approve your accreditation will integrate the changes made in the new requirements during your organisation's next three-year recertification audit. Your accreditation auditor will inform you of this prior to their next planned audit of your system, but it may be prudent to contact them in advance.

The main changes are listed below:

ISO 9001	ISO 14001
10-clause structure and core text for all Management System Standards (MSS)	Increased prominence of environmental management within the organisation's strategic planning processes
More compatible with services and non-manufacturing users	Greater focus on leadership
Clearer understanding of the organisation's context is required "one size doesn't fit all"	Addition of proactive initiatives to protect the environment from harm and degradation, such as sustainable resource use and climate change mitigation
Process approach strengthened/more explicit	Improving environmental performance added
Concept of preventive action now addressed throughout the standard by risk identification and mitigation	Lifecycle thinking when considering environmental aspects
The term documented information replaces the terms document and record	Addition of a communications strategy
Control of externally provided products and services replaces purchasing/outsourcing
Increased emphasis on seeking opportunities for improvement

All auditors and those putting your system in place or maintaining it will be expected to ensure they are fully aware of the changes and the precise meaning of the new requirements to avoid confusion when comparing the new version with a business's current procedures and practices.

Gap analysis enables a company to be informed and ready to implement an action plan for going forward and being compliant with the 2015 update requirements. Rather than treating the gap analysis as a box ticking exercise, you can use these changes to see where you can add value to growing your activities, products and the services you provide.

For more information on gap analysis, please feel free to contact your Regional Director who will be pleased to assist you.

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