The new edition of ISO 9001 “Quality Management Systems” was realeased on 22nd September 2015 – issue date 15th September 2015 – which replaces ISO 9001:2008.

For its entering into force, IAF – International Accreditation Forum – has fixed a temporary period of 3 years from issue, as decided by General Assembly during the Seoul meetings of October 2013 (IAF Resolution 2013 – 15).

ISO9001:2015 adjusts itself once again to period. Knowledge has become a key element for the success of numerous projects and for the commercial development. Involved individuals must be completely aware of their role in order for a system to work properly. so the new standard requires:

to identify the necessary knowledge to carry out the activities accurately and reach the settLed goals;

to guarantee the knowledge to be maintained, protected and made available when necessary in order to anticipate the knowledge evolution needs and to reduce the risk of failing to obtain it in due time.

WHAT CHANGES FOR COMPANIES?

As a whole, this renovation does not change neither the basis nor the need of the standard. Nevertheless, if you look at it in the details, the form has developped to respect this new decomposition and the sequence of subjects. With this new and common structure, the ISO goal is to facilitate for companies and organisations the integration of the whole or of part of the different management systems and to obtain a united management system.

The standard renovation has taken into consideration the economy and companies evolution. Initially structured for manufacturing and industrial activities, ISO9001 was victim of its success and numerous organisations coming from other activitY fields has taken possession of it.

ISO9001-2015 revision accounts for this evolution and its update makes easy its implement for all the sectors, among which the services, with the choices of vocabulary but also with the abstraction level.

Among the most relevant points, we can note that:

Risk management becomes a cornerstone of the standard

The risk management with a “risk based” approach becomes a fundamental element of the revised standard: the risks identification, their qualification, their management. The quality is a result of the correct risks management, which go beyond the offered product and service perimeter: quality cannot exist if you cannot offer the customer a compliant long term product and service.
Leadership

Quality care through a responsible and visible leadership is reinforced

• the concept of “Management Delegate” disappears at all;
• quality policy and defined goals must be adjusted with the strategic guidelines;

In the end, ISO9001 revision tends to see a Quality Management System which considers the reduction of the risks connected with variability and complexity of the context in which the company works as the BASIC goal to pursue towards the Customer and the interested parts, so to give value to the goods and the offer services. Therefore companies will have to prove they offer sustainability so to guarantee all the interested parties.