Issue 108 – Does ISO Re-Certification mean you can take a 3 year break?
ISO 9001:2015…
Does ISO Re-Certification mean you can take a 3 year break?
I appreciate receiving emails with questions and/or comments from readers of this Newsletter… please continue to do so since it provides me with ideas on what these publications should cover. In my last Newsletter (ISO 9001:2015 Newsletter Issue 107) we discussed the topic of “Can working remotely affect your Quality system?”, and now in this Newsletter we will discuss “Does ISO Re-Certification mean you can take a 3 year break?”.
The ISO 9001:2015 Element numbering…
Element 4 – Context of the organization
Element 5 – Leadership
Element 6 – Planning
Element 7 – Support
Element 8 – Operation
Element 9 – Performance evaluation
Element 10 – Improvement
Does ISO Re-Certification mean you can take a 3 year break?… When the last revision to ISO 9001 came out on Sept 15, 2015, organizations were given a maximum of 3 years to upgrade their QMS… and many waited until then (2018) to do so since it was a big change. Now 3 years after that, all of those companies are now in the middle of getting re-certified for another 3 year term… which is why the topic of this Newsletter was chosen. So the short answer to the question (Does ISO Re-Certification mean you can take a 3 year break?) is NO. Amazingly enough I run across individuals in many organizations who believe that their QMS runs on auto-pilot between re-certification audits that occur on a 3 year cycle. Even though most of my Newsletter Readers understand why this assumption is wrong, I wanted to take a moment to explain why.
Keep in mind that when your QMS gets certified to the ISO 9001:2015 Standard, it means that an independent, 3rd party agency has verified that your “System to Manage Quality” (your QMS) complies with all of the “shall” requirements contained within this Standard. This assessment is based on taking a snapshot of your business activities at a particular point in time. If the organization is successful as a result of this assessment, the ISO Registrar (or ISO Certification Body) issues a certificate with a 3 year expiry date. The ISO Registrar then schedules two (2) follow-up annual visits, called surveillance audits, where a portion of your QMS will be re-checked, and then in the 3rd year, a complete assessment, of ALL of the parts of your QMS, is conducted and the cycle starts again.
Unlike a “product”, a “system” changes and evolves over time which means the organization has to constantly monitor and review how the QMS is operating… every day… every week… every month… every year. There are many ways to keep an eye on the health of your QMS, such as regular Management Reviews and Internal Audits, both of which are really a self-check in order to uncover surprises before the Customer sees them. If as a result of your monitoring systems you discover that “Quality” begins to suffer, you then make course corrections to get back on track… because that is what your Customers expect from you. That’s why you just can’t hit the snooze button for 3 years, after successfully completing your re-certification audit!
Be sure to watch for our next Newsletter issue where I will be answering some of the questions that I get from Readers of my Newsletters about how to implement the requirements of ISO 9001:2015 in a specific and practical way, that will also help improve business performance…
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Need Help?
ISO 9001:2015 Internal Audit Outsourcing (we can do it for you OR with you!)
For cost effectiveness, the Internal Audit function can be outsourced to an external experienced auditor on a periodic basis. This will provide an independent and objective assessment to management, of where process issues may exist, along with identifying opportunities for improvement. It will also provide the evidence needed to satisfy the Internal Audit requirements in the ISO Standards. We have used two different approaches with this service: a) We conduct the entire audit ourselves, or b) We act as the lead auditor, and along with your Team of internal auditors, we complete the entire audit together. This latter approach allows your people to receive guidance and direction from an experienced lead auditor while at the same time maintaining significant involvement in the internal audit process.
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Internal Process Auditor Training for ISO 9001:2015
The two (2) day Internal Process Auditing for ISO 9001:2015 Training Session is focused on a process approach to auditing with the objective being not only to assess conformance of the quality management system, but also to uncover process improvements during an audit. This goes hand in hand with the process auditing requirements found within ISO 19011 and the process approach covered in ISO 9001:2015, which promotes continual process improvement throughout this Standard. An enhanced checklist is developed, and there will be workshops throughout, to reinforce learning, as well as a live, practice audit. If you are looking to meet the ISO 9001:2015 internal audit requirements and to “raise the bar” for your internal audit program then this is the course you should consider.
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Until next time…
Tim Renaud
Helping Business Professionals Reduce Risk and Remove Waste!