Issue 139 – The new ISO 9001:2026 is now published!… Good news or bad?
ISO 9001:2026…
The new ISO 9001:2026 now published!… Good news or bad?
I appreciate receiving emails with questions and/or comments from readers of this Newsletter… please continue to do so since it provides me with direction on where to aim the content of these publications. In my last Newsletter (ISO 9001:2015 Newsletter Issue 138) we discussed the topic of “Do blank Forms need to be reviewed the same way that Procedures do?”, and now in this Newsletter we will discuss “The new ISO 9001:2026 is now published!… Good news or bad?”.
The ISO 9001:2026 Element numbering… (!!! NO CHANGES TO THE NUMBERING FORMAT !!!)
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
New ISO 9001:2026 Published!… Good news or bad?… The newly revised ISO 9001:2026 was published on September 16, 2026 and they are allowing organizations three (3) years to transition to this revised Standard. After conducting a thorough review of all of the changes, it appears this revision is a bit of a mixed bag. Within Elements 4.0 through to 10.0, I counted approximately 151 new areas that have been added, and about 112 parts that were deleted.
My overall impression is that the changes are really not that dramatic, and in many cases it was primarily just wordsmithing of the existing requirements. BTW, they finally realized that the old Clause 10.1 (General ) and Clause 10.3 (Continual Improvement) were really duplicates and have collapsed both into one new Clause 10.1 (now called Continual Improvement) and dropped the old Clause 10.3 altogether.
Th old 2015 version brought in the term “risk-based thinking”… and this new 2026 edition has introduced three new concepts, “Opportunity-based thinking“, “Quality Culture” and “Ethical behaviour“… stay tuned for my next Newsletter where we will explore what each of these terms mean… and how they can be applied within your organization.
Next steps?… Most ISO Registrars and ISO Certification Bodies (CBs) will require that some type of training be conducted within organizations who want to be certified to the newly revised ISO 9001:2026 Standard. The type of training can range from auditor training, to understanding of the changes themselves, to QMS documentation development/revision training.
All previous versions of the ISO 9001 Standard (including this new one) have never required that organizations receive outside, formal training, even though CBs like to push it (see my previous Newsletter ISO 9001:2015 Newsletter Issue 128). However, if you think you’d like assistance with training your employees then likely your Inbox will be inundated with all sorts of offers. Keep in mind that publicly offered training sessions will by definition be generic and vanilla flavored, so as to cover many industries, and not yours specifically… so don’t forget… “the devil is in the details”.
Over the past many years, when the ISO 9001 Standard has been revised, I have provided training for my Clients, which has always been customized to their specific QMS requirements. I plan to do this again with this newly revised ISO 9001:2026 Standard. This training will be offered both onsite at the company’s premises, and/or delivered remotely. I have had good success with “remote” training because it allows the training to be split into smaller segments which accommodates work loads and schedules.
TRAINING OPTIONS?…
The training modules will be divided into:
a) Overview of the changes to the ISO 9001:2026 Standard + a Gap Analysis;
b) QMS Documentation Revision Training;
c) Auditor Refresher Training.
This training will be available either as remote sessions, or as onsite sessions (…feel free to reach out if you have any questions). More details about these training sessions are described below.
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 9001:2026 in a specific and practical way, that will also help improve business performance.
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Need Help?
ISO 9001:2026 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 yourself, or your Team of internal auditors, we complete the entire audit together. This latter approach allows you and 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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Auditor Refresher Training for ISO 9001:2026
The one (1) day ISO 9001:2026 Internal Auditor Refresher Training Session is designed to provide employees with the knowledge and practical skills needed to effectively conduct internal audits of their Quality Management System (QMS). The course emphasizes a process-based approach to auditing, enabling participants to assess conformity with the ISO 9001:2026 requirements while also identifying opportunities for continual improvement within your organization. The training incorporates the auditing principles and guidance of ISO 19011, together with the process approach promoted by the ISO 9001:2026 Standard.
Participants will learn how to plan and conduct effective process audits, gather objective evidence, identify any nonconformances, and recognize opportunities for process improvement. Throughout the session, attendees will develop an audit checklist and participate in practical workshops designed to reinforce learning and build confidence in applying audit techniques.
If your organization is looking to satisfy the internal audit competency requirements of ISO 9001:2026, this refresher training provides an effective and practical solution. The course can be delivered either remotely or onsite at your facility. A Training Certificate is provided to each participant, and the training is available for groups ranging from two (2) to eight (8) attendees for the training session minimum charge.
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The one (1) day ISO 9001:2026 Overview of the Changes + Gap Analysis Training Session is focused on providing employees with a clear understanding of the revisions introduced in ISO 9001:2026 and how those changes may impact your organization’s Quality Management System (QMS). Each Clause of the new Standard is reviewed and compared with the previous version, highlighting the specific changes, new requirements, clarifications, and areas requiring attention. Throughout the session, participants will complete gap analysis workshops to evaluate the organization’s existing QMS against the revised requirements.
These workshops help identify two common types of gaps. The first occurs when an existing practice, activity, or process already meets the intent of the new requirement but is not adequately documented within the QMS. In these cases, the focus is on updating documentation to accurately reflect current practices. The second type of gap exists when a required practice or process is not currently in place. These gaps require the organization to develop and implement new processes, document them appropriately, provide the necessary training, and integrate them into the QMS before transitioning to ISO 9001:2026.
By the end of the training, participants will have a solid understanding of the ISO 9001:2026 requirements, a practical roadmap for addressing identified gaps, and the knowledge needed to plan a successful transition to the revised Standard. The course can be delivered either remotely or onsite at your facility. A Training Certificate is provided to each participant, and the training is available for groups ranging from two (2) to eight (8) attendees for the training session minimum charge.
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The one (1) day ISO 9001:2026 QMS Documentation Revision Training Session is designed to provide employees with the knowledge required to update their organization’s Quality Management System (QMS) documentation to meet the requirements of ISO 9001:2026. Building upon the results of a gap analysis, participants will learn how to effectively revise existing documentation and develop new documented information where required.
Throughout the session, participants will review each identified gap and determine the most appropriate method for addressing it. Where current practices already satisfy the intent of the revised Standard, the focus will be on updating procedures, work instructions, forms, and other documented information to accurately reflect existing processes and ensure conformance with ISO 9001:2026.
Where new or revised requirements require changes to the organization’s operations, participants will learn how to design, document, plan the implementation of any new processes, as well as identifying any training required to successfully integrate the revised processes into the QMS.
Practical workshops are conducted throughout the course, allowing participants to begin revising their own QMS documentation during the training session. By the end of the day, attendees will have a clear roadmap for completing the documentation updates required to support a successful transition to ISO 9001:2026.
This course is ideal for those individuals responsible for maintaining QMS documentation. Training can be delivered either remotely or onsite at your facility. A Training Certificate is provided to each participant, and the course is available for groups ranging from two (2) to eight (8) attendees for the training session minimum charge.
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Until next time…
Tim Renaud
Helping Business Professionals Reduce Risk and Remove Waste!