ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System is Published

The new revised version of ISO 9001:2015, the world’s most popular standard for quality management has been published. This is the first major revision of the standard since 2000, it’s been written with today’s business challenges in mind and for organizations of any size across many different industries. 

Since the last major revision in 2000, the way we do business has changed enormously. We all have instant access to information and higher expectations of organizations we work with, whilst having to deal with more complex supply chains and a globally competitive economy. ISO 9001:2015 has been revised to take this into account. The changes to the standard make it flexible enough to offer multiple benefits to organizations not only as a quality management tool but a significant framework for business improvement delivering efficiencies and improving customer satisfaction.

The revised standard incorporates changes following feedback from users and experts around the world and represents the latest best-practice in how to manage and monitor quality across operations. ISO 9001, has benefitted millions of organizations globally - with users reporting increased growth and productivity and significantly higher customer satisfaction and retention. 

Terms crucial to understanding ISO 9001 are defined in ISO 9000, which has also been revised, with both standards published on 23rd September. Some of the key changes include:

• Greater emphasis on building a management system suited to each organization’s particular needs
• A requirement that those at the top of an organization be involved and accountable, aligning quality with wider business strategy
• Risk-based thinking throughout the standard makes the whole management system a preventive tool and encourages continuous improvement
• Less prescriptive requirements for documentation: the organization can now decide what documented information it needs and what format it should be in
• Alignment with other key management system standards through the use of a common structure and core text 

Theuns Kotze, Managing Director for Middle East and Africa at BSI, commented that, “the importance of achieving, maintaining and improving quality within organizations, cannot be emphasized enough. As supply chains become more complex and productivity levels increase, so does the need to ensure all contributing elements are operating to the highest standard. ISO 9001 is the world’s most used management system standard for good reason. It ensures businesses are not just doing ‘enough’, but taking additional steps to further reach their potential. The aim is to become more efficient, reliable and to enhance reputation and trust.”