ISO 9001: 2008 Deadline is nearing

A new version of ISO 9001 (ISO 9001:2008), the world's most widely used quality management system standard, was published on November 14th 2008 and is now available.The changes to the standard are considered to be small and fairly insignificant with few changes being required to most organizations management systems. This is the first change that has been made since the 2000 version was published. The details of all of the changes are clearly documented in Annex B of the new standard.

After eight years of implementing experience of 9001:2000, this revision provides clarifications to the existing requirements and introduces changes intended to improve consistency with ISO 14001:2004 standard for environmental management systems.
The level of changes reflect the feedback taken from users which shows the standard has been well received and found the process approach to be both useful and beneficial to their organizations. However, any change to what is the world’s most used standard means that there will need to be some changes made to management systems.The series of questions and answers below should help answer questions about your existing or future certification. ISO 9001:2008 Questions and Answers
Questions
Answers
When was the standard published?
November 15th, 2008
Where can copies of the new standard be purchased from?
Contact BSI today at 1-888-429-6178orPurchase a copy online at: http://orders.ceem.com/showitemlist.asp?category=39&epslanguage=EN-US
Will BSI MS be providing training for clients on the changes?
Yes through an e-learning package: http://www.bsiamerica.com/en-us/Training/Course-areas/Quality/

How will BSI MS help our clients through the implementation from the 2000 to the 2008 version of the standard?
The implementation (transition) period for this standard will be a total of 2 years from 15th November 2008 until the 14th November 2010. Clients must be compliant with the new standard by the end of this period. This will be carried out through initial, surveillance and recertification audits.

The joint IAF-ISO Communiqué states:“Validity of certifications to ISO 9001:2000One year after publication of ISO 9001:2008 all accredited certifications issued (new certifications or recertifications) shall be to ISO 9001:2008.Twenty four months after publication by ISO of ISO 9001:2008, any existing certification issued to ISO 9001:2000 shall not be valid.”What this means is that from November 15th 2008 until November 14th 2009 a new client requiring an initial audit or an existing client requiring a recertification audit have the option of electing to be audited to ISO 9001:2000 or ISO 9001:2008. However, after November 14th 2009 ALL new certifications or recertifications shall be to ISO 9001:2008. Those clients who will only be subjected to surveillance audits during the period November 15th 2008 until November 14th 2010 can select any surveillance audit to be the one used for demonstration of implementation to the new standard.Any client who has not implemented ISO 9001:2008 by November 14th 2010 will have their certification withdrawn as it will no longer be valid.Consequently, sales staff will need to have careful discussions with new clients about the risks involved if they insist on being audited up to November 14th 2009 to the existing ISO 9001:2000 standard. Client Managers will need to carefully plan their audits and both will need to be very aware of the cycle of surveillance selected by their prospective/existing clients as those selecting a 12 month surveillance cycle will most likely only have one opportunity to implement prior to the November 14th 2010 deadline. Planning will be of the utmost importance for new multi-site clients who must complete their initial registration audit for all applicable sites by November 14th 2009.Because of the risks involved with implementation from ISO 9001:2000 BSI MS America, Inc. is encouraging new clients seeking an initial audit after July 1st 2009 to be audited to ISO 9001:2008. However, we are sensitive to the needs of new clients and if you wish to use ISO 9001:2000 after July 1st 2009 until November 14th, 2009 BSI will need to approve such applications on a case by case basis.For existing multisite clients who are not due to have a recertification audit prior to November 14th 2010 any surveillance audit conducted at any site that demonstrates conformance to the requirements of ISO 9001:2008 will be accepted as conformance of the whole multisite certification and a new certificate can be issued to show the new standard. All other sites will then be audited to the new standard per the sampling plan and shall be in conformance with ISO 9001:2008. Based on past experience BSI is encouraging you to move forward with implementation to ISO 9001:2008 in a timely manner between the periods 1st January 2009 to 31st December 2009. This will ensure adequate contingency is allowed for in 2010 for late starters.

When will certificates with the new standard date be issued?
These will be issued following the next surveillance or recertification visit where the client organization is deemed to be compliant with the 2008 version of the standard.
When can BSI start to assess to the new version of the standard?
From publication date of November 15th, 2008 but officially 1st January 2009.
Are there any new requirements?
No. Both ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and the IAF (International Accreditation Forum) have recognized that ISO 9001:2008 introduces no new requirements.
Is there a quick way to implement the differences between the previous standard and ISO 9001:2008?
Yes. Reference Annex B of the new standard which outlines exactly what the differences are.
How much time will be added to an implementation surveillance or recertification audit and will there be any additional cost?
It will not be necessary to add any additional time to your scheduled surveillance or recertification audit to complete the implementation verification to ISO 9001:2008 and hence there will be no additional cost. However, should you request an unscheduled audit for the verification then additional cost will be involved. Your Client Manager or Sales Representative will be able to advise what this cost will be.
Are there any other opportunities that you can take with the introduction of the new standard?
Organizations might like to introduce the 8 management principles as a way of moving ISO 9001 into the board room. The following gives up to date information on the management principles http://www.iso.org/iso/qmp
For ISO 9001 to work effectively it should be introduced into the whole organization.
Ensuring that the process approach is fully integrated into your management system.
Are the processes that you have interactive? You should be aiming at having one management system.
The standard now makes a small but significant reference to ‘Risk’. This is seen as being a major step forward and something that you should concentrate on as having ISO 9001 systems in place helps to ‘control’ your management systems risks to ensure that you meet customers’ requirements.
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