Every business needs processes and procedures to be shared and formalized for ongoing success. Any organisation that does not have a Quality Management System in place should adopt one and assess it against the global best practice that has resulted in the development of ISO 9001.
How it benefits businesses?
Some key benefits of the standard are:
- Improves consistency of outputs
- Lowers costs
- Motivates employees to work towards objectives
- Drives internal innovation and creativity
- Prevents internal miscommunication
- Enables the organisation to react quickly to opportunities
Why the update?
Every 3-5 years the standard goes through a revision process. In September 2015 the new revision is launched aligning the standard to the latest industry and consumer demands and trends.
The standard is updated in order to:- Adapt to a changing world
- Reflect the increasingly complex environments in which organisations operate
- Provide a consistent foundation for the future
- Ensure alignment with other management system standards
Key changes
Some of the key changes in the standard are:
- Enhanced leadership involvement in the management system
- The concept of risk based thinking and preventive action is now addressed throughout the standard
- Simplified language, common structure and terms
- Aligning the quality management standard policy and objectives with the strategy of the organisation
For a more comprehensive overview of the changes, please see the presentation "New ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 – Key changes and transition" below.