Following on from last week's big news (the ISO 14001 standard receiving its first update in over a decade), we're excited to announce that the latest edition of ISO 9001, the international standard for quality management systems, has now been published as well. This new revision, dubbed ISO 9001:2015, was released earlier today, and standards experts the world over are already poring over the changes that have been made.
What's new in ISO 9001:2015?
Here are some of the differences between ISO 9001:2015 and the previous version of this standard:
- Enhanced compatibility with other management systems. One of the main aims of this revision is to make ISO 9001 more compatible with ISO 14001 and other management systems such as ISO 27001. The new version of ISO 9001 has a higher-level structure than its predecessor, making it easier for businesses to use multiple ISO management systems in conjunction with one another.
- Stronger emphasis on "risk-based thinking". Official ISO literature highlights this as one of ISO 9001:2015's core concepts. A risk-conscious approach, the organisation has suggested, will help businesses to prevent "undesirable outcomes".
- Less prescriptive, more performance-based. ISO 9001 has been growing less prescriptive with each new update; over the years, focus has gradually shifted away from rigorous documentation and towards the management process itself. ISO 9001:2015 continues in this tradition, with the revision touted as being less prescriptive than ever.
If you would like to learn more about the ISO 9001 update and what it might mean for your business, please get in touch with NPT Management Systems - we can help you to make sure that your management systems remain fully certified in the wake of this revision.
Image Credit: Isaac Bowen
