Stirling BC Transitions to ISO 9001:2015

Stirling BC is proud to announce that after much preparation, on 8 November this year, we completed a successful transition of our quality management system to the new ISO 9001:2015 standard.

 

As many organisations have done, we organised with our certifying body, Global-Mark, to complete the transition audit in line with our normal audit schedule.  After completing our transition audit, we were thrilled to receive our new certificate a short time later – click here to view it.

 

Although our audit was smooth and stress-free, a lot of preparation went into Stirling BC’s transition.  We completely rewrote our quality manual and policy, restructured our system of setting objectives, replaced many of our procedures to reflect the new standard, and so on.  In short, this is not a process to be underestimated!  With that in mind, we have compiled our top tips to assist with achieving a smooth transition to ISO 9001:2015 below.

 

Tip #1: Understand the changes.

It’s tough to comply with requirements when you don’t know what they are.  If you’re thinking of transitioning in the near future – and if you’re currently certified to ISO 9001:2008 and want to maintain certification, you should be – buy yourself a copy of the new standard, and start reading.  ISO 9001:2015 is a wider-ranging, more comprehensive standard than its predecessor.  For this reason, we believe that it’s a much more effective standard that can bring greater benefits – but only if understood and dependably complied with.  Get to know the new standard, update/rewrite your system to suit it, and the benefits to your organisation can be enormous – not to mention, your audit should be a lot less stressful!

 

Tip #2: Embrace the changes.

Rather than seeing the changes to the standard as an inconvenience, try to understand why they have been made.  On a whole, the changes are hugely beneficial to organisations if followed in the spirit of the standard – and they just make plain sense.  Some examples are the following:

• Context of the organisation, and risk-based thinking.

Organisations are now required to take into account the context in which the organisation operates.  This means both the internal and external issues that can affect the organisation must be determined, and risks and opportunities stemming from them must be addressed.  In short, work out where your organisation sits within the grand scheme of things, and plan to mitigate risks and take advantage of opportunities that stem from this.  What organisation wouldn’t want to be doing that already?

• Interested parties

The needs and expectations of interested parties – not just customers – must be determined, monitored and reviewed.  This is because in reality, interested parties can have significant effects on organisations: suppliers, workers, statutory and regulatory bodies, shareholders, customers, the public … the list goes on.  By knowing their needs and expectations, and anticipating changes, organisations can better plan organisational quality, and business viability, into the future.

• Structure.

The new standard has 10 major clauses instead of eight.  Needless to say, this new structure, which is based on the new “High Level Structure” (or Annex SL) that ISO has put in place to make integration of systems easier, will have implications on the way your system is organised.  For example, if your current system is set out to reflect the clause numbering of ISO 9001:2008, this will need to be updated (although technically the new standard does not require a manual).  There’s also some changes and additions in the new structure, including but certainly not limited to those we’ve already outlined.

 

Tip #3: Prepare, prepare, prepare.

As outlined above, ISO 9001:2015 has some distinct differences from ISO 9001:2008, and transition should not be taken lightly.  Preparation is the key.  We recommend writing a transition plan which outlines key tasks to be completed, along with a timeline for completion of the transition.  We recommend commencing transition at least six months before you plan to have your transition audit – this way, by the time your audit rolls around, you’ll have ironed out the kinks in the new system, you will have evidence of processes being in place, and most importantly, you’ll understand how the new system works and its processes interact.

 

Tip #4: Make sure you have adequate resources.

Make no mistake: you will need resources in order to amend your system to comply with the new standard.  Although a good ISO 9001:2008 system is a great start, changes will need to be made to comply with ISO 9001:2015.  At a minimum, we recommend you rewrite or considerably amend your manual; revisit your procedures to ensure they comply with the new requirements; determine and document your internal and external risks and opportunities, determine and document your interested parties; complete a full internal audit of your new system, and so on.  You might like to engage Stirling BC if you think your internal resources will not be sufficient.

 

So overall, Stirling BC is proud to have joined the ISO 9001:2015 club.  If you’d like to get on board too, start planning now.  If you need assistance, from a day’s guidance to a full new system, contact us – we’d love to help.