Readers of this blog will be aware that the deadline for transition of 9001 and 14001 is 14 September 2018 and know that there are quite a few companies leaving this to the last minute.
There is yet another spanner in the works in that certification bodies have been told that they may not carry out any new certifications or surveillance visits to the old standards after March 2018. This has effectively moved the goalposts again.
Any Organisation planning to have a 2008/2004 surveillance in the second quarter of 2018 is going to find out that this is not possible and the assessor will be obliged to audit to the 2015 standards. This will inevitably result in non-conformities and if these are classified as majors then a return visit may be required. Not only will this be inconvenient it can be costly.
We are recommending our few remaining clients that have not transitioned to make all efforts to do so before March next year.
We are getting a number of new clients that have yet to transition and are finding the way that the standards have been written is confusing and at face value contradicts the way that organisations have been working. The removal of the requirement for a Management Representative has caused some concern amongst Quality & Environment Managers who mistakenly believe that they are no longer needed. The function carried out by these managers still exists but the responsibility moved upwards to Top Management.
In addition, the requirement for a Quality and/or Environmental Manual also has been confusing. The Standard says that these are not needed but documented information is required. Most of my clients have retained many of their previous systems and adjusted them to meet the requirements of the new standards.
We are here to advise if required.
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