One Year to the Deadline: Completing the Transition to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015
Certificates to ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 will no longer be valid after September 2018. With one year left, organisations that have not started need a firm plan.
Key points
- The three-year transition period for both standards ends in September 2018.
- Certification bodies need time after the audit to review and issue the new certificate.
- A realistic plan needs six to nine months for most organisations.
Why the last year matters
The deadline applies to the certificate, not to the audit. The transition audit, the closure of any nonconformities and the certification decision all have to be finished before the old certificate expires, and auditor availability becomes tight in the final months.
A transition plan
- Gap analysis against the 2015 edition
- Training for top management, process owners and internal auditors
- Update of context, interested parties, risks and opportunities
- Internal audit and management review against the new edition
- Transition audit booked with the certification body
Common weak points
Auditors most often find that context and risks were written once for the audit and are not used in planning, that top management cannot explain its role in the system, and that internal auditors still audit against the old clauses.