Speaking about changes to ISO 9001 at the CESA Conference

I was recently honoured to be invited to speak at the CESA Conference 2014. The conference for the Catering Equipment Supplying Association is an esteemed affair, encompassing all areas of the trade whether you are manufacturers, dealers or consultants involved with catering equipment, or an operator working in foodservice or hospitality.

CESA says the Conference is, “a unique opportunity to, add your voice and influence the debate on the way forward, network with over 200 of the industry’s leading players and find out the very latest industry thinking from speakers at the heart of the issues.”

http://cesaconference2014.co.uk/

As one of those speakers, the heart of the issue I wanted to highlight was in the forthcoming updates to ISO 9001 Quality Standard.

Qualitation are consultants, designed to help your business achieve Quality Management Certification and maintain them long term through our Quality Management Auditing.

So, what’s happening in the next 12 months?

The ISO 9001 Quality standard is adopting a number of changes, but what does this mean and who will it affect?

These changes embody the new framework for a generic management system. The basic adjustments to the framework are highlighted here:

Adapting the scope of its reach to a wider scope including external aspects
Moving to ‘Documented Information’ – not just service manuals
Giving greater control of externally provided products / services, including those from associated suppliers
Adapting the approach to organisation within the company, allowing your wording to be used
Leadership changes include senior engagement, not delegation to others
Risk based approach – allowing companies to demonstrate coverage

Now what?

The move to documented information does not require the destruction of manuals and procedures. Keep them in place and use them to refer back to, but remember this is not the only way to do this. There are other ways to integrate…

No need to re-write your own framework, as long as it is clear.
No need to re-number your existing systems either, just ensure you can reference the new standard appropriately
Don’t restructure the management of self assessing your quality standards. Simply check you are compliant with the requirements
And most importantly, don’t remove Management Representatives, they are still vital even with less delegation, but some tasks will fall to senior management

As you can see, there are changes afoot, but with very little impact on your current systems you should be able to integrate easily. The Chartered Quality Institute has commented that the 3 year transition period allowed for by the ISO, may seem like a long time given the changes are relatively simple, but organisations are warned not to be tempted to leave them to the last minute. The sooner you can move over to the newly revised Quality Standard the better – for you, your personnel and your company.

If you require advice on gaining Quality Standards, or making the changes from your existing systems, give us a call or drop us a line and we will be happy to talk you through it.

Contact

Carl Kruger on

0845 600 6975

enquiries@qualitation.co.uk