All ISO standards are periodically reviewed to take into account such changes as technological advances, new methods and materials, additional safety requirements and considerations or clarification of questions regarding interpretation and application.The update to ISO 9001 was released on November 14, 2008 and the update to ISO 9004 is scheduled to be released next year.
Quality Management ISO 9001:2008
ISO 9001:2008 was released in November 2008. This new edition contains no new requirements and primarily clarifies existing requirements of 9001:2000 as well as improving consistency with the environmental management system standard, ISO 14000:2004.
What does this mean for you, if you are already registered to ISO 9001:2000?
In reality there will be little impact, it seems that the changes to the standard are very small. It will replace ISO 9001:2000 but each organization will be given approximately one year after its publication to make any updates. There should not be any major disruption to your organization or your registration and your client manager will guide you through the process.
Read more about ISO 9001:2008.
Quality Management ISO 9004
Unlike ISO 9001, ISO 9004 is likely to undergo a number of significant changes. The proposed updates focus on the economic sustainability of an organization. The current suggested title is "Managing for Sustainable Success – a Quality Management Approach."
Due to the significant changes this standard will no longer be updated at the same time as ISO 9001 and its planned publication is the end of 2009. In the meantime, until the publication of this version, the current ISO 9004:2000 will remain alongside ISO 9001:2000 and the subsequent ISO 9001:2008 version until the 2009 version is published, when the 2000 version will be withdrawn.
Read an overview of ISO 9001.
