2018: A year of ISO standards revisions and transitions
by Ashleigh Cunningham – Wednesday, 14 February 2018
The ISO industry can expect several interesting changes and challenges, during the course of 2018.
There are a number of standards that have been revised and are impending release in months to come; there are also deadlines for transitioning from compliance of old versions of standards, to the new.
What to expect in 2018
Deadline to transition: ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015
First and foremost, the deadline to transition from the old versions to the new ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 standards are both set for 14 September 2018. This means that all companies complying to previous versions of the standards must update their management system and become recertified.
Missing the deadline to transition would mean beginning the certification process from scratch – starting with a Stage 1 audit. Losing your certification would invariably result in missing out on bids and not meeting customer requirements.
The impending release of standards in 2018
ISO standards are required to face a periodic review, in order to remain relevant to the current market circumstances, the ever advancing world and to adapt according to recommendations and requirements of the people who utilise the standards. The aim is to ensure that the standards remain a useful tool for all types of businesses and organisations around the world.
There are a number of standards that have been under revision and are impending final publication, during the course of 2018. The significance of this is in the fact that many of them have been written against the new High Level Structure (with the exception of ISO 50001).
What's at the heart of the revised standards
The new High Level Structure (HLS), has been a guiding influence for a large majority of the latest revisions and releases of ISO standards. The primary purpose of the HLS is to provide a common framework for the writing of standards – subclause titles, text, common terms and core definitions. Another is to introduce what is called a risk-based approach, which places requirements for the planning and anticipation of risks and opportunities, which are derived from the context of the organisation (identified internal and external factors). The HLS has also been written in such a way as to make it easier for organisations to successfully implement an integrated management system – for instance, a SHEQ system.
Standards expected to be released in 2018
- ISO 19011:2018 Guidelines for auditing management systems
- ISO 22000:2018 Food safety management systems — Requirements for any organization in the food chain
- ISO 31000:2018 Risk management — Principles and guidelines
- ISO 45001:2015 Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements
- ISO 50001:2018 Energy management systems – Requirements with guidance for use
ISO 19011:2018 Guidelines for auditing management systems
The ISO 19011 standard provides the guidelines necessary to perform effective audits – particularly for organisations using an integrated management system. This assists in ensuring continuous improvement, allowing for harmonisation across systems and a uniform approach of the auditing process, where there are multiple systems in place.
The revised version of ISO 19011 is due to be published mid-2018. This comes with the desire to better reflect an organisation’s needs, as well as to integrate the new High Level Structure Framework. The revised standard places a fair amount of focus on the Risk-based approach:
“Risk-based approach: an audit approach that considers risks and opportunities. The risk-based approach should substantively influence the planning, conducting, and reporting of audits in order to ensure that audits are focused on matters that are significant for the auditee and for achieving the audit program objectives.”
ISO 22000:2018 Food safety management systems -- Requirements for any organization in the food chain
The ISO 22000 family of International Standards addresses food safety management.
The latest revision aims to consolidate the most recent issues surrounding food safety to suit the current landscape of the food sector. It will clarify key concepts, improve the readability and usability of the standard, ensure the standard suits the needs of SMEs and be relevant for all actors in the food supply chain. The new standard will also have an increased compatibility with other management system standards, by adopting the HLS common structure and terminology.
ISO 22000:2018 – Expected Changes
The major proposed changes to ISO 22000 include modifications to its structure as well as clarifying key concepts
- The (HLS): making it easier for businesses to integrate multiple management system standards.
- The risk-based approach: The standard will distinguish between risk at the operational level (through the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point approach (HACCP)), as well at the strategic level of the management system and its ability to reach its specified goals as such.
- The PDCA cycle: the standard clarifies the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, by having two separate cycles in the standard working together: one covering the management system and the other, covering the principles of HACCP.
- The operation process: a clear description is given of the differences between key terms such as: Critical Control Points (CCPs), Operational Prerequisite Programmes (OPRPs) and Prerequisite Programmes (PRPs).
If the revision progresses according to plan, the standard will be published in October / November 2018, as ISO 22000:2018.
ISO 31000:2018 Risk management -- Principles and guidelines
The purpose of the revision to ISO 31000 is to make things easier and clearer for people adopting the standard. This is achieved by using a simple language to express the fundamentals of risk management in a way that is coherent and understandable to users.
The standard provides guidelines on the benefits and values of effective and efficient risk management. It should help organisations better understand and deal with the uncertainties they face in the pursuit of their objectives.
The release of the ISO 31000:2018 standard was originally expected in early 2018 but will likely be published later in the year.
ISO 45001:2015 Occupational health and safety management systems - Requirements
ISO 45001 provides a framework to improve employee safety, reduce workplace risks and create better, safer working conditions, all over the world.
The standard is set to follow other generic management system approaches such as ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015. It will take into account other International Standards in the Occupational Health and Safety field, such as OHSAS 18001, the International Labour Organization’s ILO-OSH Guidelines, various national standards and the ILO’s international labour standards and conventions.
The final draft of the standard was approved in January 2018 and final publication is expected in March 2018.
ISO 50001:2018 Energy management systems – Requirements with guidance for use
The ISO 50001 standard has been identified by world leaders as a key tool for climate action. Although not written against the new HLS, this standard specifies requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving an effective Energy Management System. The aim is to enable an organization to follow a systematic approach in achieving continual improvement of energy performance, including energy efficiency, use and consumption.
“There are other improvements in the 2018 version to help ensure that the key concepts related to energy performance are clear for small and mid-sized businesses (SMEs).” – Deann Desai, Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Convenor of the working group.
ISO suggest that “this is important in encouraging uptake of the use of management system standards by SMEs, which sometimes assume that the benefits of International Standards mostly apply to multinational businesses. That’s not the case, with SMEs around the world using ISO standards to build customer confidence and reduce costs across all aspects of their business, including meeting regulation requirements.” – New draft of ISO 50001 energy management standard
Publication of the new edition of ISO 50001 as an International Standard is currently planned for November/December 2018.
How to approach the year
Our previous blog post, spoke about the need for corporate governance, as well as the significant role that ISO standards play in contributing to it and sustainable business practice. We elaborated on the concepts of Good Governance, Risk-based thinking, Sustainability and Leadership.
The task of influencing and driving change within your organisation might be a daunting one but we’d like to express that there are actually ways to take advantage of the benefits offered by the changes. There are also several means by which to make it through the challenges that go in hand with the developments.
Our article on “How to be a better leader in quality: guiding and influencing top management” is a perfect example of this.
ISO also provide a nice resource: “Guidance for SMEs using ISO 9001 for quality management”
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