Ladies & Gentlemen of ISO/TC 176,

I wrote this letter in May 2024, hoping that it might receive some attention. But no. The current DIS contains no significant improvements and, taken at face value, appears to be solely for financial gain, offering nothing to restore the esteem in which the ISO 9001 Standard was once held, nor does it provide tangible benefits to certified organizations and their customers.

However, it's not too late, and if the ISO/TC 176 Committee members, as has been reported, are dissatisfied with this version, they should rise up and reject this DIS Version.

And so, I again challenge the Committee to make some straightforward changes to the Standard and to the HLS Document that sets out the ‘playing field’ for dozens of other management system standards, all of which would benefit, in time, from my five proposed changes.

Forget about climate change, which is largely about posturing, and introduce sustainability in operations and the supply chain.  One step up and down the supply chain would be sufficient.

Forget about risk-based thinking and require risk management for all processes.  Many organizations do this anyway as they struggle to understand what risk-based thinking actually means in practice.

Roll back on the concept of documentation; it is not useful.  Users of the Standard want the restoration of documents and records, as well as the stipulation of some mandatory documents and records (the six mandated documents of previous versions of ISO 9001 are particularly relevant here).

Bring it back!  Clause 10.2.1 b) of the 2015 Standard contains the words ‘or occurs elsewhere,’ which is essentially what preventive action is about.  So, let us see it in ‘the full light of day’ so that we all can benefit from lessons learned.

Make training with objective evidence of evaluation mandatory and require records to prove it.  The prevalence of certified organizations with no evidence of training staff in their procedures, work instruction, test methods, etc., or training audit programme managers and internal auditors in the applicable auditing skills and knowledge of the Standard is an embarrassment.  Learning by ‘osmosis’ or inattentively watching videos does not create a basis for deeming people competent.

So, there you have it: five simple changes to revolutionize ISO 9001 and restore its former glory.  But, dear Committee Members, do you have the guts to do it?

deGRANDSON Global is an ISO Certified Educational Organization

We have chosen ISO 21001 certification because it is based on an independent third-party assessment, unlike IRCA and Exemplar badges (which we believe are commercially compromised).  It is a ‘university grade’ standard used globally by schools, colleges, and universities to demonstrate competence.