This post is the first of a series of two articles updating on the development of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 and the opportunities to prepare for a smooth transition to the new International Standards later in the year. This first article deals with ISO 14001 with the second covering ISO 9001.
Firstly, the update on the progress at the recent ISO 14001 Tokyo meeting, the review of comments from the National Standards Bodies, such as ANSI and BSI was not able to be completed due to the volume and nature of the comments. An additional meeting is proposed for April 2015 to close out on the comments.
However, it is still expected that the Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) for ISO 14001 will be published in June 2015 leading to the final publication of the International Standard in September 2015.
Please note that the final International Standard may vary from the current DIS and proposed FDIS & that any transition preparations should maintain flexibility to respond to the final and definitive version.
You will recall that my earlier post: Transition Guidance for ISO 14001:2015 described the development of guidance from the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) for accredited certification bodies and for their certified clients.
The IAF guidance comprised five recommendations for certified clients to take the following actions:
- Identify organisational gaps which need to be addressed to meet new requirements.
- Develop an implementation plan.
- Provide appropriate training and awareness for all parties that have an impact on the effectiveness of the organisation.
- Update existing environmental management system (EMS) to meet the revised requirements and provide verification of effectiveness.
- Where applicable, liaise with their Certification Body for transition arrangements.
Now practical assistance for these processes has been made available from the British Standards Institution (BSI) for free download.
A series of three documents are available, which will help to identify the changed requirements and the impact on your organisation:
- A Transition Guide, which provides a concise overview of the new High Level Structure and the requirements of the new standard.
- A Self-Assessment Questionnaire to assist in identifying your organization’s readiness for transition and provide a gap analysis for actions.
- A Mapping Guide, which provides an overview of the changes, deletions, new or enhanced requirements between ISO 14001:2004 and the DIS ISO 14001:2015
If you want to make an early start on your ISO 14001:2015 transition then head over to the BSI website – BSI’s Best Practice Journey