Building on report made in earlier posts (Final IAF Guidance on the transition to ISO 14001:2015 & One year to ISO 9001 and 14001 transition deadline), the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) has published a further communiqué arising from their recent Annual General Assembly in Vancouver, Canada on 28 and 30 October 2017.
As the three-year transition for ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 9001:2015 moves into its final year, the IAF has passed a resolution that, as of 15 March 2018, conformity assessment bodies must conduct all ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 initial, surveillance and recertification audits to the new versions – ISO 14001:2015 & ISO 9001:2015.
It is further noted, that the joint ISO/IAF Communiqué: One year to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 transition deadline (15 September 2017) marking one year to the transition deadline, that the new versions of ISO 9001 and 14001 make very logical progressions from previous versions, delivering standards which address the key issues for both today and the future.
The IAF reminds users that the new ISO 9001 promotes enhanced leadership involvement in the management system, introduces risk-based thinking and aligns the quality management system policy and objectives with the strategy of the organisation.
Whilst, the changes in ISO 14001 focus on key issues such as protecting the environment improving environmental performance, lifecycle thinking and organisations’ environmental leadership.
As a final reminder, the IAF provides a warning “that failure to achieve certification to the 2015 standard by the deadline (15 September 2018) means that your certification is no longer valid and this may affect your ability to supply to all markets”.
A copy of the IAF Communiqué: Important information for Certification Bodies regarding the transition to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 can be freely downloaded here