AKMS Contributes to Preparing ISO 9001 Standard of 2008

AMMAN -November 12, 2008 , The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is expected to issue this month the 2008 version of ISO 9001, after the final draft of the said standard has gained the majority approval of the ISO-member standard organizations.

Eng. Khalid Abu-Osbeh, the Arab Knowledge and Management Society (AKMS) representative in the ISO Technical Committee 176 that is responsible for issuing and modifying ISO 9000 series, said that companies can adopt the new standard for the purpose of obtaining the ISO 9001 Certificate once issued before the end of the year.

The 2008 edition of ISO 9001 is the fourth version since it was first issued in 1987. ISO rules and regulations require that all ISO standards shall be reviewed every five years to identify whether they need revision, amendment or withdrawal.

The new expected version of ISO 9001 will not include any additional requirements other than those included in 2000 version. The amendments were limited to explain certain requirements in 2000 edition based on the requests received from the standard users concerning the terms and requirements of 2000 edition.

In addition, the new edition will provide more consistency and harmony with the 2004 version of the ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard. Many companies certified against the ISO 9001 are now seeking to obtain, or already obtained, certification to the ISO 14001, and vice versa.

With respect to the transition from the old edition to the new edition of ISO 9001 for companies already certified to ISO 9001 as per the 2000 version, Abu-Osbeh explained that Certification of conformity to ISO 9001:2008 and/or national equivalents shall only be issued after official publication of ISO 9001:2008 (which should take place before the end of 2008) and after a routine surveillance or re-certification audit against ISO 9001:2008.

One year after publication of ISO 9001:2008 all accredited certifications issued (new certifications or re-certifications) shall be to ISO 9001:2008. Twenty four months after publication by ISO of ISO 9001:2008, any existing certification issued to ISO 9001:2000 shall not be valid.

ISO 9001 is the most popular among the 17000 ISO standards, particularly that there are more than one million companies and organizations in more than 170 countries that have obtained ISO 9001 certificate whether from manufacturing or service sector, both public and private, although obtaining this certificate according to this standard is voluntary and not obligatory.

With respect to the other important standard in ISO 9000 series, i.e. ISO 9004, its issuance will be delayed till mid 2009 because the amendments to 2004 version of ISO 9004 were fundamental and greater than the amendments to ISO 9001.

AKMS representative explained that the Arab presence in the Experts Committee responsible for drafting the ISO 9000 series, known as ISO/TC 176/SC 2/WG 18, was only three members out of 120, namely; AKMS representative and representatives of the Egyptian Organization for Standardization.

The forthcoming annual meeting of ISO Technical Committee 176, the most significant committee at ISO, will be held in Tokyo and hosted by the Japanese Standards Organization with the participation of AKMS representative February 22-28, 2009. This meeting is expected to result in issuing ISO 9004, the Arabic translation of the new version of ISO 9001 and other important documents and reports on quality management.

On the other hand, Ms. Hanan Al-Hidmi, AKMS manager, said that the Society intends to organize a broad awareness campaign in the Arab countries during November and December of this year concerning the new edition.

?The campaign will be a good opportunity for those interested in quality systems and ISO 9001 to review the new edition and amendments made prior to its issuance, similar to their counterparts in the developed countries,? she said.

The campaign will include lectures held in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Syria.