Some practical advice for those of you who are wary of consultants and some thoughts and opinions of my own, that are not strictly establishment oriented are given below also.

Whether you hate it, love it, fear it, need it, want it or wish you could get rid of it – IT’S HERE TO STAY (well, probably for as long as the stock market decides not to crash, anyway !)

However, there is a very STRONG need for a standard that requires demonstrable, measurable, auditable BEST PRACTICE in organisational behaviour, management and operating methods.  Well, that is only if YOU think so or if your customer base is forcing you down this route!

Such a standard need NOT be ISO 9001 BUT it IS the most universal and universally accepted set of rules that has gained general acceptance and endorsement by government and trade bodies.

Whilst NOT ALWAYS LOVED, it IS reluctantly RESPECTED as being better than nothing where the need for a standard is UNAVOIDABLE or SO ATTRACTIVE compared with what already exists, or what is LACKING !

The BEAUTY of ISO 9000 is that with wise and experienced counsel, an organisation can implement this standard for NEXT TO NOTHING IN TERMS OF COST when considering the organisational and financial benefits that can be gained from it.

See also LATEST NEWS! the August, 2002 News Archive story at bottom of that page

UPGRADING from a lapsed ISO 9001 or 9002: 1994 certification or from ISO 9001: 2000 to ISO 9001: 2008

The ISO 9001: 2000 version caused some organisations to drop their registration altogether and back then I agreed in many cases with this course of action where it was also based on certain knowledge or strong likelihood that to have done so would have no significant ill effects on the business.  In fact, in cases where I was asked for an opinion I advised a number of my own clients to cease registration for these very reasons.

The 2008 revision of ISO 9001 was indeed a fuss over nothing - most of my clients have had to do absolutely nothing to comply with the changes in the 2008 version, over the old 2000 version.  The BSI has simply made a lot of money out of flogging the new version to its customers.

I am not afraid of losing business on this count because I provide a wide-ranging portfolio of services, meaning that my own business will not collapse if the call for my ISO 9000 services suddenly ceased.

See also OFFERS YOU CAN'T REFUSE !

See also LATEST NEWS! the August, 2002 News Archive story at bottom of that page

DEALING WITH CERTIFICATION BODY ASSESSORS

My own experience with the so-called ‘upgrade’ process to date has shown that different individual assessors working for a wide range of certification bodies ( * see note below ) are exercising their own individual ideas and interpretations of the new standard when assessing organisations against it.

What this means is that you should not allow yourself to accept everything an assessor tells you and act upon it without question or considering a different interpretation that more closely suits your own needs or requirements.

In other words – DON’T be AFRAID to CHALLENGE and ARGUE your case if you think you are being led down a path that requires more work than is really necessary or appropriate to your organisation, taking into consideration its SIZE and SIMPLICITY or COMPLEXITY (depending on your viewpoint) and the ACTUAL RESOURCES you have available (or Unavailable ! as the case may be).

You DON’T NEED a consultant to be with you during the assessment or upgrade visit(s) conducted by your certification body but you SHOULD adopt a challenging and questioning attitude, refusing to blindly accept and sign any doubtful or onerous recommendations or corrective actions plans presented to you if this means you will HAVE to be judged against them on the NEXT visit.

I know that many assessors are genuinely very helpful (or mistakenly think that they are being helpful !) and the advice I have given above may appear harsh or inappropriate.  Remember however that assessors may have their own agendas, some seeking to protect their own positions by finding more faults and making more observations requiring action by YOU than may actually be necessary of appropriate.  Some assessors live in fear of being accompanied on assessment visits by DTI inspectors or more senior assessors from their own organisations.

 *  Note:  UKAS accredited certification bodies.  In any circumstances I strongly recommend avoidance of UNaccredited certification bodies.