COMMUNIQUE

September 27, 1999

Background

Industry expects that the introduction of the new ISO 9000 Family of standards will be a coordinated effort between the developers of the standards, certification / registration bodies and accreditation bodies. An International Accreditation Forum (IAF) – ISO/TC 176 – ISO/CASCO joint session was held on September 26, 1999 in Vienna, Austria to establish common and consistent messages to ensure a smooth transition to the new standards.

Scope of the work

To develop consistent implementation guidance for the new ISO 9000 standards for such audiences as:

organizations already certified / registered to ISO 9001, ISO 9002 or ISO 9003 :1994

organizations presently not certified / registered to ISO 9001, ISO 9002 or ISO 9003 :1994

certification / registration bodies

accreditation bodies

the general public

ISO 9001:2000 as an International Standard (IS)

For information - ISO 9001:2000 will replace the 1994 editions of ISO 9001, ISO 9002 and ISO 9003. A Draft International Standard (DIS) of ISO 9001 is due to be released in November 1999.

Current plans are to circulate a Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) in the third quarter of 2000 and to publish the new ISO 9001 as an International Standard (IS) in the fourth quarter of 2000.

begin prior to publication of the ISO 9001:2000 International Standard (IS)

Certification / Registration Bodies may begin to assess conformity to the latest draft of ISO 9001:2000 (ie, DIS or FDIS) prior to publication of the IS, so that organizations may prepare and take any necessary actions. To minimize costs, currently certified / registered organizations may consider taking advantage of the opportunity for assessment to the latest draft of the new ISO 9001:2000 as part of surveillance or reassessment audits for their existing certification / registration.

However, certificates should not be issued against any DIS or FDIS issues of the standard. Accredited certificates shall only be issued against the International Standard, and only after it has been published by ISO.

Organizations certified / registered to the 1994 editions of ISO 9001, ISO 9002 and ISO 9003 are encouraged to make the transition to ISO 9001:2000 as soon as possible. It is recognized, however, that ISO 9001:2000 represents a fundamental change of approach from the 1994 series (refer to

latest revision of document ISO/TC176/SC2 N439 "Transition Planning Guidance"). Certification /Registration Bodies may assess organisations against the 1994 standards for up to three years from the date of publication of ISO9001-2000. However, Certification / Registration Bodies should encourage organizations to make the transition to ISO 9001:2000 in time to ensure that certification / registration can be completed before their certification / registration to the 1994 editions of ISO 9001, ISO 9002 and ISO 9003 expires.

The publication of ISO 9001:2000 will require certification / registration bodies to demonstrate that they have satisfactorily managed the transition period.

IAF member accreditation bodies will advise their accredited certification / registration bodies

(through an agreed standard letter) that accreditation surveillance in the period following publication by ISO of ISO DIS 9001:2000 will concentrate on how the certification / registration body is managing the change within its certification / registration service. In particular, the surveillance will focus on the competence of the certification / registration body auditors and other relevant personnel with respect to the aspects of ISO DIS 9001:2000 that are different from those necessary to provide certification / registration to ISO 9001/2/3:1994. The accreditation body will

assess the certification / registration body's program to ensure that its auditors and other relevant personnel demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

the eight Quality Management Principles on which the revised standards are based (see Annex A);

the requirements of the latest draft of ISO 9001:2000 and;

the concepts and terminology of the latest draft of ISO 9000:2000.

The accreditation body will also assess the ability of the certification / registration body support personnel to make the administrative changes required to be able to offer certification / registration to the new standard. (Note that ISO 9004:1994 includes guidance on improvement of performance, and ISO 9004:2000 will also include such guidance)

 5. Certification / Registration Bodies will need to take particular care in defining the scope of

certificates issued to ISO 9001:2000, and the permissible exclusions to the requirements of that standard.

Replacement of the 1994 editions of ISO 9001, ISO 9002 and ISO 9003 with a single requirements standard (ISO 9001:2000) will necessitate the use of a very clear and concise description of the activities of an organization that are included in the certification / registration process. Attention should be given to the requirement in the Draft Standard, which states that the organization may only exclude quality management system requirements that neither affect the organization's ability, nor absolve it from its responsibility, to provide product that meets customer requirements and applicable regulatory requirements.

 Session participants

The joint session was Chaired by Dr.Thomas Facklam, with Noel Matthews as Secretary. Meeting representatives included:

Representing ISO/CASCO – John Donaldson (Chairman ISO/CASCO), Yasukazu Fukuda (Secretary CASCO);

Representing ISO/TC176 – Kevin McKinley (Secretary ISO/TC176), Alister Dalrymple (AFAQ), Nigel Croft (ISO/TC176);

Representing International Accreditation Forum, Inc. (IAF) Accreditors – Roger Brockway (UKAS), Masao Nagao (JAB), Xiao Jianhua (CNACR);

Representing IAF Certification / Registration Bodies – Ian Day (IIOC), Tom Arnold (IAAR), Tim Inman (ABCB);

Representing IAF Industry – Dale Misczynski (ITIC), Peter Deichmann (ITIC), Guenther Beer (BDI) ;

Representing International Auditor and Training Certification Association (IATCA) - George Lofgren (ANSI-RAB), Scott Richter (RAB).

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Published by the Joint Working Group October 1999