The Decline in ISO 9001 Certification: Does Quality Matter Anymore?

Even if you don’t get certified, you will still gain from a well-implemented management system

ISO 9001 certifications have seen a decline during the past two years, per data from ISO. Some say the standard has gotten too complicated with the introduction of organizational context, risk-based thinking, and the removal of mandatory documented procedures. Even a few of QMII’s clients have considered letting their certification lapse because conformity to the new standard was perceived as too complex.

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Does Quality Matter Anymore?

Hey Julius,

Good article. Interesting because in my opinion being in several industries and still fairly young millenial Quality Manager Quality still matters. The question is how is it evolving? With the ever changing market and turnover our Quality systems need to be alot more robust and flexible. ISO has this connontation of being a long and cumbursome process to ensure you check all the boxes. At the end of the day yes i agree that a system like this gives you the framework but the maintenance and time it takes is propbably not worth the reward? Do i have the answer to replace ISO? No. I just think we need to start thinking as you mentioned how can we adapt it to our system vs the old school thought of adapting ourselves to it. Thanks again.

The eventual demise of ISO 9001

Organizations have a management system, regardless of the fact it may or may not be related to TC 176 precepts set forth in ISO 9001. So why do organizations today need ISO 9001? The truth is … Most don’t.

The management systems of most current organizations are already focused upon customer satisfaction and have been for decades. ISO 9001 has shown not ability to weed out corruption within the system. With China being ISOs largest customer, there is now objective evidence that many certifications in that country are faux registrations, purchased through certification mills. What was your organizations latest non-conformance? Document Control? Or maybe Training Records? … Were either of these helpful at improving your organization?

Look no further than the serious quiestions raised related to the occurrence of disasters (both of products and finances) which befall ISO certified organizations…. Did no auditor see any of this brewing? As an auditor myself, I have raised many questions in the past which came back to bite organizations right square in their preverbal hinder parts, but did they ever listen to me initially when I brought the concern to their attention?.... Nope.

If there is ever to be a control of product acceptance (aka quality), it will occur at the behest of the consumer and their opinion about an organization’s products or services, nowhere is that more evidence than with the advent of social media and related consumer comments. Look at examples such as Amazon, products live and die based upon the customer response and score. I can’t state the number of times I have observed people reject a product because it simply had too many valid complaints.

And that is where the future will lie. The ability for consumers to rate products online, in direct reference to their purchases, and the ability of organizations to respond with corrective action to both satisfy current customers and appease future customers. Its certainly not going to be a bunch of auditors sitting in a small room who are eventually going to score organizations concerning their quality… it will be the product or service consumers…. and that is as it should be. I foresee an internet consumer quality rating becoming the norm, one in which organizations will need to work diligently to acquire and more diligently to retain their consumer perception and acceptance. ISO, I see becoming part some history book within a 5 year time span, placed right next to quality circles.

Make the standard the servant, and not the master.

" align ISO 9001 to your system, and not your system to ISO 9001" is essentially what I tell people; make ISO 9001 the servant and not the master. Organizations will get much more out of it if they view it from this perspective.