With the cutoff date of Sept. 15, 2018, looming for transitioning to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015, there will be organizations chasing certificates. However, certificates can’t improve the system, guarantee better products, or render better service. The fundamental changes to the ISO standards will positively affect business outputs if implemented correctly. However. There’s the possibility that the pressure of deadlines hanging like the sword of Damocles over leaders may result in hurriedly obtained but ultimately worthless paper certificates. Leaders may want to give this a thought as they manage their organizations’ transition or first-time implementation of the standards.

It’s the organization’s well-implemented management system that will enable employees to perform well and produce conforming outputs. The changes in ISO 9001, ISO 14001, as well as the 2016 high-level structure (HLS) revisions to the AS9100 family of aerospace standards, need timely and correct implementation. The changes in these new revisions involve a fundamental rethink of the approach to implementation.

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