TL 9000 Answers
the Call for Change

The latest revision of the up-and-coming telecommunications
standard makes a clear connection with ISO 9001:2000.

_________________
by James G. Mroz

Related Story: Measurement, Telecommunications Quality and TL 9000

In February 2001, an overwhelming majority approved the revised editions of the TL 9000 Quality Management System Requirements Handbook Release 3.0 and the TL 9000 Quality Management System Measurements Handbook Release 3.0. The new revisions make the telecommunications industry the first to complete the alignment of its sector-specific quality management system requirements with ISO 9001:2000. It also gives industry suppliers a green light to pursue ISO 9001:2000 registration. In fact, because TL 9000 will require a shorter transition period than ISO 9001:2000, the approval of the new TL 9000 editions ensures that ISO 9001:2000 registrations will be given a boost during the remainder of 2001.

How to Order the TL 9000 Handbooks Paper copies of the newest versions of both the TL 9000 Quality Management System Requirements Handbook and TL 9000 Quality Management System Measurements Handbook can be purchased from ASQ Customer Service (800-248-1946) for $95 each, plus shipping and handling. Members of the QuEST Forum can purchase the handbooks for $50 each or $75 for both, plus shipping and handling. In electronic (PDF file) format, the handbooks can be purchased and downloaded from the ASQ Quality Press Web site ( www.qualitypress.asq.org ) for $95 each (with no shipping and handling charge). The QMS requirements handbook is listed under code T2003E and the measurements handbook is under code T2001E. There are no discounts for QuEST Forum members who purchase the electronic formats.

 "Having TL 9000 be the first sector-specific quality management system conversion to ISO 9001:2000 is a great accomplishment," declares Burton S. Liebesman, corporate ISO manager for Lucent Technologies and a member of the QuEST Forum (developers of the TL 9000 standard) since its establishment in 1998. Liebesman, who was involved in the drafting of the two editions of the quality management system requirements handbook and has been a member of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO Technical Committee 176 since development of ISO 9001:2000 began, indicates that the early alignment of TL 9000 with ISO 9001:2000 will benefit the telecommunications industry.

Will Release 3.0 accelerate ISO 9001:2000 registrations?

 The reported pace of transitions to ISO 9001:2000 from the 1994 versions of the standards has so far been slower than some experts estimated. The factor suspected of holding back the pace of ISO 9001:2000 registrations, particularly among organizations already registered to one of the 1994 ISO 9000 standards, is the continued alignment of sector-specific quality management system requirements to ISO 9001:1994. Often, the time and other resources necessary for conducting two QMS registration upgrades--one for ISO 9001:2000 and one for their industry's updated sector-specific supplements--make the approach impractical and not cost-effective. Therefore, many organizations are likely waiting until their industry's supplement (which will encompass all of ISO 9001:2000) is updated.

 The telecommunications industry is fortunate in this respect. The first registrations to TL 9000 Release 2.5 were recognized in January 2000, at which time it was understood that the TL 9000 QMS requirements handbook would be updated to include the verbatim text of ISO 9001:2000 shortly after TC 176 completed its work on the new ISO 9001 edition. Thus, suppliers to the telecommunications sector that have been waiting for TL 9000 to be updated can proceed with a single QMS upgrade that will permit them to undergo a single, cost-effective assessment to transition their ISO 9001 registration and obtain TL 9000 registration.

 Liebesman expects TL 9000 registration to become a contractual requirement for many telecommunications suppliers in the near future. "Five Lucent organizations already have certificates of registration to TL 9000, and many others are in the process of registering," explains Liebesman. "Some of our major customers have begun requiring TL 9000 registration in their most recent contracts." However, Liebesman notes that Lucent has not established internal or external TL 9000 registration requirements for its supply chain. "Also, we have not set a policy specifically on our compliance to Release 3.0 or on the compliance of our supply chain to 3.0."

 What makes these registrations to Release 2.5 of the TL 9000 handbooks important to ISO 9001:2000 transitioning in the sector is the fact that the QuEST Forum has established a one-year transition period for conformance to the TL 9000 QMS requirements handbook and a six-month transition period to the measurements handbook. As of Feb. 1, 56 certificates of registration to TL 9000 had been issued to telecommunications service providers and their suppliers, with the vast majority held by U.S. facilities. That number is certain to already have grown significantly, and all of these TL 9000-registered organizations will need to make the transition to Release 3.0 and ISO 9001:2000 by March 2001 to maintain their TL 9000 registrations.

An abbreviated transition for TL 9000

 The changes in Release 3.0 of the QMS requirements handbook primarily involve reorganization of the "adders" (sector-specific requirements added to ISO 9001) to align with ISO 9001:2000, while the changes in Release 3.0 of the QMS measurements handbook involve enhancements to the measurements in Release 2.5 and a few additional measurements.

 Release 3.0 eliminates the following three sector-specific requirements present in Release 2.5:

  4.4.9.H.1, Design Changes--Tracking of Changes (H = applicable to hardware only)

  4.9.H.1, Process Control--Inspection and Testing

  4.9.HV.3, Process Control--Employees Skills List (HV = applicable to hardware and services only).

 In addition, Release 3.0 contains the following new adder:

  7.2.3.C.4, Customer-Related Processes, Customer Communication--Customer Feedback (C = applicable to hardware, software and services)

 The International Accreditation Forum (IAF) established a three-year transition period for moving a registration from ISO 9001/2/3:1994 to ISO 9001:2000, which was adopted by the Registrar Accreditation Board (RAB) for the National Accreditation Program that it jointly runs with the American National Standards Institute. Although Release 3.0 of the QMS requirements handbook is aligned with ISO 9001:2000, it does not contain significant changes to the adders, and therefore the QuEST Forum decided to adopt an abbreviated transition period for moving from Release 2.5 to Release 3.0 of TL 9000.

 In the QMS requirements handbook, Clause 1.7, Implementation of Revisions, states, "When a new release of this handbook is published, all changes become effective on the date of publication unless otherwise noted in the handbook. The new handbook may be used immediately on publication. Organizations seeking to achieve or maintain registration may continue to use the previous release of the handbook for 12 months after the date of publication of the new release. At that point, the old release becomes obsolete and may no longer be used for any registration or surveillance activities."

 Organizations registered to TL 9000 must submit quarterly measurements data to the University of Texas at Dallas, which

is administering a database that will produce indexes for the sector. The QMS measurements handbook's Subclause 4.2.1, Conformance to Measurements Profile, also states, "The supplier shall generate and distribute the measurement data to the Measurements Administrator… as described by the profiles in this handbook for the applicable product categories. The measurement data shall conform to the requirements in the corresponding profile. Changes to reported data that are needed to comply with a new master version of Appendix A or a new version of the measurements handbook shall be completed within six months of their release. All data reported commencing with the second data submission after a new release of this handbook shall be in compliance with the new release of the handbook."

 In addition, the QuEST Forum indicated that updated course materials for the sanctioned TL 9000 training must reflect the Release 3.0 content within 30 days after the two updated handbooks are available. The QuEST Forum document states, "The goal is to release updated QuEST sanctioned courses simultaneously with the 3.0 Release. …Course materials are currently being updated. If 3.0 is released March 1st, all training after that should reflect the changes and updates."

 Is the abbreviated timeframe for the TL 9000 registration transition reasonable? Are the different timeframes for the requirements and measurements handbooks going to create difficulties for organizations already registered to Release 2.5?

 The shorter transition period shouldn't cause too much difficulty because fewer than 100 organizations are registered to Release 2.5. By comparison, more than 350,000 organizations worldwide are registered to ISO 9001/2/3:1994 and some have been using the same QMS for more than five years. "I think the one-year transition is fair," responds Liebesman. "However, exceptions should be considered for good reasons, as long as the increased time is not excessive."

 Nor does the even shorter transition time allowed for the measurements to be conducted, collected and reported by TL 9000-registered organizations to the University of Texas at Dallas appear to present a major challenge. According to Art Morrical, manager of the Lucent Technologies 5ESS Project, it's possible to use Release 3.0 of the measurements handbook with a QMS still conforming to Release 2.5 of the requirements handbook.

 "The measurements are not tied to the requirements, meaning you don't need to even have the QMS requirements in place in order to do the measurements," explains Morrical, who was an initial participant in the QuEST Forum and has worked with the Metrics, Metrics Implementation, Requirements and Training work groups that drafted the handbooks. "Release 3.0 of the measurements handbook involved enhancements and additional measurements, but not new types of measurements. Since there are no additional types of data that need to be collected for 3.0, the changes will be relatively easy to implement."

 In fact, the greatest difference will be in the nature and detail of the data reported to UTD. "The template that we use to submit data to UTD will change and thus capture the changes in the measurements handbook," notes Morrical. "When the template changes--and that changed template will be the only version that can be submitted--that will dictate the changeover."

 It's not yet known when the changed template will be available and therefore in effect, but Morrical indicates that one improvement to the measurements handbook hasn't yet been reported. "In Release 3.0, the Software Installation and Maintenance (SWIM) measurements, which track release application, patches and software updates, were better organized into meaningful options, allowing the supplier to choose the best option for its operations."

 How is the actual migration to TL 9000 Release 3.0 to be accomplished? According to Appendix D, Migration Path, Audit Days, and Requirements Origin, in the TL 9000 QMS requirements handbook Release 3.0, it's possible for an organization with a QMS registered to ISO 9001/2:1994, ISO 9001:2000, QS-9000 and/or Release 2.5 to obtain registration to Release 3.0. The entry states, "To migrate from TL 9000 Requirements Release 2.5, ISO 9001:1994, ISO 9002:1994, or QS-9000 to TL 9000 Requirements Release 3.0 the following must be fulfilled:

•   Satisfy the registrar's requirements for transition to ISO 9001:2000
•   Conform to all additional TL 9000 requirements and measurements within the scope of registration

 To migrate from ISO 9001:2000 to TL 9000 Requirements Release 3.0, conform to all TL 9000 additional requirements and measurements within the scope of registration."

 On paper, TL 9000's transition from alignment with ISO 9001:1994 to ISO 9001:2000 may seem complicated (with its different transition timeframes) and challenging (due to the shorter period before the 1994-based requirements become obsolete). In reality, the differences from the IAF transition period are not so challenging and will avoid delays in conformance to ISO 9001:2000 and the latest TL 9000 measurements. With only a few telecom companies having registered to Release 2.5, keeping the transition period short will prevent other service providers and suppliers from delaying their QMS upgrades to ISO 9001:2000 and will streamline the acceptance and widespread use of Release 3.0.

 For more information about TL 9000 and the QuEST Forum's program, visit the Forum's Web site ( www.questforum.org ).

 This article was adapted from a report that first appeared in the March issue of The Informed Outlook ( www.informintl.com ).

About the author

 James G. Mroz is senior editor at INFORM, publisher of "The Informed Outlook," a monthly newsletter on international management system standards. E-mail him at jmroz@qualitydigest.com .