by Brianna Crandall — November 14, 2016 — BSI, the U.K.-based business standards company and a founding member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), has just announced the publishing of ISO 9002:2016 Quality Management Systems — Guidelines for the Application of ISO 9001:2015. ISO 9001 is the most widely recognized standard in the world, with over a million organizations of all types certified to it, points out BSI.
After the standard’s major revision in 2015 there was a clear user demand for guidance, for reassurance of how to meet the common requirements and new clause headings — although in reality many of the requirements are similar to those in earlier editions.
The guidelines cover all of the requirements in ISO 9001 and follows the structure clause by clause to help users find what they need easily. It applies to all sectors and sizes of organization at any level of maturity, who have or are thinking of putting an ISO 9001 management system in place. ISO 9002 was written to be inclusive of all types of business, with special emphasis given to newer sectors such as the service industry.
Anne Hayes, head of Market Development for Governance at BSI, commented:
Having clear and easy to understand guidance is essential for anybody wishing to implement a management system standard. Due to the importance of these standards and how they can transform how a business operates, it can at times feel like there is a large amount of pressure to get it right, so we were keen to make implementation of ISO 9001 as simple as possible, and that is where the ISO 9002 standard comes into its own.
What ISO 9002 does:
States what the intention of each clause or requirement is and what organizations can do to demonstrate that they are complying. There are practical examples for different types of organization throughout the standard, including service industry examples and ones for small businesses
Explains further concepts such as risk-based thinking, the role of top management, the importance of organizations taking their own context into account and how they can meet requirements — or often non-requirements — for documented information in a way that is advantageous to them without creating unnecessary burden
Can help the transition from the 2008 standard to the 2015 for existing users and encourage newer sectors to the ISO 9001 market to implement the standard with confidence. It is also hoped that this will reduce the need for businesses to employ a consultant to help them
The development of ISO 9002 began when ISO 9001 was entering the draft international standard stage — i.e. quite mature, so people knew more or less what they needed to give guidance on, notes BSI. Contributions were invited from those involved in the drafting of ISO 9001 itself. Before publication, member bodies were invited to comment, and these comments were taken into account during final drafting.
ISO 9002:2016 Quality Management Systems — Guidelines for the Application of ISO 9001:2015 is available on the BSI Web site along with ISO 9001 resources. ISO 9002 is also available from the ISO Web site.
