As many know, the ISO TC 176 committee - which authors the international standard, ISO 9001, reviews the need for changes and improvements every five years. This has happened since ISO 9001 was first published:

• 1987 – First Published
• 1994 – Minor revision
• 2000 – Major revision
• 2008 - Minor revision
• 2015 - Major revision
• 2026 – TBD

The TC 176 committee decided, some time ago, that there was no compelling reason to change the 2015 revision and, as a result, started the process with a view to a revision in 2025. This recently slipped, but it looks like the revised standard is due for publication in 2026.

Based on the pattern of changes, will it be a significant change? Only a few individuals - those who are closest to the people reviewing the requested revisions - actually know. However, when it does arrive in the public domain, will anyone working for an ISO 9001:2015 certified organization need training? Is a Conformity Assessment auditor going to ask for a certificate of training in the new standard? It’s not uncommon for such a thing to happen, but is it required? We have a test case to look back on, from last year. As part of an overall change to the so-called “Annex SL” or high-level structure of all management standards, an amendment was issued to add if the issue of climate change is relevant to the context of the organization – a section which is common across all management standards, and not uniquely ISO 9001. The amendment can be found at no cost, here: www.iso.org/standard/88431.html.

Manage the Change

Before we review the necessity for training, let’s look at the processes the organization should go through to ensure effective management of whatever the 2026 version brings:

1. The standard has changed – how does the organization discover this has happened? Some businesses use a number of industry standards related to products and processes including ASTM, SAE, ANSI and so on. A subscription service is often engaged to keep the business updated on changes, similar to that offered by Nimonik, Global Spec etc. Similar news may be obtained by following an appropriate page on the web, or social media platforms such as LinkedIn. Remember, clause 7.5.3.2 references this type of document.
2. The change is reviewed – one of the items for consideration according to the management review requirements of ISO 9001 (9.3) are changes in external and internal issues affecting the organization’s quality management system. It’s likely that a change to the ISO standard will impact the quality management system at some level. Certified organizations will be allowed some period in which to update their quality management system in accordance with the 2026 version before submitting to scrutiny by their chosen Conformity Assessment Body auditor(s).
3. Planning for change – once the nature of the change to ISO 9001is understood, a plan should be drawn up and assignments and a timeframe established – which is what clause 6 of the standard talks about. QMS changes need to be planned.
4. Implementation of changes – the plan will need to be implemented, and this may well affect a number of other requirements the organizations has to comply with. At a minimum it’s likely to affect the following:
   1. Resources (7.1)
      1. People
      2. Infrastructure
      3. Organizational knowledge
      4. Competence
      5. Awareness
      6. Communication
      7. Documented information
   2. Change of changes (8.5.6)
5. Internal Audits – once a period of implementation has elapsed, internal audits should be conducted to provide information on the compliance, implementation and effectiveness of the changes. We know this is a requirement, since 9.2.2 describes such a situation in the internal audit program “which shall take into consideration…changes affecting the organization…”
6. Management review – should be conducted to confirm that the changes, initiated by the revisions to the ISO 9001 standard have been flowed down through the organization’s quality management system, while also maintaining the integrity of the management system. After all, it would be highly risky, not to say embarrassing, to discover that some basic “blocking and tackling” within the quality system had been overlooked and attracted a (major) audit non-conformity during the certification audit.

The organization should use the interaction of the processes of its quality management system, in sequence, as described above (or very similar) to plan and prepare the organization for the change. Once the nature of the changes to the ISO 9001 standard are understood – there may be an opportunity to seek clarification from some on the country TAG to TC 176, for example – the organization can determine if there’s a need to change competencies of the personnel employed. By way of example, if the new version of the standard required some type of behavioral evaluation of staff to ensure they are assigned to appropriate positions and roles, it may be important to have someone in the organization become competent in the use of the various tools (D.i.S.C. theory etc.) Simply sending someone on a training course isn’t likely to accomplish this.

In exactly the same way, would some additional words or changes regarding requirements specified in the ISO 9001:2026 standard affect anyone’s competencies? Would attending an eight hour “training event” accomplish anything? Would the internal auditors need to attend yet another auditor course, if all that’s changed are some words in the standard? It’s unlikely that new competencies will be required, however, the organization’s quality management processes should be suitable enough to determine what, if any, training is required if that is a path to competency. The acquisition of a new competency isn’t always accomplished through training, either. It’s simply an option.

Follow the Process

Since the goal is to ensure competency of personnel, the first place to start is to identify what people will be required to demonstrate. The definition of competency must be taken from the normative reference, ISO 9000, which states in 3.10.4 competence - ability to apply knowledge and skills to achieve intended results.

If we reference a training industry “standard”, that is “Bloom’s Taxonomy[1]”, the organization can determine what some (key) individuals may need to be able to demonstrate and how. Would it be sufficient for those individuals to simply understand the nature of the changes in ISO 9001:2026? Or might application be important? Does the organization need someone to create something new, as a result of changes made to ISO 9001? Once the desired outcomes are established, a suitable means to develop them can be defined. If the outcome is to understand the changes, simply reading them and discussing with others to reach consensus may be all that’s needed. If implementation of the changes is necessary, then it may be found expedient to enlist some outside help (note this doesn’t mean “training”). Whatever the conclusions drawn, a plan should be developed.

Develop a Timeline

For organizations certified to ISO 9001:2015, there will be a limit placed on the amount of time for the changes to be implemented within their respective quality management systems. If we look at the nature of the changes, we could perhaps predict that the nature of the 2026 changes will be somewhat limited in nature and, hence, the timeframe may be anticipated to be 18 months – based on previous changes and associated timeframes. This means that, from the release date, an organization would have two certification body audits (if on an annual schedule, as is most common) to address (plan) and implement the changes, plus perform the required internal audit(s) and management reviews.

[1] https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/