The release of an updated version of ISO 9001 has been delayed until the middle of 2009.

The update was scheduled for release in 2008, but a failure to obtain sufficient support for a draft of the standard at a meeting recently held in Ireland has pushed it back, reports Quality Systems Update. The initial working draft was released in March and includes 24 possible changes.

QSU reports that group members reviewed about 80 pages of comments on the proposed changes, along with another 29 pages of comments for an updated version of ISO 9004. The latter is being designed to help companies exceed the minimum requirements of ISO 9001. The changes are reportedly aimed at improving ISO 9001’s clarity, ease of use and translatability, in addition to increasing its compatibility with ISO 14001.

For more information, visit www.anab.org/HTMLFiles/docs/Clips/ISO9Kdelay.pdf

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