The updated version of ISO 9001, published in September 2015, generated much anxiety among companies fearing a bumpy transition to the updated and significantly changed international standard. Admittedly, we at MasterControl were not immune to those worries.

Despite having quality experts involved with the ISO 9001 revisions, even we didn’t know how our ISO 9001 assessors would apply the new requirements, what evidence they would expect to see, and how to preemptively satisfy their expectations.

Additionally, MasterControl is not a typical manufacturer of materials, but rather of software and services. We needed to understand the intent of each requirement under the updated standard in order to correctly apply them to our products and services.

After much research and preparation, we’re proud of the fact that when we completed the audit successfully on Nov. 12, 2015, no other company in the world had yet received a certificate for ISO 9001:2015, though a few held audits the same week we did.¹ In fact, it was only that very week that ISO 9001 auditors across the globe were authorized by their governing bodies to begin certifying companies to the revised standard.

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