ISO 9001 lead-auditor training should enable auditors to focus on the requirements when auditing and to stay away from the pitfall of guidelines.

Take the case of ISO 9001 or, for that matter, any management system standard. The standard has notes to explain the clauses. ISO 9001’s clause 4.1, for example, has three notes. Are these integral to the clause? Yes and no. Yes, because they are explaining an important aspect of the clause. No, because though these are valuable inputs for designing questions and an in implementing ISO 9001, they can’t be used as requirements. Nonconformities, as the drivers of correction and corrective action, are fundamental to the implementation of ISO 9001. ISO 9001 lead-auditor training must clearly outline for students that a nonconformance is the nonfulfillment of a requirement. Notes are not a requirement of the clause.

The Covid-19 coronavirus has developed into a widespread pandemic. With growing outbreaks of diagnosed cases in all 50 states, and vastly larger numbers of undiagnosed cases, there’s serious cause for concern. Yet quality professionals who follow the official advice on Covid-19 coronavirus prep could be hurting themselves and their organizations.

This is supposed to be trade-show season. The time when companies send their employees to industry tech shows and user-group meetings to see and experience the latest offerings in their field. A time when companies expend a good portion of their budget on booth space, shipping costs, and hotel and travel expenses to get their products and employees in front of thousands of people.

This year, however, due to concerns about the Covid-19, conferences are being cancelled left and right. From fashion to food to finance, show websites are plastering “cancelled” notices across their home pages. Design News  lists dozens of tech shows around the world that have shuttered or postponed. These include shows from Apple, Facebook, Google, Gartner, and both the China and Korea Semicon shows.