Open Discussion of the Year 2000 Version of ISO 9000
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Discussion of ISO 9001:2000

Committee Draft #2

March 22, 1999

Well, the second committee draft is out, we have read through it, compared it to CD1 and asked for permission to sell you copies. We should get word on the rights to distribute copies later this week. Stay tuned for details.

The second committee draft for ISO 9001 moved several requirements around. The TC 176 is also discussing the idea of renumbering the four main sections into a single section 4.0, just like in the 1994 version but still retains the four stage model. That will be a vote later this summer.

In Section 5.0, the verbage at the beginning of the section has been reduced. Section 5.3 - Legal Requirements has been added. It states you need a procedure for identifying the legal requirements for your products and services. You also have to have access to those requirements. Those companies keeping a current file of legal requirements, like environmental rules, in a single area will be used to this requirements. This is an advancement of the original requirement that you account for legal expectations for your product.

That leads to this week's question:

1. Do you currently track and store legal requirements for your products? What method do you use for tracking, storage, and access to legal requirements? (For example, you can buy monthly updates of legal requirements for your product line from special third-party legal services)

You should also note that the new CD takes pains now to say "product/service" instead of the original "product" that was defined as any deliverable your company produced. The emphasis stays on making ISO 9001:2000 usable by any company.

Another new requirement is Section 5.6.4 - Internal Communications. You now have to establish a formal method of communications between departments, teams, etc. The effectiveness of these methods have to be evaluated. In Section 5.6.6 the Master List for document control reappears after being a no show in previous drafts.

The April newsletter next week will cover all changes to the CD in greater detail. Next week we will discuss changes to Section 6.0. In the meantime, you have until midnight Wednesday EST to respond to this week's question.

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Open Discussion of the Year 2000 Version of ISO 9000
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March 29, 1999

Note: We now have the complete 100+ pages of discussion of the first committee draft on CD-ROM in Word, WordPerfect, and RTF format. It includes a 30 minute presentation on the impact of the first and second committee drafts. This is a great way to have all of our discussions to date in one place. It also comes with a discount coupon for joining the ISO 9000 Support Group ($50 savings). The cost of the disc is $15 U.S. and can purchased on the internet or by requesting an order form by e-mail ([email protected]) or by phone (616-891-9114). See our web page for details ( www.isogroup.simplenet.com ).

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