ANAB Was Right… and I Was Wrong

I am not above eating crow, but generally do so only under two conditions: when I am proven wrong, and have to face up to it, or when I am really, really hungry and those crows are mocking me, so they deserve it, the bastards.

In this case, it’s the former. I recently got into a heated telephone conversation with two representatives of ANAB — Business Development Specialist Kevin Dennis, and Director of Sales and Marketing Roger Muse — over SN9001, the snow and ice management industry’s take on ISO 9001. I was making the point that SN9001 represents a dilution of the value and validity of ISO 9001, as it puts us on the “ice cream shop” path towards a “flavor of the month” model of ISO 9001. I indignantly quoted (as I often do) the ISO TC 176 mandate to “reduce the proliferation of sector specific standards,” because ISO intended that 9001 apply to all industries. When I first wrote about SN9001, I called it “industry self-cannibalization.”

Well, the ISO 9001 world is still feasting on its own feet, but I made a pretty big error when arguing with ANAB. Mr. Muse mentioned that Sn9001 was no different from “Kevlar standards,” and I went ballistic (pardon the pun) reminding him that Kevlar standards are product certifications, and SN9001 is a QMS standard. Mr. Muse said that I needed to “get more training on standards” which is like telling a bear he needs sharper teeth, so the rest of the conversation just declined from there. If they ever make a film version of the phone call, it will feature a guy named Leatherface.

Here’s the thing: he’s right. Whereas I was stuck in the mental loop of thinking he was referring to Kevlar product standards, typically used in textile industries and having to do with tensile strengths and all sorts of geeky tech nonsense, Mr. Muse was actually talking about something called BA9000 — a body armor QMS certification for which ANAB offers accreditation.

But the thing is, I never heard of BA9000. In my defense, apparently no one else has either, since ANAB doesn’t actually list any BA9000 accredited registrars*, but still Mr. Muse and I were not talking apples and oranges. He really was talking about yet another sector-specific variant to ISO 9001!

Mmm, this crow is great. Please pass the Gewurztraminer.

Now this leaves me in a doubly-troubling position. First, I have to admit I was wrong. That’s manageable. But worse, I have to admit that the invasion of the ISO-snatchers is far, far more advanced than I thought. There are so many sector variants of ISO 9001, I can’t even keep up, and I do this for a living!

But let’s not sully up a good apology with excuses. I’m not a politician, after all.

So, Mr. Dennis and Mr. Muse, I apologize. You were right to compare SN9001 to BA9000, and I should have known what you were talking about instead of assuming you were stretching facts to support ANAB.

There’s a Buddhist proverb that says if we see an object in the road, thinking it’s a snake, before we freak out we should probably first check to make sure it’s not just a stick,  so we don’t waste a lot of calories. Or something like that.

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 (* Perry Johnson Registrars has an out of date page on BA9000, but it’s not actually clear if they offer the service. They are not listed as accredited for BA9000 by ANAB.)