Latest News & Opinion on the ISO Certification Scheme
Darling Industries’ $400K ITAR Fine Is A Warning Shot to Small Machine Shops
A $400,000 civil penalty issued to Darling Industries for ITAR violations should be a wakeup call for all aerospace companies.
Esterline ITAR Violations Ensnare Multiple AS9100 Certified Companies
Esterline Technologies was hit in 2014 with a $20M fine for hundreds of ITAR violations across its network of subsidiary companies; each company held AS9100 or ISO 9001 certification during the violations, and have maintained those certifications since.
Surviving AS9100 Manuscript Finished, Now With Editors
Chris Paris’ new book, Surviving AS9100 Rev D, is at the editors and readying for imminent publication on Amazon.
How CBs Punish Clients for Bad Auditors
Phyllis Naish recounts how clients often have to pay the price for certification body errors and bad auditors.
Oxebridge to Shut Down, Apologizes to Elsmar, ASQ, Trolls
After a 19-year battle with internet trolls, Oxebridge throws in the towel and closes shop.
IAF’s Beta CertSearch Website Points To Baked-In Problems
The beta website for IAF’s CertSearch database of ISO certifications points to some troubling, baked-in flaws that both doom it’s acceptance and add risk to ISO certified companies.
Thanks to ANAB, Large Corporations Can Save Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars Gaming Their ISO 9001 Certificates
ANAB’s lax enforcement of the rules pertaining to ISO 9001 marketing will allow large companies to game the system, and save hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process.
ANAB Never Noticed One of Its CBs Was Improperly Marketing ISO 9001 Certification By Another of Its CBs
File this in the "ANAB - Oversight Activities - Clueless" drawer. For years, the ANAB-accredited registrar Bureau Veritas has held an ISO 9001 certificate of its own, issued by ANAB-accredited registrar BSI. And there's a problem. We must first wrap our collective...
A Year After TUV Rheinland Factory Audit, a Workplace Humanitarian Crises
In 2013, a factory complex in Bangladesh collapsed, killing more than 1,130 people and injuring 2,500; subsequent investigations revealed rampant human rights abuses, despite having been audited for safety and working conditions by TUV Rheinland.
Company Responsible for Texas Fire Holds Certs for ISO 9001, RC14001 for Chemical Storage
The company responsible for the massive petroleum tank fire holds ISO 9001 certification from ABS-QE, the scope of which includes chemical storage activities.
PG&E Falsified Safety Data While Holding Certifications from Lloyds Register, DNV-GL
Bankrupt California utility company PG&E held multiple safety-related certifications issued by registrars Lloyds Register and DNV-GL during the period in which the company was routinely falsifying gas line locations and during which its equipment triggered the massive California wildfires.
Quality Magazine Gave Award to ASQ Based On Criteria That Doesn’t Apparently Exist
BNP Media gave ASQ a curious award based on criteria which apparently doesn’t exist; good thing, since ASQ met none of them.
Let’s Get This Out of the Way: TC 176 Reps Aren’t “Volunteers”
ISO TC 176 representatives insist they’re “volunteers” doing socially relevant work for no reward; also, the Earth’s core is made of sausage.
Tap the Toe Brakes – The Only Connection Between AS9100 and Boeing’s Fiascoes is Hypocrisy
Boeing’s recent problems cannot be traced back to failures of AS9100 scheme actors … yet.
Re-Branded ASQ Must No Longer Manage US TAGs or Standards Activities
ASQ is de-branding itself as “American,” and its new global marketing initiatives invalidate its ability to manage the US TAGs, which form official US positions at ISO.
Industry Alert: AS9100 Auditors Are Hammering on PO Flowdown Requirements
AS9100 auditors are hammering hard on nonconformities related to incoming customer PO review and the flow down of requirements to your suppliers on outgoing POs; you need to be ready.
California Surgeon Thought He Could Make His Own Breast Implants and No One Would Notice
A California surgeon finds himself under FDA scrutiny for selling a breast implant that he didn’t bother to get approved first.
ASQ Bungles Print Quality for (Ahem) Quality Handbooks
In yet another embarrassment for ASQ, recent books published by its Quality Press imprint are rife with print quality problems.
ISO 27001 May Have Failed in Citrix Hack
ISO 27001 smoke is lingering around the fire of the huge Citrix data breach incident.
Brazil Dam Disaster Highlights Dangers of “Softgrading” and Falsifying Audit Nonconformities
TUV Sud’s “softgrading” of audit findings had deadly results, but it’s not the first time the practice has proven lethal.
BREAKING: TUV SUD Cited ISO 31000 in Report That Falsely Certified Brazil Dam Before Fatal Collapse
The TUV SUD report that certified the doomed Brazilian dam that later collapsed and killed over 180 people cited ISO 31000, the controversial standard on risk management.
No, Consultants, You CAN’T Use the Oxebridge Template Kit In Your Practice
Multiple US consultants have been caught using the free Oxebridge template kits in their paid consulting gigs, and it’s very much not cool.
How To Write Internal Audit ISO 9001 Nonconformity When A Procedure Is Not Followed
You’ve found that employees aren’t following a procedure, or that a procedure doesn’t match actual practice anymore — but under what ISO 9001 or AS9100 clause do you write that up?
Your Auditor Began an OFI With the Word “Consider”? He Violated ISO 17021
Any time a CB auditor writes an OFI starting it with the word “consider,” they’ve violated the rule against consulting. Here’s why.
TUV SUD Auditors Arrested, Claim Pressure to Certify Doomed Brazil Dam
Two TUV SUD auditors were arrested in Brazil after being found to have certified the Vale tailings dam which collapsed, killing over 180 people so far.
SAI’s Troubles with AS9100 Reveal Dramatic Flaws in OASIS
SAI’s woes with AS9100 and OASIS reveal deeper problems with the scheme and its online reporting tool.
ASQ Bans Oxebridge on MyASQ Discussion Board for Suggesting Member Benefits
ASQ has banned Oxebridge from its fledgling MyASQ Discussion board after a single post suggesting that the group offer supplemental health insurance and job placement services to members.
Certificate Mill Operator Don LaBelle Faked a Boston Business Award in 2010
Guberman PMC co-manager Don LaBelle has falsely claimed to win an “Entrepreneur of the Year” award at an event that never occurred.
Source: TAG 176 Sending Private Consultants to Represent US in Annex SL Update Meeting
The US TAG to TC 176 chose to send two private consultants to represent the United States at a meeting to update Annex SL; the two consultants previously published a book on Annex SL changes, meaning they stand to profit from any new changes made to the common core text.
Counterfeit Electronic Producers Boast ISO Certifications, Accreditations
Multiple Chinese companies selling counterfeit electronic components are illegally using the logos of ISO, IAF and CNAS, but these organizations appear to have little interest in policing fraud in China.
Why CMMI is A Better Alternative for Manufacturing Than ISO 9001
As ISO 9001’s popularity and uptake declines, company may want to start examining the CMMI model as a potential new approach to prove quality system excellence.
Oxebridge Updates ISO 17025 Program, Launches ISO 17034 Implementation Service
Oxebridge has updated its ISO 17025 consulting program to the latest version of that standard, aimed at calibration and testing labs, while adding a new implementation program for ISO 17034, the standard for reference material producers.
Boeing’s Alan Daniels Was Quietly Elected US TAG 176 Chair
Alan Daniels of Boeing was secretly voted in to replace TAG 176 Chair Paul Palmes.
Who’s Running the US TAG to TC 176?
Paul Palmes appears to have stepped down as US TAG 176 Chair, but there’s been no formal announcement, nor election for his replacement. So who’s running the TAG now?
ASQ Used Skewed “Poll” Question to Generate Evidence for Its Pro-China Article
ASQ ran an opinion poll months ago, in an apparent attempt to generate anti-American sentiment to support a planned editorial in support of China, which was later published in Quality Progress.
