Latest News & Opinion on the ISO Certification Scheme
ISO Drops CERTO Certification Repository Plan
Just in: reports are coming in that ISO has dropped its plan to create CERTO, a database of ISO 9001 and other certifications that would have, finally, provided a single, trusted listing of companies that are certified under ISO standards.
G31000 Founder Alex Dali Wanted on Arrest Warrant in Singapore
Documents obtained by Oxebridge reveal that the founder of the risk management group G31000 Global Institute for Risk Management Standards, Alexis Dali, is wanted in Singapore under a 2003 arrest warrant. Officials in Singapore have alerted Oxebridge that Dali will be...
Automotive Expert Dismisses Concerns over IATF Empowerment of Certificate Mills
It started as all ISO-related fiascoes do, with a simple question. Over at our “Ask the So-Called Expert” page, user “TSGoneAstray” asked if the IATF recognized self-accredited certificates mills. The answer also seemed simple. But, alas, these things never go as planned.
Why the “Few Bad Apples” Myth is Hurting ISO 9001 Certification
When it comes to poor audits, and bad auditors, the old trope “a few bad apples” always comes up. The problem is that the phrase is presented as a fact, when it’s just an opinion, and devoid of any actual data. It minimizes the problem of poor certification auditing/auditors and dooms us to a future without any incentive to fix it.
The UKAS Surrealism: The Procedure as Not-A-Procedure
In recent days UKAS ruled that BSI’s Entropy® software does not constitute consulting, and therefore BSI has not violated ISO 17021 by then certifying Entropy® users. We here at Oxebridge have argued otherwise. So who’s right? Let’s check facts.
Top Ten Dumb Things ISO Consultants Say
ISO consultants love to parrot each other. One dummy will say something that sounds reasonably smart, and get picked up by everyone else until it becomes an assumed truth. This is how the meme "say what you do, and do what you say" got started. They tend to cause a...
![[Sticky] Down the Rabbithole: Following Two CB Complaints](https://www.oxebridge.com/emma/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/spiral-397x250.jpg)
[Sticky] Down the Rabbithole: Following Two CB Complaints
Regularly updated, this thread follows the progress of two high-level complaints filed with UKAS against accredited registrars BSI and LRQA.
UKAS Sides with LRQA; Oxebridge Calls Investigation “Deeply Troubling”
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) has ruled that Lloyds Register (LRQA) was in full compliance with ISO 17021 accreditation rules when it issued an ISO 9001 certificate to an organization it had knowledge was circulating counterfeit certificates just months prior. Oxebridge had filed a complaint with LRQA, to which LRQA responded by threatening a lawsuit and blocking all Oxebridge emails. UKAS has also ruled that these activities are entirely consistent with ISO 17021.
EAGLE Defends Scheme to Give “Preferred” Status to Consultants Who Sell for Them
EAGLE Certification Group’s new Director of Business Development Ben Marchant has defended the company’s new “EAGLE Consultant Partner Program”, ignoring accusations that it violates ISO 17021’s requirements of a firewall between registrars and consultants. He characterized the questions about his company’s practices as “aggression.”
Another Quality Moron Has Racist Meltdown
Shaun Sayers of the UK’s Capable People blog, and an official trainer for IRCA and IEMA, responded to a question on LinkedIn related to verifying the credibility of ISO 9001 accreditation bodies. Out of the blue, Sayers chimed in with a racist indictment of Indian culture. Will anyone hold him accountable? Don’t hold your breath.
No Surprise – ANAB Complaint Database is Totally Hosed
In a surprise to exactly no one, any attempt to do the simplest data mining of ANAB's public complaints database proves useless, as it just throws up SQL errors. The database has always been a train wreck, so it's to be expected. When filing a complaint, one is...
Oxebridge Launches New Fan Mail Page to Irritate Critics
Egos are fragile things, and the best way to bulk up a fragile thing is to feed it incessantly. Thus, we invite you to send your emails and comments for our new Fan Mail page, telling us how great Oxebridge is. If you'd like to read what other people have said about...
REPRINT: ISO 9001’s Existential Crisis
(Originally posted 06 Sept 2013) With the Committee Draft of ISO 9001:2015, it's evident that ISO has entered into a full blown existential crisis. I'd say mid-life crisis, but that would assume we are only halfway through the life of ISO 9001, and ISO seems dead-set...
ISO Doesn’t Have Consensus on Whether it Has Consensus
ISO officials cannot agree on whether a single sentence will or will not be removed from all standards, nor what prompted it. But even as they disagree, the claim they are in agreement.
ANAB Opens, Closes, Re-opens Smithers Complaint
After only 48 hours' of investigation, ANAB had ruled that Smithers was not in any conflict of interest over its co-marketing of ISO 9001 and SN9001 services with consultant John Allin. Read the original complaint here, and the ANAB response here. Then compare it with...
Floodgates Opened: Unprecedented CB Efforts to “Partner” with Consultants
In the past there has always been a secretive, wink-wink arrangement between some consultants and certification bodies. This has been because accreditation rules for CBs prohibit them from directly marketing their services with those of a consulting body. So any such arrangements had to be under the table. Now, not so much.
UKAS Responds to Elevated Complaint, Sides with BSI
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) has determined that the practices and products of ISO 9001 registrar BSI do not present a conflict of interest as they do not rise to the definition of “consulting.” UKAS issued this ruling as part of a response to a complaint elevated to it by Oxebridge, which alleged widespread violations of ISO 17021 rules requiring a separation between consulting and certification auditing activities.
Smithers Complaint Escalated to ANAB
The complaint filed against Smithers Quality Assessment has been escalated to ANAB, after Smithers failed to conduct any corrective action.
Minor Tweak Would Allow All 20,000 ISO Standards to be Used for Certification
A seemingly minor and administrative interpretation of a decades-old regulation is now opening up every ISO “deliverable” for usage as a third party certification standard, a move which could mean millions — if not billions — of dollars in additional revenue for Certification and Accreditation Bodies.
ILO Doesn’t Like ISO’s Definition of Risk Either; ISO 31000 Headed for Certification Standard; ISO 45001 Draft Out
A trio of deep-insider tidbits: the ILO doesn’t much care for ISO’s definition of risk either; ISO 31000 is going to be rewritten as a standard for risk management system certification; and ISO 45001 on occupational health and safety is out.
Ask the So-Called “Expert” Your Deepest ISO Questions
Oxebridge is pleased to announce its new web feature, Ask the So-Called Expert, where you can ask your ISO 9001, AS9100 and other related questions directly to our famous VP Operations, Christopher Paris. Go easy, he’s no Einstein.
Again? Another Risk Management Company Caught Posing As a Woman Online
Another risk management consulting firm has been found using a fake LinkedIn profile, featuring a stolen image of a woman, to sell their services.
What is ISO 9001’s “Risk-Based Thinking” Anyway?
Strictly speaking, ISO 9001:2015 does NOT add risk management, but “risk based thinking.” So what does that mean, in a practical sense?
(UPDATED) Is G31000 Preparing to Self-Accredit?
G31000 is about to announce the formation of the “International Board for Risk Management Accreditation” which, one presumes, will then accredit G31000 in order to give validity to its certifications. But, the usual hiccups are immediately evident.
Smithers Pushes Ahead on SN9001 Training Alongside Consultant, Despite Complaint
Smithers Quality Assessments is continuing to market SN9001 training alongside consultant John Allin, despite a complaint filed to the registrar alleging that doing so violates conflict of interest rules identified in ISO 17021.
TC 176 “Ethics” Expert Palmes to Fill Vacant G31000 Speaker Slot Following Hardy Departure
US TAG to ISO Technical Committee 176 senior member Paul Palmes has signed to speak at G31000’s upcoming conference, presumably filling the seat of departed speaker Dr. Karen Hardy, who left after controversy erupted over her participation with the group.
ISO 9001, Nigel Croft, and Steven Spielberg: Dinosaur Hunter
Whereas we can laugh at the stupidity of internet folks freaking out over a photo of Steven Spielberg sitting next to a “dead” dinosaur model, are we guilty of the same kind of ridiculous assumption building when we trust Nigel Croft’s latest assertions about ISO 9001 document control advances?
Ambit Group Awards ISO / CMMI Contract to Oxebridge
The Ambit Group has awarded a contract for implementation of an integrated IT services management system to Oxebridge Quality Resources International. The resulting system will be compliant to three standards: ISO 9001, ISO 20000 and CMMI-SVC.
Dutch Certificate Mill QualityMasters Agrees to Certify “Death Jackets”
In a follow up to the recent story wherein a number of US certificate mills agreed to provide ISO 9001 certification services to a fictional company that designed cement life vests under the company name “LifeSink,” now the Dutch certificate mill QualityMasters has likewise agreed.
Now Hiring – Implementation Specialists, Tech Writers
Oxebridge is hiring for new Implementation Specialists.
Obama Risk Advisor Dropped from G31000 Speaker Lineup
The senior advisor on risk management to US President Barack Obama has been dropped from the list of speakers at the upcoming G31000 international conference, presumably after it was revealed she had purchased an unaccredited risk credential from the group.
EXCLUSIVE: ISO 9001 Certificate Mills Tried to Literally Certify Cement Life Jackets
In a riff off of the old 1980’s meme that ISO 9001 could “certify a manufacturer of cement life jackets,” a number of unaccredited or self-accredited ISO 9001 certificate mills have agreed to do just that, after a journalistic sting operation conducted by Oxebridge.
Why the Fight Against Certificate Mills is More Important Than Ever
As we approach 2015, the fight against the unaccredited (or self-accredited) certificate mills is taking on an entirely new shape and scope. A much larger initiative is underway, drawing in stakeholders and interested parties from a vast array of professions, agencies, governmental regulatory bodies, and more. The message will be loud and clear for the mills: get honest, or get lost.
Oxebridge Report Email List Culled; You May Have to Sign Up Again
Given the recent spamming by G31000, we decided to look inward and make sure Oxebridge was on the up and up. Now the Oxebridge Report mailing list is only about 200 names long at this point, but it was still worth examining.
Aerospace Trainer Misled Public on His Knowledge of Hypnosis
The aerospace auditor and trainer Richard Randall may have lied about his knowledge of hypnosis when defending himself against criticism that he trained both the AAQG and NQA auditors on hypnosis at three events in 2013. Online documents prove he not only received training in Ericksonian Hypnosis — the hypnotic method upon which NLP is partly based — but has an active interest in it, and seeks others for discussion on the subject.
