Latest News & Opinion on the ISO Certification Scheme
This IAQG Configuration Management Diagram Will Drive You Insane
This you have to see to believe. In it's "helpful" IAQG Configuration Management Guidelines (ver. A), the IAQG included this slide, depicting a typical CM workflow for AS9100-minded companies. Caution! If you look at this, Oxebridge disavows any damage to your...
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...
Unauditable: A Review of the New SN9001 Standard
There's been some controversy brimming over ASCA's release of SN9001, the ISO 9001 sector variant for the snow and ice management industry, but few people have actually seen a copy of the standard to assess it accurately. I've been personally challenged by...
Consultants: Win Loyalty with Honest Pricing
Another installment on Oxebridge's "How to Be An Excellent ISO 9001 Consultant" series, this time we look at one aspect of billing practices: expenses. There's a popular perception that consultants, of any industry, are scam artists intent on nickel-and-diming clients...
The Indefensibles: Unaccredited ISO 9001 Certificate Mills (Part 2)
In Part 1 we examined an unaccredited registrar operating as a sole proprietorship. But that's not representative of the full range of certificate mill companies. There are also auditing firms that offer a more formal looking conformity assessment service, but which...
Battle Over “Snow 9001” Heats Up
Quick hit: I've already come out against this ridiculous SN9001 standard created out of thin air by Smithers Quality Assessments and the American Snow Contractors Association, but I decided to attempt to confront the shysters pushing this scheme directly, taking to...
The Indefensibles: Unaccredited ISO 9001 Certificate Mills (Part 1)
There are many interpretations as to what, exactly, ISO 9001 certification means. Is it a third party assessment of pure conformity to ISO 9001 requirements? Or is it a confirmation of process effectiveness? Or both? Neither? Regardless, the validity of any ISO 9001...
RABQSA Suspension Lifted
RABQSA has announced that its suspension by the AAQG Registration Management Committee for issuing AS9100 auditor certifications has been lifted. The suspension ended on February 9th. RABQSA has alerted its customers and users that it has resumed certifying new...
Registrar: Accreditation Questions Like a “Crusade”, Akin to Crucifixion
I am preparing a large piece on the unaccredited registrars, but this one couldn't wait. A Lead Auditor with QualityMasters, an unaccredited certificate mill out of the Netherlands, has been making quite a fuss at LinkedIn whenever questions are asked about his...
AS9101E — Goodbye OER, Hello PEAR 2.0
IAQG's Registration Management Committee (RMC) is circulating a sudden revision to AS9101, the rules for auditing under AS9100. The Rev. E draft takes into consideration some market realities pushed by the CB's and their auditors: the previous rev D had tripled the...
PastBlast: “Beware the Sudden Experts”
Going through the old database, I found this gem from July, 2001. Warning against "The Sudden Experts" -- those consultants who claimed expertise on a standard that hadn't even been released yet -- the piece is as relevant now as it was then. This piece came on the...
How IAQG Could Have Spent $750 to Shut Down AS9100 Certificate Mills Forever
I'll have another piece shortly on the rise of the unaccredited certificate mills in AS9100, but in researching that, I came across a shockingly dumb oversight by IAQG which basically handed the keys to the con men. First, some basics. IAQG develops the AS9100 family...
Top Ten Mistakes ISO 9001 Consultants Make – Part 2
(Part 1 of this article can be found here.) Continuing on the top 10 mistakes made by ISO 9001 consultants, in no particular order: 6.) Training the client to be a consultant. Consultants often don't realize that by teaching clients everything they know (see #5 "Data...
Top Ten Mistakes ISO 9001 Consultants Make – Part 1
This marks the first of a series of "How to Be an Excellent ISO 9001 Consultant" articles; it would equally apply to consultants of other management systems including AS9100, ISO 14001, TS 16949, etc. Here I present some common mistakes that ISO 9001 consultants make...
NSF Acquires INASSA Peru
Ann Arbor MI - NSF International has acquired the INASSA Group of Lima, Peru, a leader in the Peruvian market in quality control, analytical testing, certifications, inspections, training and consulting. The INASSA Group will now be known as NSF-INASSA, NSF-Envirolab...
RABQSA Issues Notice, FAQ on its Suspension
RABQSA has released the following email regarding the recent decision by the American Aerospace Quality Group's Registration Management Committee (RMC) to suspend its ability to certify AS9100 auditors, pending resolution of multiple nonconformities. Dear Valued...
AAQG Suspends RABQSA, Shutting Down Aerospace Auditor Certifications
We're watching this one closely, but my sources tell me that the Registration Management Committee (RMC) of the AAQG has suspended RABQSA and halted their ability to issue new AS9100 and related auditor certifications. Sources have indicated that it was due a...
Boeing Rushed Dreamliner (AP)
I'm monitoring this story closely. Will this be the "Seldon Crisis" that pushes AS9100 weaknesses into the forefront, and finally drives change? Early indications are ... no. Boeing may yet dodge a bullet on that. Via AP: "From the Start, Dreamliner Jet Program Was...
Registrar Offloading Work Onto Client: A Growing Trend?
The "PEAR Controversy" has almost run its course, with a denouement yet to be played out (but coming), and the feedback on the matter has settled into roughly three camps. First, though, a background: it's been discovered that registrar auditors have been having...
What Developing Nations Can Teach Us About ISO 9001
There is much cynical, if nevertheless true, discussion about the decline of ISO 9001's impact, usefulness, merits, etc. We've seen a lot of comments about how ISO 9001 hasn't achieved what it intended, and how it doesn't necessarily result in an improved QMS. But the...
ISO Survey 2012 Data Released – First Impressions
ISO has released its annual ISO Survey report, giving totals on ISO 9001 certifications worldwide. In good news, it is releasing the information for free this year (prompted, I'm told, by poor sales of last year's report.) In not-so-good news, they password-protected...
Bill Fox Interview with Chris Paris for “5 Minutes to Process Improvement” Series
Bill Fox of the "5 Minutes to Process Improvement Success" series has interviewed Oxebridge Quality Resources' founder Christopher Paris, on the subject of identifying processes. The full interview can be read here:...
ISO Releases Standard on “People Involvement”
I'll have more on this soon, as I delve deeper. Here is ISO 10018, the new standard on "Guidelines on People Involvement and Competence." Getting the best out of people - ISO 10018 aids ISO 9001 implementation (source: ISO.org) Seems ISO's view of "involvement of...
Whittington Article on True Audit Sampling
Quick hit: Larry Whittington of Whittington & Associates has a great article on sampling for audits. The best I've ever read on the subject. Audit Sampling (direct link) Ever seen a registrar audit like this? I didn't think so.
Promoting ISO 9001 – Peruvian Style
Some examples of the many ways Peruvian companies advertise their ISO 9001 certifications. This results in a massive consumer awareness of ISO 9001, driving certification from the public, rather than through mandates by prime customers. [gallery link="file"...
Snow Job: SN9001 “Standard” Furthers Industry Self-Cannibalization
by Christopher Paris In case you hadn't heard, there's a new sector specific standard out called SN9001. It's for the (guess) snow and ice management industry. Yep, those guys. Apparently snow management companies had to make their own standard, because ISO 9001 was...
IAF Rules: Clients May Fill in Audit Evidence, CB’s Only to “Verify”
Tampa FL -- The International Accreditation Forum has responded to an initial request by Oxebridge Quality Resources on the issue of AS9100 CB auditors requesting clients to complete PEAR and other audit forms prior to the audit, ruling that the practice is...
Why Auditor “Opportunities for Improvement” Are the Exact Opposite of That
by Christopher Paris The debate over whether ISO 9001 certification body (CB) auditors should offer "OFI's" (opportunities for improvement) cuts to the core of some of the problems facing the international standard. While most auditors and CB reps insist that clients...
Puch Manufacturing Advances to AS9100
Orlando FL -- Puch Manufacturing Corp, a contract manufacturer of machined products for aerospace and other industries, has updated its quality management system to comply with AS9100 Rev C. Puch was an ISO 9001 client for Oxebridge from 2004. In developing the new...
Another Look at the ISO Spin Machine
by Christopher Paris A recent article on ISO 26000 give an excellent example of how ISO uses only the most dubious data that supports a predetermined marketing initiative, and ignores actual data that might contradict it. The article is linked here:...
“PEAR Controversy” to be Escalated to IAF
Tampa FL --- The debate over whether AS9100 certification body auditors may request, or even require, audit clients to complete their own evidence reports prior to the audit is being escalated to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). Representing aerospace...
The Case Against “Improvement” in ISO 9001
by Christopher Paris VP Operations, Oxebridge Quality Resources International ISO requires that its management system standards undergo a review every 5 years, for the purposes of improving them. The unwritten, but accepted, practice is that every other...
“Passive” Customer Satisfaction Measurement for ISO 9001
by Christopher Paris VP Operations, Oxebridge Quality Resources When ISO 9001:2000 was released, it introduced a need to gather data on customer satisfaction. This resulted in a flood of "Satisfaction Surveys" being released by ISO 9001 certified organizations to...
Oxebridge Introduces “Big Bold Print” Quoting for Its Services
Tampa FL --- Oxebridge Quality Resources International is happy to introduce an even more streamlined method of quoting costs for its ISO 9001 and other services. "Big Bold Print Quoting" presents a flat, fixed rate cost in easy-to-understand terms. In 2009, Oxebridge...
IAQG RMC: OK for Clients to Complete PEARs for AS9100 Auditors
Winter Haven FL -- Responding to a formal request for clarification on the use of PEAR forms during AS9100 Rev C audits, the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) has issued an opinion to Oxebridge. The request for clarification came after...
