Latest News & Opinion on the ISO Certification Scheme
Headscratcher Blog Post at PRI Registrar
Someone please tell me what this blog post at PRI is about, because I can't figure it out. Excuse me, Mr. Whipple? I have sat silent long enough. I have seen this behavior manifested in enough organizations that it is either chronic or a conspiracy. Are you a member...
Guberman “Endorsements” Disappear from G-PMC Website Overnight
After publicity for his upcoming ASQ speech prompted many to question the claims made on the G-PMC LLC website, unaccredited registrar operator Daryl Guberman has removed more than half of the endorsements previously posted there. The G-PMC page titled "Endorsements"...
TC 176 Must Stop Development of ISO 9001:2015 Now
ISO's Technical Committee 176 must stop all development on ISO 9001:2015 right now. To fail to do so will be such a massive, public display of ineptitude that what little respect the world has for ISO 9001 will be thrown away, possibly forever. This is not hyperbole....
Full Accounting of Daryl Guberman / Don Labelle Fraud and Ethics Violations
A full accounting of the various examples of fraud, abuse, and ethical violations conducted by Daryl Guberman, Felice Guberman and Don Labelle of Guberman PMC LLC.
ASQ Chapter to Host Speech by Unaccredited Registrar Daryl Guberman
New Haven CT -- The New Haven chapter of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) is hosting an April 17th dinner featuring certificate mill operator Daryl Guberman as the guest speaker. Mr. Guberman operates G-PMC, an unaccredited ISO 9001 registrar, or "certificate...
Certificate Mill G-PMC: Accreditation is Antisemitic
In my series of articles The Indefensibles I point out the simultaneously hilarious and ethically void behavior of the world's unaccredited ISO 9001 and AS9100 registrars, or "certificate mills." I am working on two more such pieces, but this bit couldn't wait. Daryl...
Automotive, Aerospace Industries Consider Dropping ISO, Cite Frustration Over 9001:2015
(Updated) Contacts within ISO Technical Committee 176 have notified Oxebridge that the automotive and aerospace industries are considering dropping all connection with ISO 9001, citing frustration over a "lack of improvements" in the proposed ISO 9001:2015 standard....
Quick Review of ISO 9001:2015 Working Draft
The ISO 9001:2015 draft is leaked like a pirated DVD screener, so let the pre-release reviews commence. As you probably know, I've "sat out" this round of 9001 development and have not participated in the US TAG to TC 176 this time. So I've relied on my ever-growing...
Smithers: SN9001 is “Internationally recognized” — Wait, WHAT?
The shameless, fact-free marketing of Smither's pending SN9001 certification program continues apace, with the ANAB-accredited registrar expanding it's dubious claims not only conceptually, but geographically. So far, Smithers has made the unsupported claim that...
ASCA Yields to Oxebridge, Posts SN9001 Purchase Details, Penalizes Non-Members
After a months-long battle with Oxebridge founder Christopher Paris, resulting in a warning sent by Oxebridge to ANAB, the American Snow Contractors Association (ASCA) has posted details on how non-ASCA members can purchase copies of SN9001, it's ISO 9001 sector...
“Unfiltered” ISO 9001:2015 User Discussion Launched on LinkedIn
Oxebridge has started an unfiltered discussion group on ISO 9001:2015 development and usage on LinkedIn, here: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=4928605 The group was formed to counter current ISO 9001:2015 discussion groups which are being moderated and...
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.
