Latest News & Opinion on the ISO Certification Scheme
WEBSITE ALERT: Hurricane Irene May Temporarily Affect Oxebridge Site
THIS IS A TECHNICAL ALERT FOR OXEBRIDGE.COM VISITORS AND USERS. DeepBlueHosting has alerted Oxebridge that its server farms are in the path of Hurricane Irene. While every precaution has been taken to ensure uninterrupted service, there is the small possibility that...
Registrars Would Benefit From A Customer Perspective – Part 3
by Christopher Paris VP Operations, Oxebridge Quality Resources International (Read part 2 of this article here.) Summarizing the Customer's Perspective Registrars must understand, remember, and then train their staff on the following truisms: Clients project their...
Quake Shakes Oxebridge Offices in Peru
Lima Peru --- A magnitude 7 earthquake in eastern Peru shook the offices of Oxebridge Quality Resources some 300 miles from the epicenter in Pucallpo, sending residents and workers into the streets. The intensity of the effects in Lima were unusual, given the...
New Address for Oxebridge’s US Office
Tampa FL--- Oxebridge has moved to a new office location for its North American operations. The address is: Oxebridge Quality Resources International LLC 1503 South US Highway 301 Suite 36 Tampa FL 33619 USA The phone and fax numbers have not changed, and are still:...
Smithers Proposes “15-Why” Root Cause Tool
Akron OH -- Smithers Quality Assessments, an ANAB-accredited ISO 9001 registrar, has rolled out a root cause analysis tool to assist clients in responding to audit nonconformities, in compliance with ANAB accreditation requirements. The company is responding to a 2009...
Auditor Incompetence Plagues Industry, Industry Yawns
by Christopher Paris The release of ISO 17021:2011, the latest standard governing the practices of accredited registrars for ISO 9001, AS9100 and other standards, included what appeared to be tough talk on monitoring the "behavior" of auditors. Sure, there were the...
Hey, RABQSA: I Told You So
by Christopher Paris Back when the US accreditation body RAB was found to be sitting on a big, fat conflict of interest by simultaneously certifying auditors as well as accrediting ISO 9001 registrars, the organization was split into two bodies, ANAB (the...
Standards.org to Launch Free Resource for ISO 9001, Other Users
by Christopher Paris VP Operations I, no doubt like many other leading consultants in the ISO 9001 and related standards fields, received an invitation from Standards.org, a new site that aims to act as a one-stop portal for organizations seeking information on...
LEONI Fiber Optics Recommended for ISO 13485 Certification
Williamsburg VA -- LEONI Fiber Optics, Inc. has been recommended for ISO 13485 certification by NSF-ISR, pending review paperwork by the registrar's certification committee. LEONI had formerly undergone Rapid ISO 9001 Implementation by Oxebridge when the company was...
Allied International’s Engineering Division Achieves AS9100 Rev. C
DeLand FL --- Allied International's Engineering Division has been recommended for AS9100 Rev. C certification by NSF-ISR. Allied International, with their headquarters in Bedford Hills NY, contracted with Oxebridge earlier this year for its DeLand Florida based...
ISO’s Paranoia Limits ISO 9001’s Acceptance
by Christopher Paris VP Operations, Oxebridge The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) provides guidance information on "Publicizing your ISO 9001:2008 or ISO 14001:2004 Certification." Unfortunately, the organization's typical...
Firm Uses Spam Survey to Gather Statistics… on Surveys
Aptos CA -- Online survey services provider The Benchmarking Exchange (TBE) has sent out an unsolicited mass email promoting a survey which aims to gather information on the effectiveness of surveys. The email, received by Oxebridge -- which has never knowingly...
ACHC Drops “Extreme” Requirements After Oxebridge Letter
Raleigh NC --- The Accreditation Commission for Healthcare (ACHC) has responded to Oxebridge's query on its new DMEPOS Accreditation standards by dropping some key requirements that Oxebridge had deemed "extreme." On the heels of Oxebridge's scathing report on the new...
Registrars Would Benefit From A Customer Perspective – Part 2
by Christopher Paris VP Operations, Oxebridge Quality Resources International (Read part 1 of this article here.) The Client's View The ISO 9001 end user has very valuable insight which should be taught not only to the auditor pools of registrars, but to their top...
Registrars Would Benefit From A Customer Perspective – Part 1
by Christopher Paris VP Operations, Oxebridge Quality Resources International In my 23 years of working with ISO 9001, the past 12 of which have been as an Implementation Specialist and trainer with Oxebridge, I have always seen a disconnect between the thinking...
ACHC: Earthquake? Tsunami? Call Your Diabetic Strip Supplier!
by Christopher Paris VP Operations, Oxebridge Quality Resources International The Accreditation Commission for Healthcare (ACHC) has released an entirely revamped set of standards for durable medical equipment (DME) companies who must be accredited in order to bill...
Oxebridge Client Receives Major ISO 9001 Nonconformity – First in Company History
Winter Haven FL -- A client of Oxebridge's Rapid ISO 9001 Implementation Program has received a major nonconformity against ISO 9001 during an initial registration audit by Smithers Quality Assessments. An initial review by Oxebridge has confirmed that the finding is...
ANAB Clarifies: Access to Registrars’ Impartiality Committees Not Mandatory
Winter Haven FL -- In a clarifying statement to Oxebridge, as part of a response to the recent complaint against registrar SGS, ANAB has clarified its interpretation of ISO 17021, the standard governing ISO 9001 registrars. Oxebridge had filed a complaint against SGS...
“Eyesore 9001” Hits Over 1/4 Million Downloads
Winter Haven FL --- The free satire document "Eyesore 9000: A Smartass' Guide to ISO 9001", published by Oxebridge and written by "Anonymous", has hit a landmark record of over 250,000 downloads. This number is greater than the number of companies that have adopted...
LEONI Fiber Optics Adds ISO 13485 Medical Device QMS
Williamsburg VA -- LEONI Fiber Optics Inc. (formerly RoMack) has hired Oxebridge to expand its current ISO 9001:2008 system to include the medical device manufacturing standard ISO 13485. Oxebridge has begun this effort in the past few weeks, and the project is...
Not Waiting for ISO User Survey, US’ ISO 9001 Leadership, ASQ Cash In
San Antonio TX --- While ISO issues its periodic user survey asking for public input on what is needed to improve the next revision of ISO 9001, expected by many to be a major change to the current ISO 9001:2008, the leadership of the US Technical Advisory Group to...
SGS Response to OQRI “Appears Suddenly”, ANAB Accepts Within 24 Hours
Winter Haven FL --- In a surprising turn of events, Oxebridge has received a written and formal reply to a complaint sent to SGS, despite an original refusal by the registrar's senior management to process the matter. The original complaint was submitted to SGS on...
Allied International’s Engineering Division To Implement AS9100
DeLand FL -- Allied International Corp.'s Acoustic Engineering Division has contracted with Oxebridge for a Rapid AS9100 Implementation at its new Florida facility. The Acoustic Division provides acoustic products and services helping aerospace customers resolve...
CRE’s Levinson Gets it Right: DME Competitive Bidding is “Job Crushing”
Washington DC --- In a refreshingly blunt and honest critique of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) mandate that providers of durable medical equipment (DME) undergo a "competitive bidding process", watchdog group Center for Regulatory Effectiveness...
Smithers Pulls “Partner” Consultant Materials from Website
Winter Haven FL --- Smithers Quality Assessments, a registrar of ISO 9001 and AS9100 management systems, has pulled language and materials from its website that indicated it had "partnered" with consulting firm Sedlak Consulting, including an ISO 9001:2008 checklist...
RaeTech Recommended for AS9100 by AQA
Phoenix AZ --- Aerospace manufacturer RaeTech, Inc. has been recommended for AS9100 certification by AQA International, an accredited registrar of aerospace quality management systems. RaeTech underwent an Oxebridge Rapid AS9100 Implementation program, starting the...
ACHC to Release New DMEPOS Standards in Feb 2011
Raleigh NC -- The Accreditation Commission for HealthCare (ACHC), one of the "Deeming Authority" bodies accredited by Medicare to provide survey and accreditation to Medicare quality standards, will be releasing updated standards for DMEPOS providers in February 2011....
World Responds to OQRI’s CMMI Warning, While US Remains Silent
Tampa FL --- Representatives of ISO 9001 oversight organizations from around the world have responded favorably to a previous warning issued by Oxebridge that CMMI would overtake ISO 9001 in importance if dramatic steps are not taken to improve the aging QMS standard....
Complaint Against SGS Escalated to ANAB – Cites 11 Accreditation Violations
Winter Haven FL --- In the largest, most comprehensive complaint ever filed by Oxebridge against an accredited registrar, a formal complaint has been filed against SGS to its accreditation body, ANAB, citing 10 separate violations of ISO 17021 and 1 violation of SGS...
ACHC Proves a “Model” For Complaints Handling – Registrars Should Listen
By Christopher Paris VP Operations Recently, for what is nothing more than coincidence, Oxebridge has file a few complaints against registrars in the ISO 9001 world. This seems to happen in spasms, and there's no rhyme or reason to it, with the exception that...
SGS Refuses Oxebridge Complaint, Calls It An “Inquisition”
Winter Haven FL --- In a voice mail left on Oxebridge's phone system, SGS North American Accreditation Manager Zachary Pivarnik called a recent formal complaint issued by Oxebridge to SGS "an inquisition." In a follow up call with Oxebridge's VP of Operations and...
ACHC Reverses Policy on Respirators for DMEPOS Industry After OQRI Complaint
Winter Haven FL — CMS accreditation deeming authority ACHC (Accreditation Council for Healthcare) has reversed its policy of citing durable medical equipment (DME) companies for failing to have an “OSHA required” respirator program after the filing of a complaint by...
Oxebridge Closed in December for Peru Startup
Lima Peru -- Oxebridge Quality Resources International will be shut down for the month of December 2010 as it prepares to launch its first South American office in Lima Peru. Normal US operations will resume in January 2011. During the month of December, Oxebridge...
Oxebridge Widens “QMS Audit Defense Investigation” Services to All Companies Throughout the World
Winter Haven FL --- Oxebridge Quality Resources International is now expanding its QMS Audit Defense services beyond its existing clients, to any company in the world that is certified to ISO 9001, AS9100 or other QMS certifications. This service, which starts at only...
Complaint Filed Against SGS Alleging Invalid ISO 9001:2008 Finding
(See update below.) Winter Haven FL --- A formal complaint has been issued by Oxebridge Quality Resources International on behalf of its client and other ISO 9001 end users alleging that the certification body SGS allowed an unsupported audit finding to stand, even...
