As you may know, BSI has a long history as the controlling party behind ISO. Back in 1987, it was BSI that allowed ISO to republish BS5750 as the first edition of “ISO 9001.” It was BSI that suggested the minor changes that resulted in ISO 9001:1994. While ISO was, on paper, appearing to be creating international management system standards, it was really BSI working behind the scenes.
For the 2000 edition, the ISO Executive wrested temporary control away from BSI, ejected their old intellectual property, and created the first truly-original ISO 9001 standard written by actual experts. ISO imposed strict rules on participation in TC 176, including prohibiting dominance by any CB (including BSI) and private consultants. The result was what the world saw as the best version of ISO9001 ever ot have been published. It had problems, yes, but they could have been fixed.
By around 2006 or so, the ISO Executive had changed (I’d have to check the exact dates, so don’t quote me), and ISO was back in bed with BSI. Along with their US counterparts at ANSI, the two standards bodies pushed for a “rewrite” of the much-loved ISO 9001:2000 standard. They borked it up tremendously. At the same time, ISO had begun imposing “mandatory core text” on all management system standards, text which was not written by any actual quality management subject matter expert. BSI and ANSI were on board with this, so they allowed it into the ISO 9001 standard. The result was the worst version of ISO 9001 ever.
For that version, ISO stopped vetting who they let onto TC 176 and prioritized private consultants who would follow whatever they said. Much of that fell at the feet of the incompetent consultants like Lorri Hunt, Jose Dominguez, Stefan Tangen, Dick Hortensius, and, to a lesser extent, Nigel Croft. (There were more, but I don’t have the list of names handy. Hunt was the biggest problem for TC 176, though, and had provoked a number of outright battles in the committee, as she took more control near the end.)
That brings us to the 2026 version. Hunt and TC 176 were again given the reins, but this time they were so busy fighting amongst themselves that they could not get anything done. They were under order to update ISO 9001 because the mandatory core text had been updated, but at the same time, the world had voted not to update it. Hunt’s second, Dominguez, tried valiantly to lobby the world to change their votes but failed, for four years running. BSI finally got pissed and took control away from Hunt and her gang, leading her to quit.
BSI then handed over complete control to their former staffer, Sam Somerville, who now runs a consulting company named Jigsaw. Somerville was brought on because she’s (a) as dim as a lightbulb during the Blitz, and (b) will do whatever BSI tells her. For this revision, the team was nearly entirely private consultants, and Somerville partnered with a tiny handful of other dimwitted sycophants to create the draft we now have. Instead of fixing the problems in the 2015 version, she left them untouched and added more problems, such as “opportunity-based thinking” and the ironic requirements that companies act “ethically.”
Yes, the scammers want you to be ethical, while they violate those pesky WTO Technical Barriers to Trade regulations.
For the next few years, Somerville and her gang produced a bland, meaningless text, while TC 176’ers argued over punctuation and formatting for a massive Annex, which was added only to pad the page count and allow ISO to increase the cover price. The Annex has no actual requirements and provides “guidance” that may be ignored entirely. Worse, the section cherry-picks which clauses deserve guidance, and leaves out others entirely.
Now Somerville has been rightly receiving world condemnation for her oh-so-terrible work, and is upset about it. She started blocking everyone she could on social media, ensured BSI turned off comments on her ridiculous and misleading YouTube video, and has been circulating angry emails denouncing unnamed parties. Meaning Oxebridge, of course.
But now she’s sent this email, basically naming outright the writers of this shit draft. Then, some other moron sent me the letter, because they are that stupid. I’ll do him the favor of not naming him, but will publish the letter.
So, who’s to blame for ISO 9001:2026? It’s Somerville herself, of course, along with Devindra Chattergoon (Trinidad), Jose Dominguez (Mexico), Isaac Sheps (Israel), Arthea Diergaardt (Namibia), and Paul Lambert (Somerville’s BSI handler). With the possible exception of Sheps, who has a history that goes back decades of trying to fix ISO 9001’s problems — but who apparently failed utterly this time around — the others are all vapid toadies. All of them are consultants, except for Lambert, who just works for BSI outright.
Because when the world looks for quality management advancements, everyone runs to Trinidad, Mexico, Israel, and Namibia for inspiration. China, meanwhile, is revolutionizing the quality management profession, but you know, BSI can’t sell standards in China, so they were not invited.
Anyway, here’s Somerville’s email thanking her sycophants. Notice how she now claims that “5,974 comments” were dispositioned, then go look at my teardown of what they actually did.
Dear WG29 colleagues,
I’m very pleased to share that the ISO 9001 Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) has now been formally submitted and confirmed as accepted by ISO/CS.
As we reach this important milestone, it feels appropriate to pause to recognise the scale of the journey and the collective effort behind it.
The work began with the first in person WG29 meeting in London in December 2023, followed by further in person meetings in Detroit, Paris and Mexico City, supported by an extensive programme of virtual meetings. In total and across all drafting stages the Working Group has participated in 29 meetings representing 267.5 hours of formal meeting time and dispositioned 5,974 comments. Many of those hours were given generously across time zones, alongside day jobs and other commitments, and always with a shared determination to reach consensus and deliver a document intended to meet user needs now and into the future.
This achievement is entirely down to the commitment, professionalism and constructive collaboration of WG29 members. The depth and quality of debate, even under significant time pressure, has been remarkable. What has stood out throughout is not only the volume of work achieved, but the way it was approached – with respect, openness to challenge, and a sustained focus on serving users of the standard.
I would also like to record my particular thanks to the Convenor Support Team – Devindra Chattergoon, José Dominguez, Isaac Sheps, Arthea Diergaardt, and Paul Lambert – whose sustained support, coordination and technical input have been fundamental to keeping the project moving and to a consistently high standard.
It has been a genuine privilege to work alongside you all on this revision, and to see such sustained expertise, commitment and goodwill brought to the table over the life of the project.
I hope you feel the same pride in this outcome as I do in having worked alongside you to achieve it.
Thank you again for the time, energy and expertise you have contributed, and for the collegial spirit that has characterised the work throughout.
With kindest regards,
Sam Somerville
Convenor of ISO/TC 176/SC 2/WG 29
Christopher Paris is the founder and VP Operations of Oxebridge. He has over 35 years’ experience implementing ISO 9001 and AS9100 systems, and helps establish certification and accreditation bodies with the ISO 17000 series. He is a vocal advocate for the development and use of standards from the point of view of actual users. He is the writer and artist of THE AUDITOR comic strip, and is currently writing the DR. CUBA pulp novel series. Visit www.drcuba.world
