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...
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...
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...