It’s not quite official yet, and a few things can happen (read on) but it does appear the US TAG to TC 176 will vote to “abstain” regarding approval of the FDIS of ISO 9001:2015. The result is likely because of post-vote opinions received from members, and a preliminary analysis of commenting data. Those opposed to the FDIS appear to have commented twice as much as those in favor, but neither camp got the 2/3 majority needed to lock a vote in either direction. As a result, it would appear the TAG would have to file an official vote with ISO TC 176 to “abstain.”
So why might this not happen? There are a few reasons.
First, the TAG sent mixed signals as to how it intends on processing the vote. Sources inside the TAG said the leadership was “confused” as to how to file a vote, except in condition of a 2/3 approval. For either a mixed vote, or a 2/3 disapprove vote, the leadership was telegraphing its intent to vote “abstain.” Whether or not this would be in compliance with official rules would have to be assessed afterwards.
Next, the TAG leadership overwhelmingly wants to pass the FDIS, and may play games with the voting interpretation, and then refuse to publish the actual vote count. See below.
Finally, an analysis of comments may not be an insight into an analysis of the actual votes, since many voters may not have registered comments.
Of the negative comments, Annex SL proved to be the biggest problem for US voters. They rejected the imposition of the Annex and its content since it was not developed by the TC, but instead by “a small group” within the TMB and “technical experts were not allowed to alter the Annex SL language.”
The TAG leadership is comprised of 70% consultants, with only three representatives not currently operating firms that provide consulting or training. Alka Jarvis (Cisco) is the only member not directly linked to a consulting firm or standards body; Alan Daniels (Boeing) and Helen Kiesel (Goodrich) are both career standards developers, having worked previously for the AAQG on AS9100.
The rest are all private consultants, except for Mark Ames and Dale Isaacs, who both work for ISO 9001 auditor training firm AQS. The fact that two senior leaders are both from the same company is troubling, especially given that AQS is a tiny organization with only a handful of employees; their influence is thus statistically astounding given their actual role in the ISO certification scheme.
As a result, the leadership has a tremendous need to pass the FDIS, in order to ensure a flow of revenue to their consulting and training firms. A “disapprove” vote would put a dent in that revenue. Given that the US TAG is so openly ignoring rules requiring a fair distribution of stakeholders in its ranks, it’s not a stretch to think they may play games with the votes to get the outcome they want. Lorri Hunt in particular has been secretive with minutes and decisions, recently declining to publish some breakout session notes for fear of them being seen outside the TAG. It’s conceivable that since TAG voting is overseen by an independent auditing firm, they could move a small enough number of votes around to get the result they want, without raising too much suspicion.
Since a hard “disapprove” vote is unlikely, the next step will be to see if ANSI considers the Oxebridge Public Call document, asking it to refuse to ratify 9001:2015 as an American National Standard. But many of the TAG leaders have close relationships with key ANSI individuals such as Lane Hallenbeck, so influence and politics may yet win the day.
We should know in a day or two, so stay tuned.
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
