The new edition of the ISO 9001 standard, published on September 16, replaces the 2015 version and requires certified organizations to review their quality management systems. In Côte d’Ivoire, the director of QUALITAS, Djibril Michael Secong, called on companies to prepare for this transition in a statement released on Saturday, October 10.
The revision retains the general structure and principles already used by certified organizations. The International Organization for Standardization specifies that a complete overhaul is not necessary and recommends starting from existing processes to focus on useful adjustments.
Among the announced developments are an increased emphasis on leadership, quality culture, and strategic alignment. The text also more clearly distinguishes risks from opportunities, in order to help organizations address these two aspects separately.
Customer orientation, the process-based approach, and continuous improvement remain at the core of the system. The consideration of climate change, integrated into the previous edition through an amendment published in 2024, is also maintained.
The challenge for companies already certified is therefore to compare their practices with the new requirements, then to document the gaps that require correction. The standard also applies to organizations that want to implement a formal quality management system for the first time.
ISO indicates that this edition can be used by organizations of all sizes, in industry, services, healthcare, education, the public sector, and non-profit activities.
