New Year – New Standards | 2013-02-12

A new version of ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 editions are coming soon

Posted by Thea Dunmire on January 3, 2013 on her blog http://ohsas180001expert.com/

As we start 2013, it is clear that we will shortly be getting a very different version of ISO 14001 – as well as revisions to ISO 9001. OHSAS 18001 may be revised as well – or transformed into an ISO standard.

What is happening with ISO 14001?

The revision of the 2004 edition of ISO 14001 is now well underway.

The impact of Annex SL of the ISO/IEC Directives (a.k.a. Guide 83 High Level Structure) is becoming evident. It is clear that using the new required common approach, with its mandatory definitions and identical core text, will result in significant structural and substantive changes to the standard.

Whether these changes are wise, or not, seems to depend on who you ask.

A committee draft (CD) of the revised ISO 14001 standard will be out for comment later this year and the plan is to have the new version ready for final publication in early 2015.

What about OHSAS 18001?

The revision status of OSHAS 18001 is less clear.

BSI has indicated that it plans to again request that ISO develop an OHSMS standard to replace OHSAS 18001. Any revision of OHSAS 18001 is on hold pending the outcome of this action.

What about ISO 9001?

Annex SL applies to ISO 9001 as well, so the next revision of the quality management system will need to deal with many of the same issues associated with Annex SL that are currently being debated in the revision of ISO 14001.

Work has started on this revision of ISO 9001 with a projected completion date of late 2015.

It appears 2013 will be a busy year for standards writers!

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Thea Dunmire has been in the environmental and OH&S field for a long time. She started her first project in 1978 while at the University of Iowa when she developed a system to keep track of laboratory chemicals from initial purchase to final disposal. In the 1980s she did EHS audits of Bristol Myers facilities around the world, went to law school, and then went to work for the U.S. EPA, Region 5 in Chicago. At EPA she was heavily involved in monitoring the clean up at Superfund sites. For more information about her company and services, visit ENLAR Compliance Services, Inc. http://enlar.com. Check out Thea’s blog postings at ohsas18001expert.com. She has kindly granted us permission to post this article, which appears on her blog site. ENLAR Compliance Service, Inc.

ENLAR Compliance Services, Inc. specializes in developing and offering resources and coaching to help organizations establish and maintain effective environmental and OH&S management systems. For more details about ENLAR's services, go to www.enlar.com.