TC176 Promotes Collaboration, Quality Standards, and Expected Outcomes at 30th IAF-ILAC Joint Annual Meeting in Montreal
TC176 Promotes Collaboration, Quality Standards, and Expected Outcomes at 30th IAF-ILAC Joint Annual Meeting in Montreal
Jeffrey Hunt, Chair of ISO TC176 and Mark Schuessler, Committee Manager of TC176 presented to the IAF Working Group on Management Systems Certifications at the 30th IAF-ILAC Joint Annual Meeting today. The Chair’s presentation centered on the goal of driving improved outcomes for companies using quality management systems standards. “The users and stakeholders of quality management systems expect that all participants in a vendor’s certification work together to ensure the expected outcomes are achieved. It is the responsibility of all four pillars of the expected outcomes of a standard - TC176 for the quality of the standards, IAF for the accreditation and certification, CASCO for conformity assessment, and APG for the quality of the audits – to deliver the expectations. Moreover, each group needs to work together to identify areas for improvement, and collectively make improvements to achieve our stated goals.”
The Committee Manager presented a message from JTCG on adding text to Annex SL 4.1 and 4.2 for climate change. Mr. Schuessler addressed the basis of the decision and the various options considered. Additional questions from the IAF members were discussed, and the members engaged in the implications of how IAF will execute certification on these climate change modifications.
Thanks to the chair and committee manager, as well inputs from Sheronda Jeffries, Kevin Belson, and Lori Gillespie, for their contributions on increasing engagement between TC176 and the IAF.