OHSAS 18001 Released

In July 2007, the British Standards Institution released a revised OHSAS 18001.  The revision allows this standard to be compatible with ISO 14001:2004.  The section numbers have been revised to match ISO 14001. No date has been established for certified clients to upgrade their certificates.  Clients can update during any of their scheduled surveillance or recertification audits. 

TL 9000 Release 4.0 Now Required

As of July 1, 2007, TL 9000 Release 3.0 is obsolete and companies seeking to continue or striving for initial TL registration are now required to use Release 4.0.  For complete information including the differences between Rel. 3.0 and 4.0, updated appendices and new product categories, please visit http://tl9000.org/.

The 8^th annual QuEST Forum Best Practices Conference was held in late September.  This event brings together Telecommunications professionals who want to share success stories and lessons learned in a multitude of disciplines: TL 9000 implementation, network reliability, benchmarking, technology convergence and more.  To read the summaries, click here. 

The TL 9000 Interpretations pages have been updated and are available on the QuEST Forum Web site, specifically at http://tl9000.org/tl_int.htm.   Check back regularly for updated interpretations.

Periodically, the QuEST Forum issues alerts to clarify or modify TL 9000 requirements.  Please visit http://tl9000.org/tl_alerts.htm to review recent additions to alerts.

For more information on TL 9000 certification, click here, or visit TÜV Academy's webinar calendar for related Quality webinars.

The ISO Survey Results for 2006

The latest 2006 ISO Survey conducted by ACNielsen, a marketing research firm, showed that certification to ISO 9001 (for quality management) and to ISO 14001 (for environmental management) increased during 2006 by 16%. Certification to ISO/TS 16949 (for the automotive sector) and ISO 13485 (for medical devices) increased by more than 60%.

For the first time, the survey also covered the new ISO/IEC 27001 standard for information security management systems and found that nearly 5,800 certificates for conformity to the standard have been issued in 64 countries. These latest results reveal that the ISO management system standard formula offers practical, functioning business tools that are now thoroughly integrated in the global economy. Also, 32% of ISO 9001 certifications and 27% of ISO 14001 certifications are now in the service sector which demonstrates the flexibility of these management systems.

 The following is a brief breakdown of the survey's results:

 ISO 9001:2000 (Quality Management)

• ISO 9001:2000 is firmly established as the globally implemented standard for quality assurance.
  
  
• 897,866 certificates have been issued in 170 countries by the end of 2006.
  
  
• The 2006 total represents an increase by 16% over the total in 2005.
  
  
• 32.8% of all ISO 9001:2000 certificates issued in 2006 were in the service industry

 ISO 14001:2004 (Environmental Management)

• ISO 14001:2004 confirmed its global relevance for organizations that wish to operate in an environmentally sustainable manner.
  
  
• 129,199 certificates have been issued in 140 countries by December 2006.
  
  
• The total for 2006 indicates an increase of 16% over the 2005 results.
  
  
• Service providers accounted for 27% of all 2006 ISO 14001:2004 certificates.

ISO/TS 16949:2002 (Automotive)

• 27,999 certificates were issued in 78 countries during 2006.
  
  
• The 2006 total increased by 64% over the total for the previous year.

 ISO 13485:2003 (Medical Devices)

• 8,175 certificates were issued in 82 countries by the end of 2006.
  
  
• The 2006 total revealed a 61% increase over 2005. 

ISO/IEC 27001:2005 (Information Security Management)

•  ISO/IEC 27001:2005 was included in the survey for the first time.
  
  
  
• 5,797 certificates were issued in 64 countries during 2006.

To view the full 2006 ISO Survey, go to http://www.iso.org/iso/survey2006.pdf.

Setting a Standard for Translation Services with EN 15038:2006

In June 2006, the European Committee for Standards (CEN) released the EN 15038 Standard for Translation Services. Replacing local quality standards (DIN, AENOR, AFNOR, BSI, UNI, ÖN, etc.) that are used in countries such as Germany, Italy, Austria, and the Netherlands, EN 15038 defines translation quality and standardizes procedures and processes for delivering language services. Comparable to the USA norm (ASTM15), it outlines the competencies a translator and reviser must have and details quality controls. In the future, the EN 15038 standard potentially could be merged with the American and Chinese standard to form a unique ISO standard.

The CEN believes EN 15038 will improve the way language service providers (LSPs) differentiate themselves based on formal processes and quality so that their clients can make better-informed purchase decisions. It will provide a central reference point for the currently nonregulated translation industry. The standard is designed to benefit academia and the translation service industry, helping form a bridge that fosters more professional collaboration between them, and allowing everyone to speak the same language.

The EN 15038 standard is being adopted in 28 CEN member countries, leading to various national consulting organizations becoming certified to provide EN 15038 certification programs.  TÜV is working towards offering EN 15038 certification for 2008 in order to provide LSPs with this valuable and beneficial service.

To read more about EN 15038, click here.