Part one looked at the main changes introduced by ISO 9001:2026 and what they could mean for businesses.
Now comes the practical question:
What should you actually be doing about it?
If your organisation is already certified to ISO 9001:2015, the good thing to know is that you do not need to rip up your existing QMS ands start again.
ISO 9001:2026 builds on the exisiting framework. Much of what you already have should remain relevant.
The transisiton is much more about reviewing, challenging and strenthening your exisiting system rather than creating an entirely new one.
And more good news there is time for you to do this properly.
Exisiting certified organisations have until September 2029 to complete their transition to ISO 9001:2026, although you do need to confirm with the external auditor prior to audit which they will be auditing against.
And for this reason whilst September 2029 seems like a long way off, there is real advantage in starting now rather than waiting.
Start With A GAP Analysis - Not A Re-write
One of the biggest mistakes businesses can make when a standard changes is assuming that every procedure, policy and document needs updating.
It doesn't !!!
Start by comparing what you currently do against the revised requirements.
A GAP analysis allows you to identify three things:
What you already meet.
There may be absolutely nothing you need to change in some areas.
What needs strengthening.
You may already have something in place, but the new requirements could mean that it needs greater emphasis or clearer evidence.
What is genuinely missing.
These are the areas where you need to introduce something new or change your existing approach.
This gives you a manageable action plan rather than creating unnecessary work.
And remember, your GAP analysis shouldn't just be a paperwork exercise.
Look at what actually happens within the business.
If a procedure says one thing but your team does something completely different, changing the wording in the procedure isn't necessarily the answer.
Perhaps the procedure is the thing that needs to change.
Look Closely At The Areas Receiving Greater Emphasis
Although ISO 9001:2026 isn't a complete overhaul of the standard, there are some areas worth examining carefully.
Leadership and quality culture
Ask yourself:
Does senior management genuinely engage with the Quality Management System?
Do employees understand what quality means within your organisation?
Is quality something discussed throughout the year, or does everyone suddenly become interested when the external audit is approaching?
ISO 9001:2026 places greater emphasis on leadership, quality culture and ethical behaviour.
That doesn't necessarily mean creating another policy.
It means looking at whether these principles can actually be demonstrated in the way the organisation operates.
Risks AND opportunities
Most organisations are familiar with risk registers.
But what happens to the opportunities?
The revised standard gives greater clarity to the distinction between risks and opportunities.
Review how your business identifies them, who is responsible for them and importantly, what happens afterwards.
A risk and opportunity register that gets opened once a year before management review isn't providing much value to the business.
The information should help you make decisions.
Your strategy and your QMS
Take another look at your organisation's context, interested parties, quality policy and objectives.
Do they still reflect the business you have today?
Businesses change.
You may have new services, customers, employees, suppliers, systems, technology or markets that didn't exist when your QMS was originally created.
Your quality system needs to keep up.
There should also be a clear connection between where the organisation is trying to go and what its Quality Management System is helping it achieve.
Planning and managing change
Change happens constantly within businesses.
New software. New employees. New suppliers. New equipment. New premises. New services. New customers.
But how well are those changes actually planned?
Rather than simply recording a change after it has happened, look at how your organisation considers the potential consequences, resources, responsibilities and risks associated with change.
Management review
This is another area worth revisiting.
Management review shouldn't simply be an annual meeting held because ISO says you need one.
Used properly, it is an opportunity to step back and ask:
How is the business performing?
What is changing?
What are our customers telling us?
Where are the risks and opportunities?
Are our objectives still appropriate?
What needs improving?
If your management review has become a tick-box exercise, the transition provides a good reason to rethink it.
Build A Sensible Transition Plan
Once you've completed your GAP analysis, turn the findings into a simple transition plan.
Don't try to change everything at once.
Identify the actions required, allocate responsibility, set sensible deadlines and work through them as part of your normal QMS activity.
Some actions might involve updating documented information.
Others might involve changing a process, providing awareness or training, improving how information is captured, or simply providing better evidence of something you're already doing.
Once those changes have been implemented, use your internal audit programme to check whether they are actually working.
This is an important step.
An internal audit shouldn't simply confirm that you've updated a document. It should help determine whether the change has been understood, implemented and is effective.
Then bring the findings into management review.
That creates a logical transition:
Understand the changes → GAP analysis → Action plan → Implement changes → Internal audit → Management review → Certification transition
Much more manageable than waiting until the last minute.
Don't just update the year on your documents
Perhaps the biggest opportunity with ISO 9001:2026 is to avoid treating the transition as an administrative exercise.
Don't simply change references from “ISO 9001:2015” to “ISO 9001:2026” and consider the job complete.
Use the transition as an opportunity to challenge your existing system.
Are there procedures nobody uses?
Are you collecting information that nobody looks at?
Are responsibilities unclear?
Have processes become unnecessarily complicated?
Does your QMS reflect the way the business actually operates?
And most importantly:
Does your Quality Management System help you run the business better?
If the answer is yes, transitioning to ISO 9001:2026 should be relatively straightforward.
If the answer is no, this is a very good opportunity to change that.
So, what does this mean......
Where to start
If you're responsible for ISO 9001 within your organisation, my suggestion is simple:
Don't start by rewriting documents. Start by understanding your GAPs.
From there, you can build a proportionate transition plan based on what your organisation actually needs.
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Assess
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Question.....? Let us know in the comments below.
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