ISO Survey:why France’s disengagement with regard to quality is worrying

In France,the number of active ISO9001 certificates is dwindling.Other countries are doing much better,questioning both the relevance of this2015 standard and the way the French economic fabric is getting to grips with it。

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ISO9001 survey

France,where’s your quality?According to the额定功率ISO,based on figures from various certification bodies around the world),French companies are as keen as ever to demonstrate that they place quality at the top of their priority list.Indeed the number of active ISO9001 certificates at 31 December 2022 was similar to those of previous years:a total of21880 France,exactly the same number asin2020.A certificate covers an average of 2.8sites,in particular sites with some metallurgical production.Please note that ISO9001is a voluntary standard providing guidance on the deployment of a quality management system(QMS)。

When taking a closer look at the quality situation in France,things are not looking so good.First,by restricting the sample to the certification bodies which reported their figures for both2022and2021,the number falls to 21653active certificates,i.e.1%decrease from one year to the next.This means that longstanding certifiers’customer portfolios are shrinking,while quality management is considered as continuous improvement,motivating companies to renewtheir certifications every three years,without skipping a deadline。

6000new ISO9001 certificates in Germany

Then,because worldwide,the number of ISO9001 certified companies is neither stagnating nor slightly decreasing,but has sharply risen by 12%.1265216 ISO9001 certificates were active worldwide at31 December2022。Almost half of these are in China:551000;a figure to be reduced to 531000 on a constant sample basis.But that’s still27%more than on 31 December2021,bearing in mind that,roughly speaking,a Chinese certificate is valid for a single site,not several.Beijing has dealt,not quite innotnew ISO10010 standardstandard on quality culture single-handedly in August 2022.Stagnation is observed in countries that are acculturated to ISO9001-style quality management,such as Italy,Spain,and the UK,but shouldn’t the 6000additional certificates in Germany(with a stable sample)prompt us to speak of French complex?France comes10th in the ISO9001 ranking,same as Brazil…。

Breton company Armor-Lux to receive ISO9001 certificate in September 2023(©AFNOR/DR)
Breton company Armor-Lux to receive ISO9001 certificate in September 2023(©AFNOR/DR)

Finally,we can also speak of a revocation of ISO9001 in view of the development of certificates based on other management standards:there has been a significant increase in the number of certificates issued for ISO27001(information security),ISO4501(occupational health and safety),ISO5001(energy management),and ISO13485(medical devices)。The situation is similar for more tried-and-tested standards such as ISO14001(environmental management)and ISO22000ISO27001 easy by imposing or recommending its application for certain key players and their IT service provider:HDS decree,GDPR,law on electronic invoicing,NIS2,etcThethousandth certificate has definitely already been issued in France in 2023AFNOR Certification,without losing sight of the fact that that countries such as Japan don’t have merely927 active ISO27001 certificates,but have reached7000。

ISO9001:revising the 2015 version to breathe new life into the system?

So how can we explain France’s disengagement with regard to quality?There is no denying that the standard has been running out of steam in its2015version,which was developed eight years ago.The latest attempts to update it date back to 2021and failed,although a new impetus is currentemly ging,In,there is also the issue of the coexistence of the ISO9001“brand”with sector-specific quality standards,such as EN 9100 in aeronautics,ISO 19443 in the nuclear industry,and IATF16949 in the automotive industry,even if equivalences exist with the generic standard.Vincent Blache,an expert on the topic for the AFNOR Group,points out a cultural limitation:“内框架,质量still rhymes a lot with products and technology,little with organization,”he says。并在列车上行驶:“一个小时,一个小时,一个小时”companies that want a modern,comprehensive ISO9001,open to other concepts such as cybersecurity or CSR;and,on the other,companies that want to operate the old-fashioned way,within the confines of the factory

Whether you are wary or bold,we strongly recommend that youdownload the AFNOR study:“Quality around the world:movements and paradoxes”。“”为什嚒quality differs from one country to the next,the quality of the future is likely to use a number of levers,each of which enable consumers-customers to make their own choices as to what,for them,defines the quality of a product or service“,concludes Vincent Blache。

Top3issues impacting quality over the next five years

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