MORE ABOUT ISO TRANSITION

The standards are scheduled for review every 5 years. The review does not always result in changes, and when it doesn’t the standard continues to reference the year the last changes were adopted.  

Once a revised standard is adopted, organizations have 3 years from the date the standard is published to adopt the new requirements before the old version becomes obsolete, is no longer available for users to purchase, and is no longer considered to have valid requirements.  Those who have registered their systems, must also show the registrar the system transition is complete (via audits) so they can transition the certificate.

Simple answer: it was a required format change that addressed complaints about confusion and inefficiency from standard users, auditors and interested parties.

Anyone can write an ISO management system standard (MSS) and submit it for review and adoption as long as it meets the basic guidelines issued by ISO.  All ISO MSS, including ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, were required to follow Guide 83, but there were no universal requirements for how to structure the sntadards’ content.  In 2011, Annex SL replaced Guide 83, and required all new ISO MSS to use the new “high level structure” (HSL) and all existing standards to adopt the new format at their next revision.