Harmonized Structure (HS) succeeds the High Level Structure (HLS)

Interesting! What exactly is new in the Harmonized Structure?

Luc: You’ll be relieved to hear that the core elements of the High Level Structure remain the same for the Harmonized Structure. In essence, the change is mostly about a few clarifications and nuances that have been introduced. I’ll give you a quick overview per chapter:

1. Scope – From now on, ISO management system standards should also specify the intended result of the implementation of specific management systems like ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.
2. Normative references – Nothing has been changed here.
3. Terms and Definitions – The terms and definitions should be integrated into all ISO management standards.
4. Context of the organization – §4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties – You can now decide for yourself or consciously determine which requirements and expectations of interested parties you’ll establish in your management system. Of course, you still have to comply with the applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
5. Leadership – This chapter was also left unchanged.
6. Planning – Planning of changes (§6.3) will become a common requirement for all ISO management system standards.
7. Support – Documented information (§7.5) has been given a more neutral approach. The distinction between ‘retaining’ and ‘maintaining’ information disappears.
8. Operation – Everything remains the same here.
9. Performance evaluation – Nothing has changed in this chapter either.
10. Improvement – The Harmonized Structure puts more emphasis on proactively initiating improvements rather than identifying possible improvements from a preventive nature.

Does this mean that we can also expect a revision of ISO 9001:2015?

Luc: No, and that is surprising, considering a new version of ISO 9001 has been published approximately every 7 years since ISO 9001:1987. That means the review process is normally initiated every 5 years. So why hasn’t the process been started yet? Well, a survey revealed that most users were in favor of leaving ISO 9001:2015 unchanged. After all, the structure of ISO 9001:2015 is well put together and not outdated. A revision simply wouldn’t provide added value.

I do have to add that it probably won’t take another five years to initiate the review process. Standing still is going backwards, after all! As of now, all eyes are on 2023 to start the process, which means we can probably expect the new ISO 9001 version in 2025 or 2026.