Mark Kaganov, Lean ISO Management Systems
⚠️ This article is based on the leaked ISO 9001:2026 Draft International Standard (DIS). The content will be updated as additional information is available. (October 2025 note)
Introduction
ISO 9001:2026 is on the horizon. Some expected real improvements that would drive efficiency, cut waste, and actually help organizations perform better.
What did we get instead? Disappointment. The draft shows nothing more than tweaks with no visible value to the 1.3 M certified organizations worldwide.
Unable to live in a “no change needed” environment, ISO once again feeds the revision machine. The standards industry (ISO itself, ABs, CBs, consultants, trainers) thrives on updates, and this one sprinkles in fashionable buzzwords to justify its existence:
- 🌍 Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG)
- 🤖 Artificial intelligence (AI)
- 📊 Machine learning (ML)
- 🔗 Digital traceability
Expected changes
The Draft International Standard (DIS) suggests updates in about ten areas.
Clauses Affected by ISO 9001:2026 (DIS)
4.1 – Context of the organization
- Climate change integrated.
- Type: “shall consider” (you only need to show you thought about it).
4.2 – Context of the organization
- Climate change integrated.
- Type: “shall consider” (you only need to show you thought about it).
5.1 – Leadership and commitment
Top management must promote a quality culture and ethical behavior.
Type: “shall” (mandatory requirement, but vague).
5.2 – Quality policy
Policy shall take context into account and support “strategic direction.”
Type: “shall” (hard requirement).
6.1 – Risks and opportunities
Split into subclauses: risks and opportunities. Still built on “shall consider.”
Type: “shall consider” (loophole lives on).
6.2 – Quality objectives
Objectives shall be measurable and aligned with business strategy.
Type: “shall” (maybe stronger than 2015).
7.3 – Awareness
Staff shall be aware of their role in quality culture and ethics.
Type: “shall” (hard training cost driver).
7.4 – Communication
Expanded requirements for what/when/how to communicate.
Type: “shall” (documented, auditable).
7.5 – Documented information
Clarifies “maintain” vs. “retain.”
Type: “shall” (control requirements stay).
9.3 – Management review
More required “inputs” (context, stakeholders).
Type: “shall” (adds prep and documentation).
10.2 – Nonconformity and corrective action
Stronger tie to risks and opportunities.
Type: “shall” (you must show alignment).
Annex A – Guidance
Tweak: Possible add-ons around AI/ML, automation, and sustainability.
Reality: This is where ISO sneaks in “guidance” that CBs later may treat as requirements. Another compliance trap.
ISO’s toxic logic has remained the same for decades: add a few words, shuffle the clauses, publish a new version, and push the world through transition with little added value to the industries.
Garbage In = Garbage Out
The transition bill is just a few folks talking about
ISO never appears, considering the cost of their, so to speak, “innovations.” Certification bodies play the same game. Everyone pretends the transition is free. Reality check: it’s not!
Look at a real-world example in the US dollars.
1.3M certified companies around the world.
$180 – cost of the standard
50 employees per certificate (average between small, midsize, and large companies).
5 auditors per company.
$80 per hour employee productivity global blended conservative rate.
Here’s what the transition to ISO 9001:2026 may actually cost, very conservatively:
General staff training: 65M employees × 1 hr. × $80/hr. = $5.2B
Auditor training: 6.5M auditors × 4 hrs. × $80/hr. = $2.1B
Procedure rewrites: 11 docs × 4 hrs. × $80/hr. × 1.3M orgs = $4.6B
New standard copy: 1.3M companies x $180 = $0.25B (pay-to-play scam 😡)
Possible CB transition audits: extra ½ day = 1.3M x $00 = $1.0B
⚡ Total = $13 Billion +
And this is just the basics. Add here consultants, software updates, multi-site organizations, and the real number will climb fast.
That’s billions in global spending before a single customer sees better quality, if at all.
Summary
This revision adds complexity, slogans, and forced costs, but no substance. ISO 9001:2026 is not about quality; it is about feeding the standards bureaucracy.
❗ So, the real question is: Will ISO 9001:2026 create any measurable business value or just drain another $13 billion from industry?!
This ISO 9001 2026 “project” has no ROI justification and is pure waste!
📢 What do you think? Will ISO 9001:2026 create real business value or just add another $13 billion tax on industry?
#ISO90012026 #LeanISOManagement #QualityManagementSystem #ProcessEfficiency #ContinualImprovement
