Managing change the way the 2026 edition expects: a worked example.
ISO Cloud Consulting editorial teamISO 9001:2026 strengthens how you plan changes to the quality management system. In practice that means five steps for each significant change: a written plan covering purpose, consequences and resources, a communication list, monitoring while it beds in, an evaluation decision, and a review about ninety days later recorded at management review.
What does the 2026 edition change about managing change?
The 2026 edition strengthens how you plan changes to your quality management system, and the clearest way to see what that means is to walk one change through it. Here is a realistic example: a manufacturer switching on the quality module of its enterprise resource planning system, or ERP, to replace paper inspection records.
What goes into the change plan?
Step one is the plan, written before anything is switched on. The purpose: inspection results captured at the point of work, linked to batch numbers, with nonconformances raised automatically. The consequences considered, good and bad: inspectors slowed down in the first weeks, historic paper records still needed for traceability, and the risk that a badly configured sampling plan accepts product it should reject. The resources: two days of configuration, a super-user on each shift, half a day of training per inspector. And how the system stays intact during the change: paper stays live in parallel for two weeks, and old records are archived, not destroyed.
Who needs to be told, and when?
Step two is communication. Inspectors need training and a go-live date. Production supervisors need to know that a failed inspection now blocks the batch in the system. Purchasing needs to know that supplier nonconformances will be raised in a new place. Customers with source inspection rights may need to hear that the record format has changed. Write it as a short list with a date beside each group.
What should you monitor while the change beds in?
Step three is monitoring. Decide in advance what you will watch: inspection throughput per shift compared with paper, the number of records with missing fields, and the number of nonconformances raised, because a sudden drop usually means the system is not being used, not that quality has improved. Look at those numbers weekly for the first month.
Who decides whether the change is working?
Step four is evaluation. At the end of the parallel run, someone with authority decides whether the change is working. In this example, throughput dropped for a week and recovered. One sampling rule was set wrong and an inspector caught it on day three. The paper system is switched off, and that decision is minuted.
Why review the change ninety days later?
Step five is review, the step most companies skip. Ninety days later, ask whether the change achieved its purpose. Are records complete? Is traceability faster? Did nonconformance reporting rise, fall or hold? What would you do differently next time? Record the answers and take the key ones to management review.
How much paperwork does this really need?
No thick procedure. No committee. One change record with five headings, filled in over three months, and a line in the review minutes. That is what the new edition is after: not more paperwork for change, but changes that are thought through, watched and learned from.
The Change Management Procedure and Log uses exactly that five-step structure. Browse the ISO 9001:2026 templates collection or read the transition guide for the other changes.
Which videos should you watch next?
If your transition overlaps a system change of your own, watch running the ISO 9001:2026 transition during an ERP rollout. To see how an auditor samples a change record, watch the ISO 9001:2026 internal audit: planning, sampling and findings. The full list is in the ISO 9001:2026 deep dives series.
