ISO 9001:2026 Implementation and Transition Consulting
ASC builds, transitions and readies quality management systems to ISO 9001:2026, the sixth edition published on 16 September 2026. Whether you are moving a 2015 certificate before the 30 September 2029 deadline, starting from nothing because a customer asked, or adding the quality half on top of FSSC 22000 or BRCGS, the work is the same four stages. ASC is a consultancy, a training provider and an auditing firm, not a certification body.
Consulting is charged hourly, and a full implementation for a single manufacturing site is quoted after a scoping conversation, not before it. We will give you the hourly rate and an estimated day count in writing before you commit, and travel outside Gqeberha is quoted separately. If the work is smaller than you think, we say so before the quote goes out.
FoodBev SETA accredited provider
B-BBEE Level 1
Gqeberha, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban
Key facts at a glance
The facts that decide your plan.
| Question | The answer |
|---|---|
| Which edition do we certify to? | ISO 9001:2026, the sixth edition, published 16 September 2026. It cancels and replaces ISO 9001:2015 and incorporates Amendment 1:2024, the climate change amendment. |
| When does our 2015 certificate stop being valid? | The transition period set by Global Accreditation Cooperation, known as Global ACI, which took over the work of the IAF when the IAF ceased operations on 1 January 2026, is three years, so certified organisations have until 30 September 2029 to complete the transition. From 31 March 2028 new and initial accredited certifications may only be issued to ISO 9001:2026. Confirm the exact dates with your own certification body. |
| What are the six changes the foreword lists? | Core terms and definitions added to Clause 3; quality culture and ethical behaviour introduced; risks and opportunities separated; management of change strengthened; Annex A expanded; Annex B removed. |
| What is the single biggest new build? | The opportunity register under the new dedicated sub-clause 6.1.3. Opportunities must be determined, analysed, evaluated, planned, integrated, implemented and evaluated for effectiveness in their own right. The rebuilt change record under 6.3 is second. |
| Where does quality culture land? | At 5.1.1 i), in a note under 7.1.4 and at 7.3 e). It is satisfied by dated top management actions with measurable outcomes, not by posters or a values statement. |
| Do we need a quality manual? | No. Neither a quality manual, nor six documented procedures, nor a management representative has ever been required by the 2015 or the 2026 edition. If a proposal includes writing a quality manual, ask which clause requires it. |
| How long does it take? | From nothing, six to twelve months for the system, nine to fifteen months to the certificate in hand once the certification body’s own scheduling is allowed for, because the auditor needs at least one full internal audit cycle and one management review to sample. From a working 2015 system, four to six months of elapsed time, of which the build itself is two to three months part-time. The extra is running the new registers for a quarter so there is a history to sample, and waiting for the audit slot your certification body gives you. |
| Can ASC certify us? | No. Certification must come from an independent certification body, accredited by SANAS in South Africa or an equivalent body abroad. The people who help build or train the system cannot certify it. |
Confirm the dates with your own certification body. The 30 September 2029 end date is set by Global Accreditation Cooperation, known as Global ACI, in document Global ACI-TECH-3-TR. Your certification body decides at which scheduled audit your transition is assessed, how many extra audit days it allocates, and its own last date for a 2015 edition initial certification. Get all three in writing before you plan around them. Confirm the clause lettering against your own controlled copy of ISO 9001:2026.
When a business calls ASC in
You hold a 2015 certificate and have to transition
The certificate is real, the system works, and now it has to move to the 2026 edition before the transition ends. You do not need a rebuild. You need someone to separate the genuinely new requirements from the terminology tidying, build the 6.1.3 opportunity register, rebuild the 6.3 change record and the 9.3 management review agenda, and get the evidence for 5.1.1 i) on the record before the transition audit.
You are building ISO 9001 from nothing
A retailer questionnaire or an export customer asked for an ISO 9001 certificate and your site has never held one. This is the six to twelve month route for the system, and nine to fifteen months to the certificate in hand once the certification body’s own scheduling is allowed for: scope, process map, policy, objectives, the two registers, operational control, supplier control, internal audit, management review, then stage 1 and stage 2.
You hold FSSC 22000 or BRCGS and a customer wants ISO 9001
You already own most of an ISO 9001 system and do not know which parts. We mark up your existing documentation requirement by requirement as SHARE, EXTEND or SEPARATE. In our integration matrix, 20 of its 38 clause rows are marked SHARE and 13 EXTEND, which means one context register, one interested parties register, one competence matrix, one calibration register, one document control system, one internal audit programme and one management review across both certificates. Read ISO 9001 versus FSSC 22000 first.
Your transition stalled, or a surveillance audit went badly
A nonconformity was raised against 6.1.3, 6.3 or 9.3 and the corrective action has been rejected once already. Or the project started, someone left, and the documents are half-written. We start from what exists rather than from a blank page.
How ASC works with you
Four stages. You can buy all four, or any one of them on its own. Consulting is charged hourly, and a full implementation for a single manufacturing site is quoted after a scoping conversation, not before it. We will give you the hourly rate and an estimated day count in writing before you commit, and travel outside Gqeberha is quoted separately.
- Gap assessment against ISO 9001:2026
On site, walking your processes and reading what you already have. For a certified site we work through a transition gap analysis that separates the genuinely new requirements from the terminology changes at 7.5 and the renumbering at 4.4 and clause 10. For a site starting from nothing we scope the system, map the processes and list what has to exist. You get a written report with a finding, a clause and an owner against every line, normally within two weeks of the closing meeting.
- Build or transition the documented system
We work with your people rather than around them, because a document nobody in the room wrote is a document nobody follows. The heavy items are the separated registers under 6.1.2 and 6.1.3, the change record rebuilt to the seven considerations at 6.3, the responsibilities matrix split at 5.3 b) and e), the acceptance criteria that 8.1 now requires in writing, and quality objectives under 6.2. Where you use our document toolkit, this stage is adaptation, not authoring, and it is substantially shorter.
- Internal audit and management review
A certification body cannot certify a system that has not audited itself and been reviewed by top management. We run or co-run a full internal audit against every sub-clause from 4.1 to 10.2, write the audit plan with the objectives sentence that 9.2.2 a) now requires, and facilitate a management review built to the eight inputs at 9.3, including the new c) on changes in the needs and expectations of interested parties and the split of risks from opportunities at g) and h). We can also train and calibrate your own internal auditors so you stop paying for this.
One condition we apply to ourselves. Clause 9.2.2 c) requires the audit process to be objective and impartial, and nobody audits their own work. Where ASC built or rewrote your documented system, the ASC auditor who audits it is not the ASC consultant who wrote it, and we record that separation on the audit plan and in the auditor competence and independence record so your certification body can see it. Where we co-run the audit with your own trained auditors, your auditor leads the areas we authored. If your certification body takes a stricter view of consultant-led internal audit, we will say so and train your people to run it instead.
- Pre-certification readiness
A mock stage 2 run the way the certification body will run it: sampling, floor interviews, document trails, closing meeting. Where 7.3 e) applies we interview operators the way an auditor will, because a signed attendance register alone does not satisfy it. You get the findings, the corrective actions and the honest answer on whether the date you have booked is achievable.
Where ASC stops. We do not certify, we do not sit in your certification audit as your representative, and we do not write your objectives for you. Certification comes from an independent certification body accredited by SANAS or an equivalent body, and that separation is something the certification body will look for.
Everything you need for ISO 9001, in one place
Consulting is one of four routes, and for many sites it is not the first one. Take whichever combination fits your budget and the size of your gap.
Do it yourself: the document toolkit
The ISO 9001:2026 Document Templates Toolkit is 202 editable documents, 190 Word and 12 Excel, roughly 553 000 words. It includes 12 risk assessment workbooks with live formulas, a 123-row internal audit checklist covering every sub-clause from 4.1 to 10.2, a transition gap analysis checklist, and an integration matrix of thirty-eight clause-level rows from 4.1 to 10.2 mapping ISO 9001:2026 against ISO 22000:2018 and FSSC 22000 V7, each marked SHARE, EXTEND or SEPARATE, with the decision recorded and signed. Launch price R5 480, normally R6 850. All ASC prices on this page, for the toolkit and for the courses, are excluding VAT, and no VAT is added at checkout.
Train your team: three courses
Transition to ISO 9001:2026, R1 950, about 8 hours and 22 lessons with an interactive Transition Planner, for a site moving a 2015 certificate. Introduction to ISO 9001:2026, R1 495, about 6 hours and 21 lessons, for everyone an auditor will interview. ISO 9001:2026 Understanding and Implementation, R4 800, about 24 hours and 75 lessons with a marked workbook and a proctored final, for the people who build the system. Five or more people, ask about a group arrangement.
Bring us in: consulting
Gap assessment, build or transition, internal audit and management review, pre-certification readiness. Charged hourly, or quoted per site for a full implementation. Gqeberha, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
Frequently asked questions
Which edition should we certify to, and when does the 2015 certificate expire?
ISO 9001:2026, the sixth edition, published 16 September 2026. It cancels and replaces ISO 9001:2015 and incorporates Amendment 1:2024. The transition period set by Global Accreditation Cooperation, known as Global ACI, which took over the work of the IAF when the IAF ceased operations on 1 January 2026, is three years, so certified organisations have until 30 September 2029 to complete the transition. From 31 March 2028 new and initial accredited certifications may only be issued to the 2026 edition. Confirm the exact dates with your own certification body. If you are certifying for the first time now, certify to the 2026 edition rather than to an edition that expires inside your first certification cycle.
What is actually new in ISO 9001:2026 for a site we already run to 2015?
The opportunity register under 6.1.3, which is a new dedicated sub-clause and the single biggest new build. Then the change record under 6.3, where four considerations became seven, adding communication of the changes, monitoring and evaluating their effectiveness, and reviewing the results. Then dated evidence of quality culture and ethical behaviour at 5.1.1 i), 7.1.4 and 7.3 e). Clause 5.1.1 went from ten items to twelve. Clause 9.3 went from six inputs to eight, and 9.1.3 to eight items. Almost everything else is terminology at 7.5 and renumbering in 4.4 and clause 10.
Do we need a consultant to get certified?
No. Nothing in ISO 9001:2026 requires one and a certification body cannot require one. Where a consultant earns the fee is the gap assessment, facilitating the risk and opportunity work, calibrating your internal auditors and running a mock stage 2. Where a consultant is poor value is typing procedures that already exist in a toolkit and delivering awareness training that a R1 495 online course delivers to every shift. Read our cost breakdown before you book days.
How is consulting charged?
Consulting is charged hourly. A full implementation is quoted per site, once we have seen your scope, your existing documentation and the size of the gap. We quote after the scoping conversation rather than before it, and we tell you when the work is smaller than you think.
We hold FSSC 22000. How much of ISO 9001 do we already have?
Most of clauses 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10, because ISO 9001:2026 and ISO 22000:2018 share the same harmonized structure. One context register, one interested parties register, one competence matrix, one calibration register, one document control system, one supplier approval list, one internal audit programme and one management review can serve both. What you will not have is the opportunity register under 6.1.3, customer satisfaction measurement under 9.1.2, the 9.1.3 analysis lines splitting risk from opportunity, and the eight-input management review at 9.3. You will already hold a quality policy and quality objectives if you meet FSSC Additional Requirement 2.5.9, and design control if 2.5.13 applies to your category. Those carry across. What you will also not have is quality acceptance criteria separate from food safety limits.
Can ASC do our internal audits as well?
Yes, with one condition we apply to ourselves, set out below under 9.2.2 c). ASC is an auditing firm as well as a consultancy, and a second party or internal audit by ASC is a separate engagement from certification. We also train and calibrate your own internal auditors so the audit stops being an outside cost. Under ISO 19011:2026 we can run parts of an audit remotely where the evidence allows it. One condition we apply to ourselves. Clause 9.2.2 c) requires the audit process to be objective and impartial, and nobody audits their own work. Where ASC built or rewrote your documented system, the ASC auditor who audits it is not the ASC consultant who wrote it, and we record that separation on the audit plan and in the auditor competence and independence record so your certification body can see it. Where we co-run the audit with your own trained auditors, your auditor leads the areas we authored. If your certification body takes a stricter view of consultant-led internal audit, we will say so and train your people to run it instead.
Can ASC certify us or issue the certificate?
No. Certification must come from an independent certification body, accredited by SANAS in South Africa or an equivalent accreditation body abroad. The certification body must be independent of whoever built or trained the system, and it will look for that separation. We can help you scope the work and read the quotes you receive, but the certification fee comes from the certification body in writing.
Do we have to buy the toolkit to work with ASC?
No. If your documentation already exists we adapt it. Most sites buy the toolkit because it removes the documentation line from the budget for R5 480 at the launch price, and it turns stage two of the engagement from authoring into adaptation. That is a decision you make on price, not a condition of the consulting.
Get an honest read on your ISO 9001:2026 gap
Tell us your scope, your headcount, which certificates you already hold and whether you are transitioning or starting from nothing. We will tell you which of the four stages you actually need, and whether the date you have in mind is achievable.
ISO 9001:2026, ISO 9000, ISO 22000:2018 and ISO 19011:2026 are published by the International Organization for Standardization. FSSC 22000 is operated by Foundation FSSC. BRCGS standards are owned by BRCGS. ASC Food Safety Consultants is an independent consultancy, training provider and auditing firm. Our consulting, toolkits and courses are independent products and services and are not approved, endorsed or accredited by ISO, by Foundation FSSC, by BRCGS or by any certification body. Transition dates are set by Global Accreditation Cooperation, known as Global ACI, in document Global ACI-TECH-3-TR. Confirm the dates that apply to your certificate with your own certification body.