ISO 9001:2026 · Quality management
ISO 9001:2026 training, written by the people who audit it.
The sixth edition of ISO 9001 was published on 16 September 2026. It cancels and replaces ISO 9001:2015 and folds in Amendment 1:2024, the climate change amendment. If your site is certified, you have work to do before 30 September 2029. If a customer has just asked for ISO 9001, you have a project to plan. ASC has written three courses: one to move a certificate, one to build a system, and one so that everyone inside it understands what changed.
Free to read: every change from 2015 · the 12 month transition plan · the three new words
Why quality, when food safety is clean
Safe product, unhappy customer.
What the customer asks, and what ISO 9001 makes you able to show
Your food safety certificate is clean. Two unannounced audits, good grades both times. And last quarter you lost a listing worth R1.4 million a year on a training records finding, your complaints went from 12 a month to 18, and the national retailer’s supplier questionnaire now has a line on it asking for ISO 9001 certification or a plan to certify.
That is a quality management problem, and it has its own standard. A food safety certificate says the product is safe. It says nothing about the wrong sleeve, the low fill, the late delivery or the complaint that nobody closed.
- The standard first. Every clause reference was checked against the published text before the course went live.
- No site needed. Every activity runs on a case study with the data supplied, or on your own site.
- No myths. No quality manual, no six mandatory procedures, no management representative. Neither edition ever required them.
- Any sector. The examples come from food manufacturing, a citrus packhouse and a restaurant group. The clauses are sector neutral.
The three courses
One to move a certificate. One to build a system. One to audit it. One so everyone inside it understands.
Transition to ISO 9001:2026 New
For the site that already holds an ISO 9001:2015 certificate and has to move it before it lapses. QA and quality managers, QMS coordinators, internal auditors and consultants who already run a working system.
Intermediate · FS54
- 1The sixth edition, and what it obliges you to do6 lessons
- 2The builds, clause by clause6 lessons
- 3Updating the system people actually use5 lessons
- 4Proving the transition5 lessons
Twenty two lessons and the interactive Transition Planner. Every change between the editions is sorted into no action, confirm or build, so you do the work that is real and skip the work that is not. You finish with a delta check of your own system, an evidence position on every line, a dated action plan and a readiness score.
Introduction to ISO 9001:2026 New
For supervisors, team leaders, QA and technical staff, administrators, new quality coordinators, and any manager who will be interviewed by an auditor. Everyone who works inside the system but does not build it.
Foundation · FS52
- 1Quality management, and why ISO 9001 exists6 lessons
- 2A tour of the requirements, clauses 4 to 78 lessons
- 3Operation, performance, improvement, and your part in the audit7 lessons
Twenty one lessons, a knowledge check and a game in every module, and a final assessment. You finish able to answer an auditor about your own job. It is standalone, and it is not Module 1 of the Implementation course.
ISO 9001:2026 Understanding and Implementation New
For QA and quality managers, management representatives and QMS coordinators, internal auditors, consultants, and operations managers who own processes. The people who have to build, upgrade or run the system.
Intermediate to Advanced · FS53
- 1Foundations, what changed, and the implementation project11 lessons
- 2Context and leadership, clauses 4 and 514 lessons
- 3Planning and support, clauses 6 and 715 lessons
- 4Operation, clause 817 lessons
- 5Performance evaluation, improvement and certification13 lessons
- 6Workshop, marked assignment and final assessment3 sittings
Seventy five lessons, seven interactive tools, 68 case packs with model answers, a three sitting workshop, a marked implementation workbook and a video proctored final assessment. You finish with your own context register, process map, risk and opportunity registers, objectives, audit programme and management review pack.
ISO 9001:2026 Internal Auditor New
For internal auditors and people about to become one, QMS coordinators and QA managers who run the audit programme, process owners who will be audited, and consultants. The people who test the system.
About 14 hours
Intermediate · FS55
- 1The internal auditor, the requirement and the principles4 lessons
- 2Auditing the requirements, clause by clause6 lessons
- 3The audit programme, clause 9.2.24 lessons
- 4Planning and conducting the audit7 lessons and a practice exercise
- 5Findings, reporting and follow-up5 lessons and a practice exercise
- 6Course assessment, marked online3 parts
Twenty six lessons, 26 case packs, two practice exercises and a three part assessment marked online, with nothing to upload. You build the audit programme, plan and run two audits on a 14 exhibit evidence pack, write the findings and decide on two corrective action responses, and the Audit Workbench marks it within a minute. Built on ISO 9001:2026 clause 9.2 and ISO 19011:2026.
All four courses are self paced with lifetime access, run on any phone or laptop, are priced in rand with a currency converter on the page, and allow three attempts on every assessment.
What changed in ISO 9001:2026
Six changes the foreword lists, and what they mean on a site.
The sixth edition also incorporates Amendment 1:2024, the climate change amendment. For a site already certified to the 2015 edition, the biggest new build is the opportunity register under 6.1.3, followed by the rebuilt change record under 6.3.
Clause 35.1.1 i) · 7.1.4 · 7.3 e)What an auditor will ask6.1.2 · 6.1.36.3Annex AAnnex BThe transition timeline
Three years from publication. The clock started on 16 September 2026.
Certification bodies publish their own timetables inside the IAF window, so confirm the exact cut-off dates that apply to your site with your own certification body.
- 16 September 2026
- ISO 9001:2026 published. It cancels and replaces ISO 9001:2015 and incorporates Amendment 1:2024.
- Between the dates
- Certification bodies stop initial certifications to the 2015 edition some time before the end of the period. Each body sets its own cut-off, so ask yours.
- 30 September 2029
- The IAF transition period is three years from publication, so ISO 9001:2015 certificates are expected to remain valid until this date, after which they lapse.
Which course do I need?
Find yourself in the left column.
The usual pattern on a site is one or two people on the Implementation course and everyone else on the Introduction. For five or more, contact ASC for a group arrangement.
| If this is you | The course | Price |
|---|---|---|
| An auditor will interview me about my own job | Introduction | R1 495 |
| I am a supervisor, planner, buyer or line leader inside the scope | Introduction | R1 495 |
| I have to write the context analysis, the registers and the process map | Implementation | R4 800 |
| I run the internal audit programme | Internal Auditor | Limited period special |
| I audit, or am about to audit, processes on our site | Internal Auditor | Limited period special |
| Our certificate is on the 2015 edition and I own the transition | Transition | R1 950 |
| We are certified and our internal auditors have to audit the new text | Transition | R1 950 |
| I advise certified clients on the sixth edition | Transition, and Implementation if you also build systems | R1 950 |
| I am the MD and I will be interviewed under 5.1.1 | Introduction. Your QA manager does the Implementation course and coaches you from Lesson 2.4 | R1 495 |
| We are a whole site starting from nothing | One or two people on Implementation, the rest on the Introduction | Ask for a group arrangement |
Free reading
Three articles, free whether or not you ever buy anything.
The foreword list, then the clause by clause table of what changed, and what a certified site has to do about each one.
The dates, a month by month plan, the five things ASC expects certification bodies to look at first, and who on your site needs which course.
The exact wording of 5.1.1 i), the 5.1.1 Note 2, 7.1.4, 7.3 e), 4.1 and the 4.2 note, what evidence satisfies each, and what does not.
Questions people ask
Before you enrol.
Still unsure which course fits? A person answers WhatsApp during office hours.
How long are ISO 9001:2015 certificates valid for?
ISO 9001:2026 was published on 16 September 2026. The IAF transition period is three years from publication, so ISO 9001:2015 certificates are expected to remain valid until 30 September 2029. Confirm the exact cut-off dates with your own certification body.
We are already certified. Which course do we need?
The Transition course, R1 950. It assumes your system works and teaches only two things: what is different in the 2026 text, and how to run the project that closes the difference before your certificate lapses. It does not rebuild a system you already have. If people on site need to understand the standard rather than run the project, put them on the Introduction.
Do I have to do the Introduction before the Implementation course?
No. The Introduction is standalone and is not a prerequisite. If your job is to build or run the system, go straight to the Implementation course. The usual pattern on a site is one or two people on Implementation and everyone else on the Introduction.
Our site is certified to a GFSI benchmarked food safety scheme. Do we need ISO 9001 too?
No standard says so. Customers do. A food safety certificate says the product is safe. It says nothing about the wrong sleeve, the low fill, the late delivery or the complaint that took 21 days to close. Sites lose listings on quality while passing food safety audits, and that is the gap ISO 9001 covers.
Does this apply outside food?
Yes. ISO 9001 applies to any organisation of any size in any sector. The ASC examples come from food manufacturing, a citrus packhouse and a restaurant group, because that is where these practitioners work, but the clauses and the auditor’s questions are sector neutral.
Do I need a site of my own to do the practical work?
No. Both courses run on a case study with the data supplied, and the Implementation workshop offers three case sites. If you have your own site and permission to use its data, you may use it instead.
Is a quality manual required in the 2026 edition?
No. Neither the 2026 edition nor the 2015 edition requires a quality manual, six documented procedures or a management representative. Annex A says the clause structure is not a documentation model, and Annex A is informative: it clarifies, it adds no requirements.
What certificate do I get?
A certificate from ASC Food Safety Consultants carrying the course document code, FS52 or FS53. It is released once every knowledge check and the final assessment are passed at 70 percent, every game is completed, the assignment is passed at 70 percent on the Implementation course, and a short course review is submitted. The Implementation certificate is QR verified. Neither is a certification of your organisation, and neither is a lead auditor qualification.
Can we train a team?
Yes. Prices are in rand with a currency converter on each course page. For teams of five or more, contact ASC for a group arrangement. There are no discount codes on the Implementation course.
About ASC
Written and reviewed by practitioners who implement and audit management systems.
ASC Food Safety Consultants write and review every course in this catalogue. The practitioners who wrote these two implement and audit management systems on South African sites, and every clause reference was checked against the published text of the standard before the course went live. Each course is reviewed by a panel of ASC practitioners.
If your site also runs a food safety scheme, see Implementation of FSSC 22000 Version 7 (food manufacturing) and the ASC hygienic design courses.
Running an environmental management system as well? The ISO 14001:2026 courses use the same harmonised structure, so context, risks and opportunities, internal audit and management review can be run once for both standards.
ISO 9001:2026 is a standard published by ISO. These courses are independent training products and are not approved or endorsed by ISO or by any certification body.
Pick your course, or tell us about your team.
Transition R1 950. Introduction R1 495. Implementation R4 800. Group quotes and invoices within one working day. A person answers WhatsApp during office hours.