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July 2016
Industry Buzz
New guide to application of ISO 9001
Aurecon recently hosted the first workingmeeting of the International
Federation of Consulting Engineers’ (FIDIC) QualityManagement Task
Force. The goal of the task force meeting is to create a new guide that
will give practical and useful information on how ISO 9001 clauses can
be applied within engineering and construction companies.
consulting engineers and member
firms are encouraged to commit to
implementing quality management
systems that involve all levels of man-
agement and every employee within
their companies. In 1997, FIDIC first
released an implementation guide,
with further revisions released as
the ISO 9001 Standard continued to
evolve. In 2015, a fundamental review
of the Standardwas released, namely
ISO 9001:2015. It was the catalyst for
FIDIC and the European Federation
of Engineering Consultancy Asso-
ciations (EFCA) Task Force on Quality
Management to come together and
create a guide that will help quality
management professionals interpret
the application of the Standard.
De Klerk explains: “Companies
are not required to instantaneously
switch over to the new ISO Standard.
Instead, a transition period of three
years from date of publication of the
new standard has been agreed for
accredited certification. This period
will end on 15 September 2018, which
means that all certified companies
need to be fully compliant with ISO
9001:2015 by that date. The new
guide helps them on this journey.”
The Task Force on Quality Man-
agement is chaired by Walter
Painsi from Austria and includes
South Africa, which is represented
by Sonja de Klerk. Painsi says the
new ISO 9001 Standard introduces
some far-reaching changes to pre-
vious revisions, such as a promi-
nence of risk-based thinking and
engagement with interested par-
ties. For further information visit
■
Sonja de Klerk, Head of Qual-
ity, Environment & Sustain-
ability at Aurecon, says that
engineering consultancies and
contractors are often required to
have formalised Quality Manage-
ment Systems and be ISO 9001
certified to compete in today’s
marketplace. The new guide,
which will be entitled Guide
to the Interpretation and Ap-
plication of ISO 9001:2015 in
the Consulting Engineering Industry
when it is released, will demystify
many complex aspects of the Stan-
dard.
“This guide will be helpful to any
quality management practitioner in
the consulting engineering industry.
The clauses in ISO 9001 can seem
abstract, but the new guide will help
clarify them in the context of our
industry through the use of explana-
tions and examples,” says de Klerk.
FIDIC is the global voice of
The CEO of engineering and
infrastructure advisory firmAu-
recon, GiamSwiegers, recently
announced a number of new leader-
ship appointments as the global
firm ramped up its investment in its
advisory practice.
Two senior advisory leaders, Brad
McBean and Stuart Cassie, have
joined the firm. McBean heads up the
global Advisory as Managing Director
and Stuart Cassie as Advisory Market
Director.
McBean joins Aurecon from his
previous role as Partner within the
Strategy Practice (Strategy&) at PwC
Management Consulting and Cassie
as PwC Managing Director Capital
Projects.
Swiergers has also commissioned
independent consultant Gerhard
Vorster, most recently Deloitte’s Chief
Strategy Officer and previously De-
loitte’s consulting leader in Australia,
South Africa, and South East Asia, to
advise on the growth of Aurecon’s
global Advisory business.
McBean, Cassie and Vorster will
join Matt Coetzee and Dr Chris Von
Holdt to form the leadership team of
Aurecon’s Advisory Practice.
Swiegers said, “As one of Austra-
lia’s biggest providers of infrastruc-
Aurecon’s new leadership
Sonja de Klerk
ture and engineering services, Aure-
con is seeing an increasing demand
for consulting advice around supply
chain, asset optimisation, portolio..”
“With a focus on the rapidly chang-
ing face of key areas of infrastructure
such as Transport and Cities, these
leaders will work closely with Aure-
con’s Chief Digital Officer, Dr Andrew
Maher, to develop Aurecon’s solu-
tions to support the digitisation of
infrastructure.”
The new team all trained as engi-
neers and have built and sustained
world-class supply chain and pro-
curement capabilities as well as
advisory practices across a number
of industry segments. I am delighted
to welcome them to Aurecon,” added
Swiegers.
He concluded, “The engineering
and infrastructure industry faces
huge change and challenges over
the next few years. In a commodi-
tised market, subject to disruptive
technology, we must respond to
the constantly shifting business
landscape. This means knowing our
clients and their businesses better
than our competitors and excelling
in bringing innovation and expertise
to the table to help solve their most
difficult problems.” ■