If you’ve clicked on this article, you probably get the hype behind ISO standards and how they can be the catalyst of massive growth for your company. If you didn’t catch our first article in this 2-pronged series, exploring the strategic side of ISO, you can find it at ISO as a strategic decision – PART 1:  Commitment to Excellence .
In today’s discussion, we will explore the global and statewide trends ISO has experienced in 2019-2020 to hopefully give you an idea of which ISO standards may be worth looking into.

Global ISO Trends
Beyond the giant ISO 9001 and the popular ISO 14001 for Environmental Management, other standards that have been gaining a lot of traction are those of ISO 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety), ISO 37001 (Anti-bribery and anti-corruption), ISO 13485 (Medical Devices), and ISO 27001 (Data Privacy). Each establishes a set of standards which companies can adhere to in order to display their higher commitments.
Based on the most recent survey posted by the International Organization for Standardization, the ISO standards that have experienced the most growth in the past year are those of ISO 45001, ISO 37001, and ISO 13485 and ISO 27001 (tied for third place). Customers are now becoming more and more interested in the ‘how’ behind company operations, thus making ISO certifications a huge advantage to those companies that have them.
The ISO 45001 standards for occupational health and safety management and has seen almost 200% growth over the past year partly because of the migration from the older British Standard BS 18001 to this new ISO 45001 (released in 2018). ISO 45001 is a much more robust standard as it not only deals with controlling known hazards, but also proactively identifying sources or situations that have potential for causing harm. This is part of a bigger shift we’re seeing toward people centeredness and risk management being baked into companies’ operations at every level. The Coca-Cola Company, among many others, is currently undergoing the transition from the 18001 to the 45001 standards.
ISO 37001 is an international standard that allows organizations of all types to prevent, detect and address bribery involving their organization. Nothing undermines institutions’ reputation and equitable business more than bribery. Although this standard has seen huge growth globally, the US hasn’t substantially started adopting this standard just yet. As the US is historically a late mover with most of the ISO standards, adopting this standard will help your organization stay ahead of that curve.
The Medical Devices QMS, ISO 13485, has seen a 15-20% increase in certifications worldwide and is expected to keep growing as the state of the world pushes this norm to the forefront of the QMS leaderboard. This standard was discussed on Part I of this article alongside ISO 9001 and the benefits of implementing a Quality Management System, as well as on our previous article Welwaze meets ISO: A Promise of Quality.
ISO 27001, Data Privacy, has also seen a 15-20% increase in certifications worldwide. ISO 27001 is an information security management system helping organizations manage the security of assets such as financial information, intellectual property, employee, or other private and protected information.   With the exponentially increasing dependence on electronic information systems and the millions of attacks experienced daily by American companies large and small, data privacy and protection is on the forefront of every organization.

Florida Trends
On a more micro scale, Florida maintains a strong hold on ISO 9001 which still sees substantial growth. ISO certified companies hold a strict vendor qualification process and commonly require ISO certification from their vendors. Therefore, small and medium companies can open significant opportunities both in the prominent supply chain for companies with important bases in Florida, like Johnson and Johnson, as well as across the Latin American market with its over 76,500 ISO 9001 certified sites.
With healthcare at the top of the game, ISO 13485 (medical devices) QMS has been seeing huge demand, particularly in big manufacturing regions. Florida is among the top US states in number of FDA-registered medical device manufacturing facilities, according to the public-private partnership Enterprise Florida, and ISO 13485 is a strong competitive advantage among them.
Florida, a top hub for the aerospace industry, also holds a big market for companies with AS 9100 certification (a QMS for the aerospace industry). According to PwC, in 2021, “the emphasis [for the aerospace industry] should be on liquidity and managing supply-chain risk, while planning for a return of volume in three to five years.” And for big players such as Boing and American Airlines, both holding important bases in Florida, and so many others, “managing supply-chain risk” comes hand in hand with strong requirements for certified quality standards, as the AS9100 and ISO 9001, from their vendors and partners.
This ISO series was simply a broad overlook of what a Quality Management System is, different ISO standards, and how these can impact your company. There are many more lessons to learn and benefits associated with the implementation of a management system. EPIC Consultants is here to help your organization with all its managing systems and ISO needs!
Reach out to us should you have any questions at all.

References:
https://asq.org/quality-resources/quality-management-system
https://www.iso.org/news/2012/10/Ref1665.html
https://asq.org/quality-resources/cost-of-quality

https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/industrial-products/library/aerospace-manufacturing-attractiveness-rankings.html