The new ISO 9001 and the problem of ceremonial conformity: How have audit methods evolved?

The new edition of the ISO 9001 standard increases the overlap between the elements that characterize certified quality systems and the logic of Total Quality Management. Parallel to the conceptual evolution of the norm there must be an evolution towards the so-called performance/management audit model, in order to increase the ability to unveil ceremonial conformity and thus increase the value of the certifications. The evolution of the logic of audits takes on particular importance in the context of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) since these companies tend to implement formal quality systems only when there is significant external pressure to do so, and when they do, their approach to the implementation of the ISO 9001 standard tends to be minimalist. In this article, the development of a tool for assessing conformity audits (made up of a set of 'behavioural indicators' which describe the actions that represent a behaviour that adheres to the logic of performance audit) is described and the results of an empirical study of a sample of 114 SMEs in the Veneto region are presented. The study highlights the uncertain nature of the evolution of conformity assessments and the prevalence of behaviours related to traditional audits in the indicators that best reflect the innovative logic of performance audits. This is an important message for the national accreditation bodies ( at present, in Italy, SINCERT) which qualify auditors and try to make the certification system credible.