At press time, BVQI had audited another four U.S. companies for certification to the DIS and had three more U.S. companies scheduled for audits. It's also a logical step from our ISO 9001 certification. The plant received ISO 9001 certification in 1992 and was recertified in 1994 after SGS-Thomson acquired the site. Although BVQI was the first to certify a U.S. company, other U.S. registrars also are responding to market demand. We have to offer this service to remain competitive.
Mixed reactions abound regarding whether registering to a DIS is a wise business decision.
Although U.S. companies may argue that they don't want to lag behind the rest of the world as they have with ISO 9000 certification, others contend that being certified to a draft is risky because of the potential for significant changes to the document once it becomes a final standard. Some companies in the United States think registering to the draft gives them a leg up on the competition. Although the risk for significant changes exists, most are banking on the expectations that the changes will be minor. Hansa and others argue that once a standard has reached the DIS stage very few changes are made. The basic assumption is that once a document is at the DIS stage, the likelihood of substantial changes is rather remote.