Railway applications — Railway quality management system (IRIS)

Scope

Rail-sector quality management specification that extends ISO 9001 with railway-specific requirements for design, production and maintenance across the supply chain. Certification against it under the IRIS scheme is a de-facto prerequisite for suppliers of rolling stock and components working with major OEMs and operators.

ISO 22163 is the railway sector's quality management system specification, extending the general requirements of ISO 9001 with railway-specific requirements addressing the design, production and maintenance activities carried out across the rail supply chain. It adds sector-specific requirements covering areas such as risk management, obsolescence management, first article inspection, and specific product safety and configuration management practices relevant to railway components and systems, going beyond what a generic ISO 9001 certification would cover. Certification against ISO 22163 is issued under the IRIS (International Railway Industry Standard) certification scheme, and has become a de-facto prerequisite that major rolling stock and railway equipment manufacturers and their component suppliers must hold to be considered for contracts with major OEMs and railway operators. The 2023 edition upgraded the document's formal status from a Technical Specification (ISO/TS 22163:2017, the previous edition) to a full International Standard, reflecting its maturity and widespread sector adoption. It is applied by suppliers throughout the rail supply chain, from raw material and component suppliers through to complete rolling stock manufacturers, as the reference quality-management certification for doing business in the sector.