ISO 9001 certification

A brief look at the ISO 9001 certification process
 

See http://www.iso.org/iso/en/info/ISODirectory/countries.html which lists national accreditation bodies, followed by national certification bodies.

NOTE: Accreditation Bodies audit and "accredit" the Certification Bodies who audit and "certify" you.

In the UK alone, there are over 60 Certification Bodies (CB) offering accredited ISO 9001 certification services, see the United Kingdom Accreditation Service website for details www.ukas.org.

All Certification Bodies are commercial organisations and consequently charge different fee-scales and operate on different lead-times - it is worthwhile to shop around.

UKAS Accredited Certification Bodies operate in broadly the same way:

>     they display the "Crown & Tick" logo-

>    without it your certification is, generally, considered to be invalid. Here is a link of the subject:   http://www.btinternet.com/~lewis.conquer/unacc.htm

>    on the first audit, they typically want to see at least 3 months worth of history

>    so allow time for any new procedures to settle in especially ISO 9000 specific systems eg internal audit and management review

>    to pass a certification body audit, a quality management system must an auditable, demonstrable  entity

>    Just writing about it is not enough - the quality management system must also be implemented prior to certification

>    initial desk assessment of your ISO 9001 Quality Manual, and probably your procedures and other documentation

>    followed by on-site assessment to assess your readiness for certification

>    it is essential that you understand and agree with any non-compliances. If not, argue

>    you must then rectify any agreed non-compliances prior to certification

>    you then receive your certificate, which is generally valid for 3 years

>    you will be re-audited (generally for 1 day) every 6 - 12 months

>    You CAN have your certification removed

>    BUT this sanction is rarely applied