Demand and Project Planning Phase
It is advisable to apply early to enable us to plan the provision of services and to fit the needs and expectations of your organization. When placing an order, you will be contacted by our customer service team to determine the time frame for the audit and assistance where possible, with any other sector quality requirements.
First stage audit – document review and readiness assessment
This includes an assessment of relevant policies, procedures, and practices that already exist. This will familiarize the auditor with your organization and determine where your management system meets the requirements against the defined scope of work. Opportunities to improve and develop work will be highlighted, and recommendations for the second audit phase will be made. The first audit phase will primarily test the state of the management system for certification and will provide input to help plan the second phase audit.
Auditing the second stage – registration of the certificate
A certification registration audit is an assessment of the system/detailed audit to verify that the management system and operational practices and conditions comply with the requirements of the ISO standard. When the requirements in the management system documentation and practices are effectively fulfilled in practice, then the application is considered effective and certification will be recommended.
Maintain the certificate
Once the certification is achieved, the company will be required to undergo regular monitoring audits, the annual number of which is determined based on the degree of importance of the operations performed. Within 3 years there will be full audits to re-register the certificate as per the requirements.
Non-conformance reports
A non-conformance report is where the ISO requirements or standards that must be met cannot be verified. If a nonconformance report was issued during your audit, to clear the nonconformance report. The auditor will be asked to close the nonconformance report and the corrective action process will begin. The auditor will explain how to follow up during or outside the audit. This activity is for a fee known as the Follow-up Audit fee. Whether to audit follow-up on-site or off-site will be determined based on the importance and number of non-conformance items in the report. The auditor will advise at the time the non-conformity report is submitted how much time will need to be closed.
The time allotted for scanning the non-monitoring report is 90 days for the second audit phase, and for the periodic annual audit it will be 60 days.