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Certification

National standards bodies work with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to develop management systems standards documents and associated guidance. With the growth in stakeholder requirements now placed on organisations and the associated growth of standards, many organizations now seek to integrate or combine the range of aspects they must address into a single business management system.

Benefits

ISO standards make a positive contribution to the world we live in by facilitating trade, spreading knowledge, disseminating innovative advances in technology, and sharing good management and conformity assessment practices.

In the United Kingdom, standards made an annual contribution of GBP 2.5 billion to the economy, and 13% of the growth in labour productivity was attributed to standards. Standards were identified as enablers of innovation and facilitators of technological change. The economic return on investment in standards made sound business sense at both macro- and micro-economic levels.

Standards also provide tangible and quantifiable benefits to companies. A series of ground-breaking case studies by ISO and partner organizations based on the experiences of 11 companies operating in a variety of business sectors in 10 countries, shows that implementing standards can provide economic benefits from between 0.5 % and 4 % of their annual sales revenues.

More information can be accessed at:
www.iso.org/iso/benefits_of_standards
The benefits of an effective certified management system for Companies can include:
more efficient use of resources
increased competitiveness
increased customer satisfaction as services and products consistently deliver what they promise
Reduced exposure of employees and other parties to occupational health and safety risks , and
Reduced impact on the environment
Some schemes and/or standards do not have accredited certification, however where SCS certify relevant activities, our internal process controls will safeguard impartiality and ensure the same level of service integrity.

Process

1
Application
A detailed application form acquires information to enable a specific quotation is prepared for certification services required.
2
Acceptance
On signing the quotation in cognisance of terms and conditions, legal relations for the execution of certification services is formed.
3
Audit Planning
An audit is scheduled as agreed and a plan is prepared to advise when client personnel are likely to be required and which are operations are subject to audit. A formal plan is not produced for Stage 1 Audits.
4
Initial Audit
The initial certification audit of a management system is conducted in two stages: Stage 1 and Stage 2. Stage 1 is generally completed on the Client’s site and evaluates the location, management system and preparedness for Stage 2. Stage 2 is the main audit, to evaluate the implementation, including effectiveness, of the client’s management system.
5
Corrective Actions
For any nonconformity there will be a proposed corrective action to remedy any defects in either products or processes. All corrective actions must be cleared to the satisfaction of the Audit Team Leader or a nominated representative before certification.
6
Certification
On receipt of the Audit Report & details of closed corrective actions, the certification body will undertake a review of the recommendation of the Audit Team Leader and approve the decision (or otherwise) to grant certification. The final step is a review of impartiality risk and authorisation by the Certification Secretary, whereupon the appropriate certificate is issued.
7
Continuous Surveillance
To ensure the ongoing maintenance and implementation of the management system processes, regular surveillance audits are conducted within the 3 year cycle. Surveillance audits do not normally address all elements of the system.
8
Re-Certification
Every 3 Years the Management System is subject to a full system audit and the cycle begins again, taking cognisance of organisational changes, growth and/or product/service extensions etc.

Integrated Management Systems

Integrated Management Systems have developed to help organisations achieve benefits from integrating the common requirements of two or more management system standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.
Benefits of an integrated management system approach can include:
Improved business focus and on cross-departmental collaboration
A more holistic approach to managing business and management system risks
Less conflict between systems
Reduced duplication and bureaucracy
More effective and efficient audits both internally and externally
Reduced internal and external costs
Product or Service innovation and development
The reality is that the various management system standards all have many apparently common requirements, terms and definitions that are subtly or substantially different which has caused confusion and inconsistent understanding and implementation. Annex SL has been produced and incorporated into new versions of recent Standards, such as 9001:2015 & 14001:2015, with the objective of delivering consistent and compatible management system standards. Annex SL describes the framework for a generic management system. However, it requires the addition of discipline-specific requirements to make a fully functional quality, environmental, service management, food safety, business continuity, information security and energy management system standards.

Combined or Integrated Audits

If organisations have more than one management system, audits can be scheduled concurrently to minimize disruption to auditee organisations.

A combined management system varies from an Integrated Management System, which shares single system documentation, management system elements, and responsibilities. A combined system typically exists where separate management systems have been added over time for a set of audit criteria/standard.

As auditors for Certification Bodies can be competent to audit more than one standard and as such, organisations may benefit from reduced audit time and/or a more holistic approach to business management systems auditing.

Supply Chain

Often certification of supply chain members to various standards may be used as criteria for supplier approval, however this can be supplemented by second party audits where specific organisational or process specific requirements are targeted within the supplier and wider supply chain.

Second Party Audits are an effective means of strengthening an organisation’s supply chain by evaluating new or existing suppliers’ capacity and/or capability to meet or exceed customer’s requirements.

SCS can be contracted to manage second party audit programmes as part of a vetting process or as part of the evaluation of any new critical supplier partners or when the performance of an existing supplier falls below the service level agreed. This outsourced function enables organisations to focus on value added activities pertaining to their core processes.
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