Process of certification

  1. Home
  3. Process of certification

Certification, or registration, to a standard is the outcome of a successful assessment by an independent third party such as CBS – Certification Body.

Whether it is certification of a management system, a product or a project, it provides evidence to customers of your compliance according to national or international standards. But where should you start my road to certification and a more sustainable business performance?

The certification process will vary slightly for different services, such as certification of management systems or products. To walk you through the road to certification, we have chosen certification of a management system as an example. 

How do I prepare for accredited certification?

  • After having decided on the management system you wish to implement, there are certain steps to get you started. Some simple tips have proven invaluable to companies seeking certification. As you set out, keep these in mind:
  • Make sure you begin the process with the right attitude.
  • Have a complete understanding of the concept set forth in the standard, and use the standard as a guide template to define your management system.
  • Know what application and implications of the standard will mean to your company.
  • Use the standard as a tool for improvement.
  • Have an understanding of the risks and processes that affect your organization’s ability to realize its business strategy.
  • Select your partner (certification body/registrar) carefully.

What steps should I follow?

Below you will find 10 general steps that will take you down the road to certification:

  • Obtain a standard 
    Obtain and read a copy of the standard to familiarize yourself with the requirements, and decide if certification/registration to this standard makes good sense for your organisation.
  • Review literature and software 
    There is a large amount of published information available that is designed to assist you in understanding and implementing a standard.
  • Assemble a team and define your strategy 
    The adoption of a management system needs to be the strategic decision of the whole organisation. It is vital that your senior management is involved in the creation process. They decide the business strategy that an efficient management system should support. In addition, you need a dedicated team to develop and implement your management system.
  • Determine training needs 
    Your team members responsible for implementing and maintaining the management system(s) will need to know the full details of the applicable standard(s). There is a wide range of courses, workshops, and seminars available designed to meet these needs. We provide a number of public training courses around the world.
  • Review consultant options 
    Independent consultants will be able to advise you of a workable, realistic, and cost-effective strategy plan for implementation.
  • Develop a management systems manual 
    Your management systems manual should describe the policies and operations of your company. Through the manual, you will provide an accurate description of the organisation and the best practice adopted to consistently satisfy customer expectations.
  • Develop procedures
    Procedures describe the processes of your organisation, and the best practice to achieve success in these processes. These procedures should answer the following questions about each process: why, who, when, where, what, how
  • Implement your management system 
    Communication and training are key to a successful implementation. During the implementation phase, your organisation will be working according to the procedures that were developed to document and demonstrate the effectiveness of the management system.
  • Consider a pre-assessment 
    You can choose to have a preliminary evaluation of the implementation of your management system by a certification body/registrar. The purpose is to identify areas of non-conformance and allow you to correct these areas before you begin the accredited certification process. Receiving a non-conformance means that a particular area of your management systems is not compliant with the requirements of the standard.
  • Select a certification body/registrar 
    Your business relationship with the certification body/registrar will exist for many years, as your certification has to be maintained. To have an efficient management system, continual improvement is key. CBS  will help you get maximum value out of the certification process, evaluating strengths and improvement opportunities. 

 

How do I become certified by CBS? 

A successful management system is one that is improved on a continual basis. Both your management system and certificate have to be maintained. Therefore, accredited certification consists of two stages: The primary certification and maintenance of the certificate thereafter. We apply our Risk Based Certification approach to both stages.

Initial certification

  1. Input dialogue

To the audit, we need to know what is important to your organisation. We have to get a clear understanding of your business strategy and conditions that affect your ability to reach said strategy. Subsequently 1-3 focus areas on which the audit will focus are identified. The focus areas should be linked to the management system and reflect the risks or opportunities that are most important to you. Agreeing on focus areas is a collaborative effort, and our auditors can help suggest focus areas if necessary. Top management should be involved at this stage.

  1. Documentation review 

Our lead auditor evaluates your management system manual. The documentation review report summarizes any findings from this process.

The report indicates if your organisation is ready to proceed with the certification audit. The documentation review can be performed prior to or conducted as part of the initial visit.

  1.  Initial visit

Before the actual certification audit, we will make a preliminary visit to your organisation. The initial visit can be combined with the documentation review. The purpose of the initial visit is twofold:

To check your readiness for the certification audit, i.e. to review your manual, check procedures, to see your facilities, and briefly check the implementation of your management system.

To review focus areas input and agree on three to five particular focus areas upon which the audit will focus.

Based on this, the scope and audit plan are agreed upon.

  1. Certification audit 

The certification audit consists of informal interviews, examinations, and observations of the system in operation. During this process, we assess your management system’s degree of compliance with the requirements of the elected standard and performance in identified focus areas. When found compliant, we issue the certificate. Findings related to the focus areas will be presented at the end of the audit in a closing meeting and included in the audit report. At the closing meeting, you can also provide input regarding the focus areas, i.e. should any new focus area(s) be included in future audits. 

  • Maintenance of certificate
    at this stage you have completed the initial certification and can move on to maintenance of your certification.
  1. Periodic audits

Each issued certificate has a one-year life period. Upon certification, we will create a periodic audit schedule for regular audits over the one-year period. These audits confirm your company’s on-going compliance with specified requirements of the standard while re-evaluating performance in focus areas. At least one periodic audit per year is required.

  1. Re-certification audit 

After the one year is up, your certification will be extended through a re-certification audit.

 

Our Accreditations

Certification Body of System operates a policy of achieving formal accreditation from a relevant authority before offering a service in a standard to the market, where it is commercially feasible.

Accreditation is the process by which a certification body is recognized to offer certification services. In order to become accredited, Certification Europe is required to implement a quality management system which is assessed by an independent authorized body (national accreditation body) to determine that it meets international standards. CBS is audited annually to ensure its services meet the exacting requirements of the relevant accreditation standards.

Our accreditation means that we have been independently assessed as possessing the expertise and competency to audit and certify to each of the listed standards on our website. Organisations who are seeking to have a system certified to an international standard should ensure that the assessment and certification is carried out by a competent accredited body. This means that the certification body providing the service is accredited and can provide evidence that it has the expertise, skills, proven knowledge of the standard and itself operates a quality service.

A national accreditation body exists in most countries to perform the task of approving, monitoring and auditing certification services. National authorities liaise through an international forum (www.iaf.nu) to ensure that international standards are adopted in a uniform manner to enable international recognition.

CBS has achieved formal accreditation in the following standards:

  • ISO 9001 – Quality Management Systems Certification
  • ISO 14001 – Environmental Management Systems Certification
  • ISO 45001 – Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems Certification
  • ISO 27001 – Information Security Management Systems Certification
  • ISO 50001 – Energy Management Systems Certification
  • ISO 22000- Food Safety Management Systems Certification

Accreditation the process in which certification of competency, authority, or credibility is presented.

Organisations that issue credentials or certify third parties against official standards are themselves formally accredited by accreditation bodies (such as UKAS); hence they are sometimes known as “accredited certification bodies”. The accreditation process ensures that their certification practices are acceptable, typically meaning that they are competent to test and certify third parties, behave ethically and employ suitable quality assurance.

-Accreditation standard

Accreditation bodies operate according to ISO/IEC 17011.Accredited entities in specific sectors must provide evidence to the accreditation body that they conform to other standards in the same series:

  • BS EN ISO/IEC 17021: “Conformity assessment. Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems” (2015)
  • BS EN ISO/IEC 17024: “Conformity Assessment. General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons” (2012)

CBS is accredited form IAS joint accreditation system of Great Britain. (England, Scotland, North Ireland and wells) Which is mean that your ISO certificate with CBS is international accredited and recognized