Article is from
Electrical & Mechanical Contractor
June 2002, p. 55

Articles & Info

Getting certified

You want your firm to be third party certified, but how do you achieve that accreditation? Chris Ottaway explains the process.

At the end of any complete management systems journey is the assessment by the certification body.

The term "third party certification" is quite cold and many companies are put off by the thought of being assessed. The best philosophy is to install either a quality, environmental, safety or integrated management system, implement it, make sure it works and then pick up certification in due course.

Since the introduction of third party certification, the process has considerably changed. This is due to assessor attitudes changing after comprehensive training, and increased understanding of the process by the certification bodies.

Choosing an assessor
There are many certification bodies in operation that are qualified by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to undertake quality and environmental certification. Safety certification, however, is still in its infancy. While bodies may work in slightly different ways, the principles are similar.

It is recommended that you use the services of a UKAS-accredited certification body. To be sure of a firm's accreditation you should look for a crown and tick on their letterheads, along with their registration number. When you are certified by such a body, you will be able to display their logo along with the crown and tick. Many clients insist that their suppliers are only third party assured by a UKAS-accredited body.

You should aim to interview three or four bodies before you make a selection. Bear in mind their approach to customer care as you will be entering into a sort of technical marriage with them. Make sure that you are clear on exactly how much it will cost, say for year one (assessment) and ongoing years (surveillance).

The assessment process
The first stage of assessment is for the certification body to assess your documentation against the relevant standard, for example ISO 9001: 2000.

They will then send you a report regarding compliance. This will contain your system scope ie the field of operation covered by the management system; this scope will be identified on the issued certificate so make sure that it is accurate. The report may also identify areas to address regarding compliance or simple observations. Make sure that you address all certification body comments immediately.

The last part of this stage is normally confirmation that the revisions are acceptable and a physical assessment will be undertaken prior to certification.

At the physical assessment stage the certification body will send either an assessor or team of assessors (depending on the size of firm), to check that documented procedures are being followed.

This will be a formal visit where the assessor(s) work to a pre-arranged programme, ensuring that all areas of the company within the declared scope are assessed along with as many members of staff as possible. The brief is to obtain documentary evidence that you do what your procedures say you should be doing. There will be very few questions asked that will enable you to answer yes or no. Instead they will be of a 'show me' nature.

Throughout the visit the assessor will note areas and people examined. Just because they are scribbling away it does not necessarily mean that there is a problem, as positive reporting is encouraged by most certification bodies.

At the end of the assessment you will be formally presented with the findings. Again, certification bodies differ in their approach to this, however the findings will be under the general categories:

• observation - a comment or suggested improvement. These do not affect the outcome of the assessment;
• minor discrepancy - a problem related to an area examined, which will require corrective action before certification can be recommended. Most companies get a few on their first assessment so if one is raised don't feel that the assessment is going badly;
• major discrepancy - this is much more serious and generally if two or more are raised, you will fail the assessment.

At the end of the assessment advice will be given on whether or not certification will be awarded or reassessment is needed. If any discrepancy reports are raised you will need to agree corrective action then send the evidence to the certification body before any further recommendation can be made.

After clearing all the discrepancies, the certification body will formally confirm that recommendation for certification has been made and you will receive all the necessary documentation in due course.

Most certification bodies send out a draft certificate for you to see before the master one is dispatched. When you study the certificate, make sure that you check the scope and your company details before approving it.

Remember, this is only the beginning. The certification body will now visit you, normally every six months, to ensure that the standards observed at the assessment are being maintained. This will continue for as long as you remain certified by that body. These visits are normally called surveillance visits and will be conducted within a prearranged programme.

Although very rare, some companies have been known to get third party certification and then "put everything on the top shelf'. In such cases, the first surveillance visit will identify that implementation has ceased. If nothing is done to correct the situation, the company's certification status will be short-lived. Just imagine how detrimental the effect of losing certification would be.

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Chris Ottaway manages the ECA's free management systems helpline for members (tal: 01277 363653). He is md of Ottaway & Associates.