Introduction
Certification of your quality management system (QMS) is a way of providing assurance that you have implemented a system for the management of the quality aspects of your organisation’s products and services.
Certification involves the assessment of your QMS to the requirements of ISO 9001:2008. Although commitment to continual improvement is assessed, it does not imply achievement of specific levels of quality performance of your products and/or services.
The International Certification Bureau QMS certification process involves the following activities:
1. The Application
We have provided in this pack an Application Form (Part 3) for the certification of your QMS, which you must complete fully and submit to International Certification Bureau (ICB).
In addition please complete the Resource Planning Checklist and attach this to the Application Form.
Finally, please ensure your Application Form and Resource Planning Checklist are signed and dated by a duly authorised representative of your organisation.
2. The Quotation
Upon receipt of your Application Form and Resource Planning Checklist, we will review your request for certification and ensure that you have provided sufficient information for ICB to prepare a quotation, and that we have the capability to carry out the assessment in relation to the proposed scope of certification. Once we are satisfied, we will send you a quotation that will detail the number of audit days involved and costs associated with the assessment of your QMS to the requirements of ISO 9001:2008.
3. Client Acceptance
If you are happy with our quotation, you should sign and return the Acceptance Form to ICB. We will then plan the resource requirements (including a consideration of your organisation’s size, number and nature of the sites involved) to enable us to effectively select and appoint our audit team.
In advance of your assessment, we will notify you of the auditor(s) appointed to your organisation, which you will have the right to reject, if you should feel they are not suitable. Finally, we will raise our invoice for payment prior to the commencement of the assessment activity.
4. Initial Assesment
The International Certification Bureau initial assessment is in 2 stages.
| Stage 1 Audit – this is conducted on-site and ICB will: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Undertake a site tour to familiarise the auditor with your operation and processes. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Discuss and confirm your intended scope of certification. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Gain an understanding of your QMS in the context of your organisation’s focus on customer expectations and the associated business process by which you meet them. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Establish whether your QMS is process focused; that clear quality objectives and targets have been set; that the ‘8 Quality Principles’ have been taken into account and that plans for continual improvement are being put into place. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Review your documented QMS to check that all the documentation required by the standard and relevant to your organisation has been identified and documented in a controlled manner. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Confirm that your QMS implementation programme justifies proceeding with the | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stage 2 Audit, and if yes, determine with you a date for the audit. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Prepare and discuss with you the Stage 2 Audit programme based around the key objectives and activities of your organisation, and confirm the number of audit days required. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Provide you with a report of our findings and the auditor’s briefing on any non conformities found during the audit. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stage 3 Audit – this is conducted on-site and ICB will: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Discuss with you the effective implementation of corrective actions to any non conformities raised during the Stage 1 audit. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Assess the implementation of your QMS and confirm that it complies with the requirements of ISO 9001:2008. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Review how your overall quality objectives and targets are being communicated and implemented across the organisation; how these, including customer satisfaction, are being measured and reviewed; and how the results, together with the ‘8 Quality Principles’, are being used to drive your plans for continual improvement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Assess your working practices to confirm that you are complying with your own policies and procedures. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Review your own Internal Audit and Management Review programmes to verify they are designed to ensure your QMS’s effectiveness. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Provide you with a report and the auditor’s briefing before departure concerning the recommendations on the outcome of the assessment process. The decision whether to award certification will be based on the evidence gathered during the Stage 1 and Stage 2 audits. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • | Review the recommendations of your auditor, and following the acceptance of any outstanding corrective actions, ratify your certification to ISO 9001:2008 and issue you with your certificate. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5. Surveillance and Re-Assessment
ICB will carry out regular surveillance audits of your organisation to ensure ongoing compliance of your QMS. In a 3 year period, selective sampling of your QMS will be undertaken during audits so that the whole system is audited over that time.
Once every 3 years ICB will extend or replace a Surveillance Audit to undertake a Re-Assessment Audit, following which you will receive an extension of your certification for a further 3 year period.