ISO Certification

The standards most businesses need

• ISO 9001 — quality management, the most widely requested in tenders
• ISO 14001 — environmental management
• ISO 45001 — occupational health and safety
• ISO 22000 — food safety management
• ISO 27001 — information security management
• ISO 13485 — quality management for medical devices

Accredited or not — the question to ask

A certification body should itself be accredited by a member of the International Accreditation Forum. In India that commonly means accreditation by NABCB.

If a customer, a tender or a foreign buyer is asking for ISO certification, they will normally require an accredited certificate. We tell you which route your purpose actually calls for rather than selling you whichever is cheapest.

What the audit involves

Certification is not a documentation exercise alone. The auditor examines whether the system described in your manual is the system you actually operate.

• A gap assessment against the standard, before anything is submitted
• Documentation of your processes, policies and records
• Internal audit and a management review conducted by you
• Stage one audit — the auditor reviews your documented system
• Stage two audit — the auditor verifies implementation on site
• Closure of any non-conformities raised
• Certificate issued, typically valid three years with annual surveillance audits

How we handle it

1. 1 Choosing the standard and scope We confirm which standard your customer or tender actually requires, and the scope it must cover.
2. 2 Gap assessment Your current practice is assessed against the standard so you know what has to change before an auditor arrives.
3. 3 Documentation The manual, procedures and records are developed around how you actually work, not a generic template.
4. 4 Internal audit An internal audit and management review are conducted, which the standard requires before certification.
5. 5 Certification audit The certification body conducts the stage one and stage two audits, and we support you through both.
6. 6 Certificate and surveillance The certificate is issued and we schedule the annual surveillance audits that keep it valid.

Frequently asked questions