It’s time to seek certification now that you’ve created your quality management system.
The first step is to choose a Certification Body (CB) to carry out your audit. There are so many CBs to choose from these days that finding the right one for your organisation is difficult. It pays to do your homework and shop around.
Concept background of a businessman making a decision while looking at arrows on the wall.
Here are our top recommendations for selecting an ISO Certification Body:
- Do they have accreditation?
You should check to see if they are accredited by a reputable body. It is wise to only work with CBs who have been accredited by national accreditation bodies (AB). In New Zealand, for example, the AB is JASANZ. It is known as ANAB in the United States and UKAS in the United Kingdom.
- Inquire about their industry experience, background, and knowledge.
It is critical that they understand what you do, how you do it, and, most importantly, what constitutes good and bad quality.
- Ask them if they can work within your parameters.
If they don’t have experience in your specific industry, let them go and find someone who does. Request proof that they can work within your parameters. Examine the proposed audit team’s resumes.
- Request recommendations from your clients.
We have hundreds of customers. We asked some of them for a recommendation for a CB because nothing beats a recommendation from a reliable source.
- Review the CB references.
Request references from organisations in your industry that have used them in the past from the CB. Inquire if you can also speak with these reference sites.
- Determine whether they can meet your certification deadline.
Because some CBs are extremely busy, you should check with them to ensure that you can schedule their auditors to perform your audit when you want them to.
- Examine the fee schedule.
Make certain that the fee schedule is discussed and agreed upon in advance. When the invoice arrives, there should be no surprises. If invoices are not paid, CBs will withhold certificates.
- Is the CB interested in establishing a long-term relationship?
Building a long-term relationship with your CB is good business practise to ensure that they continue to provide a good audit experience for you.