Choosing the Best ISO Certification Body: Why, and How?
Business owners and Organizations, when they decide to implement the Management System according to the International Standards such that ISO 9001, ISO 27001, ISO 45001, ISO 14001, ISO 22000, IATF 16949 or ISO 13485, etc., the first thing they confused about is to confirming the Implemented Management System as per the International Standards, Who is going to verify their system according to the ISO Management System? To whom they are going to approach?
The same question is not applicable for Organizations who consulted the ISO Consulting agency for implementation of the ISO Management System, Cause the ISO Consulting agency takes care of everything from the Gap Analysis to Final Certification. They will suggest you the best ISO Certification Body and ensure you the perfect management system in accordance with the ISO Standards.
But Organizations who implement the System with their own resources have to approach the right Third-Party to verify their system against the ISO guidelines and requirements. So, for the organizations, self-implemented the management system has to choose the Best and Credible ISO Certification Body that is accredited as per the IAF guidelines and Policies.
Why Choose an ISO Certification Body?
The ISO Certification Body is an accredited assurance and certification organization that works as per the guidelines and requirements in accordance with ISO 17021–1:2015 Conformity assessment — Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems.
In order to get ISO Certification and Confirmation of the effective management system, the Implemented management system has to comply with the set of requirements mentioned in the ISO Standards (ex. ISO 9001:2015). The ISO Certification body then reviews your management system and provides the assurance that the system is in accordance with ISO requirements and provide you the Certificate stating that the organization is aligned with ISO requirements and maintaining the management system. So, it is essential to get approval from the accredited ISO Certification Body to ensure the Proper management System.
Even the organizations can Self-Certify that their system in accordance with ISO Standards requirements, but when it comes to the credibility of the system, that has to certify by third-party organizations. ISO Certification Bodies are independent third parties, provides the conformity assessment, and issues the Certificates as per the ISO requirements; this gives more credibility to your management system and ISO Certification.
How to Choose an ISO Certification Body?
Now, you understood the importance of ISO Certification body approval to confirm your Management system against the requirements of ISO Standards, then How to choose the Best ISO Certification body? What are the Considerations to choose the right one?
Before choosing an ISO Certification Body, Business owners and Organizations should understand the selection criteria and parameters. There are multiple factors that the organization has to consider before choosing the ISO Certification Body, such as
- Accreditation
- Reputation
- Scope
There are hundreds of ISO Certification bodies are there around you, But how are you going to choose the best one? How do you make decisions on the selection of ISO Certification Body? The answer is simple, just consider the above-mentioned factor and verify against them.
Accreditation: The First thing to consider in the selection of ISO Certification Body is Accreditation. There are lots of third-party organizations, they say that they will assess your system and give the Certificate. Are these Certifying organizations accredited (licensed) to do so? , No, most of them are not accredited by Local Governing Bodies i.e. accreditation bodies. Even, the Accreditation Bodies also have credible authenticity to provide the accreditations to Certification Bodies.
In Order to verify the accreditation of any ISO Certification Body, one should verify the Accreditation Details and credibility of the accreditation body (AB) that recognized by the International Accreditation Forum [IAF]. The List of County-wise IAF accreditation Bodies can be verified here.
Some well-known Accreditation Bodies; UKAS, IAS, NABCB, EGAC, EIAC, DAKKS, etc.
Reputation: When it comes to the authenticity and Credibility of your ISO Certificate, clearly one has to consider the reputation of the Certifying Body. If you are using your ISO Certification for marketing purposes, this should be recognized by an accredited Certification Body. Non-accredited ISO Certificates are cause damage to your organization’s reputation in the market. The non-accredited Certification bodies issue the Certificates without any audits or review of the management system, which causes complexity in the credibility of your ISO Certificate and you may lose the customers. List of all recognized and non-recognized Accreditation Bodies here. Only IAF -MLA accreditation bodies are audited and therefore deserve the highest level of confidence.
Scope: The ISO Certificate issuing organization has to have the scope of accreditation in order to issue the Certificate for a particular standard or to a particular industry. Not all the Certification Body has the scopes to issues the certificates for all industries (nature of business) and ISO Standards. You should verify the scope of accreditation of the Certification body in the accreditation letter.
Scope of Accreditation will be like this. You should verify that the ISO Certification body is recognized to issue the certificate for your nature of the business, sector, and ISO Standard you want to certify with. Sector-wise scope Codes [EA Codes] will be found here.
Now you understood the How to Choose ISO Certification Body for Your organization ISO Certification. Still, if you have any questions regarding the selection of the best ISO Certification, You can contact Genveritas. Our experts will help you through the Selection of ISO Certification Body, Implementation, and Certification guidance. Genveritas is a Global ISO Certification Consulting agency, expertise in Consulting, implementing, and Certification Services.
Genveritas Technologies Private Limited
manager@genveritas.in | genveritasindia@gmail.com | +91 8867 260 270
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