APPLICATION
The applicant can contact us via mail at operations@qualitas-cert.com if they are interested in acquiring our Certification Services. The applicant will be provided with the application form to gather further information. Upon the receipt of application form, the certification manager shall review and ask for further information, if required. Qualitas de Certificate official will send the quotation of cost of three year to the applicant.
SIGNING OF AGREEMENT
On acceptance of the quotation, Qualitas de Certificate and applicant company shall sign the agreement which consist of the terms and conditions of the certification
APPOINTMENT OF AUDIT TEAM & AUDIT VISIT
Audit Manager will select the audit team as per the scope/industry and communicate to client company as well as auditor and obtain the consent with no conflict of interest and execution of the audit on mutually agreed date. The audit Activity include the opening meeting with the Auditee organization, team briefings, audit interviews, nonconformance issuance, Auditee organization briefings, and the closing meeting with the Auditee organization.
SAMPLING PLAN AND AUDITING TIME
Adequate sampling would be done in the context of the sampling taken during on site interviews and record reviews that give sufficient confidence that the Auditee Management System is implemented and maintained. The auditor will perform interviews and check records and evidence during interview. The number of samples to be taken will depend on the complexity of the processes being audited and the quality of information received from the Auditee during the interview. The auditor will maintain the schedule outlined in the audit plan.
STAGE 1 AUDIT
Stage 1 will be carried out onsite/offsite. Adequacy audit term is used for On-site and Document review is used for Off-site. During the Stage 1, it is to be established that the requirements of the standard(s) are being met by the Auditee organization. The auditor will note his/her findings in the Stage 1 audit report and record this against the relevant topic if such fails to satisfy the requirement of the standard. If a major non-conformity is identified, the stage 2 Audit will be put on hold until the auditee closes the major findings of Stage 1 Audit. Stage 1 Audit will be conducted to review the allocation of resources for stage 2 audit and agreeing with the client on the details including timeline of the stage 2 audit.
STAGE 2 AUDIT
Following the successful completion of Stage 1 Audit, Stage 2 Audit will be conducted to confirm that the Auditee organization adheres to its own policies, objectives, and procedures and that the management system of the Auditee organization conforms to all the requirements of the current version of respective standard(s), normative document and achieving the organization’s policy & objectives. If there are combined systems in place, e.g., QMS, OHSMS and EMS, then emphasis must be placed to ensure that all standards are adequately addressed and monitored.
FOLLOW-UP AUDITS
Follow-up audits will be conducted for the follow-up of non-conformance(s) of an Auditee organization’s Management System (MS), identified during a visit, that were determined to require corrective action. Follow-up audit will be conducted where a major non-conformity is raised. Minor non-conformity does not require formal follow-up visit and may be closed off site based on evidence submitted. The time required for follow-up audit shall be determined based on number and nature of major non-conformities issued.
CERTIFICATE ISSUE
Once the report has been successfully reviewed a Registration Certificate and Registration Schedule along with Logo Rules will be issued, usually within 15 working days of completion of the audit.
SURVEILLANCE AUDIT
Surveillance Audit will be conducted to assess that the Auditee organization’s registered Management System has been maintained and to verify that changes to Management System subsequent to the previous visit are in compliance with respective standard and that objective evidence is available to substantiate implementation. Moreover, any major changes in Auditee organization’s operations, technology that could affect the certification / registration will be assessed under surveillance audit activity. Surveillance Audit will be scheduled and conducted before the certification due date every year for the next 2 years. Care is taken that the audit is scheduled within 12 months interval – date being last day of Certification Audit.
MAINTAINING OF CERTIFICATES
Certificates will be maintained provided that the certified clients continue to satisfy the management system standard and based on positive recommendation from the audit team leader during routine surveillance audits provided that any non-conformity or any other situations which may lead to withdrawal / suspension of certification. In such cases the audit team leader reports to the Certification Committee to initiate a review by competent personnel, independent from those who carried out the audit.
RECERTIFICATION AUDIT
The recertification audit will be conducted to confirm the continued and effective management system as a whole. This audit may include stage 1, if there is considerable internal / external change in QMS, activities, location, and scope of certification. Recertification Audit will include review of effectiveness and improvements in the QMS performance and will generally follow the same process as the Stage 2 Audit. The recertification audit will be completed about 2 months before certificate expiry. Decision on renewing the certificate will be made by QUALITAS DE CERTIFICATION based on results of recertification audit (review of report), review of the certified client’s system over the period of certification and any complaints received against the certified client over the certification period. The new certificate shall then be considered as continuation of certification. “Certified since….” date shall be the initial certification date. Where the recertification audit cannot be completed before certificate expiry, the client shall be considered as a fresh case and man-days for stage 1, stage 2 and surveillance audit shall be given. Also, if the surveillances are not done as per schedule, the client shall be considered as a fresh case.
JOINT AUDITS
For combined documented system, the audits will be carried out according to the audit plan produced at Stage 1 / Document Review. Care will be taken to ensure that the appropriate amount of time is spent on each area in the company and for ensuring full coverage of the standard requirements. A plan for surveillance visits will be produced at the end of the audit taking into account the time needed for each standard and the expertise for the various surveillance visits as well as the areas to be looked at. The Join Audit procedure will follow the same process of stage 1, stage 2, surveillance & recertification audits as mentioned above.