Issue 87 – The ISO Registrar/Certification Body is just another Supplier, right?
ISO 9001:2015…
The ISO Registrar/Certification Body is just another Supplier, right?
I appreciate receiving emails with questions and/or comments from readers of this Newsletter… please continue to do so since it provides me with direction on where to aim the content of these publications. In my last Newsletter (ISO 9001:2015 Newsletter Issue 86) we discussed the topic of “QMS Management Rep, do we still need one?”, and now in this Newsletter we will discuss “The ISO Registrar/Certification Body is just another Supplier, right?“.
The ISO 9001:2015 Element numbering…
Element 4 – Context of the organization
Element 5 – Leadership
Element 6 – Planning
Element 7 – Support
Element 8 – Operation
Element 9 – Performance evaluation
Element 10 – Improvement
The ISO Registrar/Certification Body is just another Supplier, right?… I ask this question because I am always amazed at how companies allow their ISO Registrar/Certification Body to dictate the way they supply their services. Let’s remember that this is a paid-for service that you issued a PO for, to allow them to invoice you for the service they will provide to your company. Yes, I know they have their own “rules” they have to follow to maintain their accredited status however they are all “for profit” firms! These ISO Registrars/Certification Bodies are given a lot of latitude mainly because you, the Customer, give it to them. What am I talking about? Let me give you some examples… a) You are told what the date of the next external audit will be; b) You are informed what the price will be (based on their formula); c) You are advised that they have selected a second auditor to assist in the audit; d) The external auditor presents their audit findings as final whether you agree or not; e) You receive the final report and it has discrepancies such as findings that were never discussed and errors in the information being reported, or worse you don’t agree at all with the findings; f) You are informed that after 3 years of getting to know your Lead Auditor (and training them on how your company operates), that a new Lead Auditor must be assigned.
How can you respond to the above scenarios? The above situations are based on real events that my Clients have experienced over the years. Here are my comments: a) Your ISO Registrar/Certification Body is performing a marketing task when they set the next audit date a year in advance however it’s up to you to decide what dates work best… so tell them that and they should try and accommodate your schedule; b) When they send you a quotation or contract for the next three years you can respond back with a request for less days and less money… you’ll get push back because of the formula they follow but there is flexibility here so why not ask for a better price?… Also, how many of your other Suppliers do you sign a 3 year contract with? Ask if separate POs will suffice for each audit event; c) Although they may have decided on using a second Auditor but that doesn’t mean you have to. If their logic is simply that this approach will shorten their onsite time, just tell them you are okay with only one Auditor. Why would you want to have two of them roaming around your facility that you will need to keep tabs on? Also, if you decide that a second Auditor is okay make sure to request a copy of their resume and ask for a telephone interview as well before you commit; d) If you don’t agree with the findings in the audit report then appeal them. I’ve seen many cases where findings get dropped if they are properly challenged.; e) If the information in the final audit report is incorrect, contact your Lead Auditor and ask them to change it and then re-issue it.; f) Inform them that you do not want to switch from your existing Lead Auditor (unless you do!) regardless of whatever “rules” they say must be followed. I’ve seen many large/major ISO Registrars/Certification Bodies in North America keep the same Lead Auditor on the file for well over 10 years, and is some cases 20+ years. If they insist, then ask to talk to someone in their Sales/Marketing department and explain to them that you will find another “Supplier” if your request can’t be accommodated. In fact my Clients have had very good luck when they’ve contacted the Sales Service people within these organizations… after all, you are their “Customer”!
Be sure to watch for our next Newsletter issue where I will be answering some of the questions that I get from Readers of my Newsletters about how to implement the requirements of ISO 9001:2015 in a specific and practical way, that will also help improve business performance…
To view all of our past Newsletters or to sign up to receive them… click here
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Need Help?
ISO 9001:2015 Internal Audit Outsourcing (we can do it for you OR with you!)
For cost effectiveness, the Internal Audit function can be outsourced to an external experienced auditor on a periodic basis. This will provide an independent and objective assessment to management, of where process issues may exist, along with identifying opportunities for improvement. It will also provide the evidence needed to satisfy the Internal Audit requirements in the ISO Standards. We have used two different approaches with this service: a) We conduct the entire audit ourselves, or b) We act as the lead auditor, and along with your Team of internal auditors, we complete the entire audit together. This latter approach allows your people to receive guidance and direction from an experienced lead auditor while at the same time maintaining significant involvement in the internal audit process.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Internal Process Auditor Training for ISO 9001:2015
The two (2) day Internal Process Auditing for ISO 9001:2015 Training Session is focused on a process approach to auditing with the objective being not only to assess conformance of the quality management system, but also to uncover process improvements during an audit. This goes hand in hand with the process auditing requirements found within ISO 19011 and the process approach covered in ISO 9001:2015, which promotes continual process improvement throughout this Standard. An enhanced checklist is developed, and there will be workshops throughout, to reinforce learning, as well as a live, practice audit. If you are looking to meet the ISO 9001:2015 internal audit requirements and to “raise the bar” for your internal audit program then this is the course you should consider.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Until next time…
Tim Renaud
Helping Business Professionals Reduce Risk and Remove Waste!