What is accreditation?
Accreditation verifies the certification body/registrar’s competence. To fulfil the accreditation criteria, an accrediting authority assesses the certification body/registrar. This is to verify that the certification body/registrar complies with existing requirements. This is the authorities’ way of auditing the auditors (certification bodies/registrars like DNV).
What is third party accredited certification?
Accredited certification of management systems is used to demonstrate compliance to a standard. Third party certification bodies/registrars are auditing organisations that provide auditing services to companies that wish to obtain certification to specific standards.
What is Risk Based Certification®?
Risk Based Certification is DNV’s exclusive approach to all management system certification. Knowing where to focus improvement efforts is critical to being in control of risk elements that can threaten your business success. With our Risk Based Certification approach, the certification process is tailored to evaluate your select business risks.
You provide input on what operational processes are most crucial to your business success. We evaluate how you perform in these focus areas and help identify where to concentrate improvement efforts, while also checking compliance with elected standards. The outcome is still a certificate, if the management system is found compliant. But in addition, an evaluation of your performance in the focus areas is generated.
How do I become certified by DNV?
A successful management system is one that is improved on a continual basis. Both your management system and certificate have to be maintained. Therefore, accredited certification consists of two stages: the primary certification and maintenance of the certificate thereafter. We apply our Risk Based Certification approach to both stages.
Primary certification
- Input dialogue
To tailor the audit, we need to know what is important to your organisation. We have to get a clear understanding of your business strategy and conditions that affect your ability to reach said strategy. Subsequently 3-5 focus areas on which the audit will focus are identified. The focus areas should be linked to the management system and reflect the risks or opportunities that are most important to you. Agreeing on focus areas is a collaborative effort, and our auditors can help suggest focus areas if necessary. Top management should be involved at this stage.
- Documentation review
Our lead auditor evaluates your management system manual. The documentation review report summarises any findings from this process. The report indicates if your organisation is ready to proceed with the certification audit. The documentation review can be performed prior to or conducted as part of the initial visit.
- Initial visit
Before the actual certification audit, we will make a preliminary visit to your organisation. The initial visit can be combined with the documentation review. The purpose of the initial visit is two fold:
- To check your readiness for the certification audit, i.e. to review your manual, check procedures, tour your facilities, and briefly check the implementation of your management system.
- To review focus area input and agree on 3-5 particular focus areas upon which the audit will focus.
Based on this, the scope and audit programme are agreed upon.
Certification audit
The certification audit consists of informal interviews, examinations, and observations of the system in operation. During this process, we assess your management system’s degree of compliance with the requirements of the elected standard and performance in identified focus areas. When found compliant, we issue the certificate. Findings related to the focus areas will be presented at the end of the audit in a closing meeting and included in the audit report. At the closing meeting, you can also provide input regarding the focus areas, i.e. should any new focus area(s) be included in future audits.
Maintenance of certificate
At this stage you have completed the initial certification and can move on to maintenance of your certification.
Periodic audits
Each issued certificate has a three-year life period. Upon certification, we will create a periodic audit schedule for regular audits over the three-year period. These audits confirm your company’s on-going compliance with specified requirements of the standard while re-evaluating performance in focus areas. At least one periodic audit per year is required.
Re-certification audit
After the three years are up, your certification will be extended through a re-certification audit.
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