The time taken and the cost to achieve accreditation will vary depending upon the following.
The standard (s) you are hoping to achieve certification for as they all vary with the amount of work involved.
For
example ISO 9001 is all about your working processes so pre-dominantly
is looking at what you're doing to manage your customers; it has been
thought that most organizations are already 50% on their way to
accreditation before even starting to work for ISO 9001 and it is a
case of getting that information into a formalized way.
Should
you choose to do ISO 14001, it's will include undertaking an
environmental review and determining what out of your processes you
have the potential to reduce or to improve. Similarly if you choose
OHSAS 18001, there are legislations that you must comply with to gain
accreditation which include completing sufficient risk assessments. And
similarly you can choose ISO/TS 16949 certification service.
The complexity of your organization, e.g. what and how you provide your services and / or manufacture your products.
Geographical locations e.g. do you operate out of 1 site or 10? The system should be adopted at all of your sites.
The
certification body you choose. Their availability will matter
significantly in the process of achieving accreditation. Some will be
available in 3 months, others in 4 months. Similarly for most
management standards, most certification bodies adopt a two stage
certification approach; Stage 1 will include completing a gap analysis
of the system to establish your readiness, Stage 2 or the final
assessment will then encompass a full audit of the management system
(the pass or fail scenario)
The amount of employees involved in
the organization. Why? Because generally more people mean more
processes and these will all have to be considered in the accreditation
scope. This will also affect your assessment duration; more people will
result in more days required by the assessment body.
How much will my assessment cost?
This cost will vary depending upon the certification body you choose.
There
is no right or wrong assessment body; however at SAMRAT ASSOCIATES we
use and recommend all the accredited certification bodies like NABCB /
UKAS / ANAB / DAR-TGA.
Can you help us choose the right certification body?
Yes
we can. We have built up close business relationships with many, all of
which are internationally accredited and we will recommend depending
upon their costs and their experience in your industry.
Can you offer assistance after we have gained certification?
Yes
we can, it is what we class as a service contract, and it will
encompass the complete annual ongoing management of the system as it
develops.
We will plan and schedule the audits accordingly, and
these will then be completed by one of our skilled and experienced
auditors as per the Gant Chart. Any non conformity found will be raised
and rectified as necessary, ready and in line for your annual
surveillance with the assessment body, for which we will also attend.
