ISO Certification Process
1.INQUIRY
You will need to fill the inquiry page in our website for UCS to understand your company and requirements. You can do this by completing the online quick quote. We will use this information to accurately define the scope of Audit and provide you with a proposal for certification.
Or you can call us by phone, WhatsApp, or sending an email with your requirements and out team will reach you within 24 hours only.
Then our team will send you a detailed proposal outlining the certificate or service cost and duration for the ISO certificate to be issued.
2.AUDIT
Once you’ve agreed on your proposal, our team will contact you to book the Audit schedule, your Audits will be booked with an UCS Auditor. This Audit consists of two mandatory visits that form the Initial Certification Audit (Stage 1 and Stage 2 audit). Please note that you must be able to demonstrate your management system has been fully operational for a minimum of three months and has been subject to a management review and full cycle of internal audits. *Note: there may be additional requirements for some of the more technical standards – we will advise you of these.
The ISO certificate process is as follows.
• Step 1
• Application & Agreement
• https://ucsiso.com/application
• Step 2
• Certification audit
• Stage 1 and Stage 2 Audit
• Step 3
• Certification decision
• Step 4
- Invoicing and draft certificate
- Step 5
- Final certificate
3.CERTIFICATION
Following a successful two stage audit, a certification decision is made and if positive, then certification to the required standard is issued by UCS. You will receive a hard and soft copy of the certification. Certification is valid for three years and is maintained through a programme of annual surveillance audits and a three yearly re-certification audit.
ISO certificates are issued with ASIB and ISO global register accreditation or as per the client requirements, UCS with its partners can issue IAS, UKAS, Jas Anz, DAkkS, IAF or any other as per the client request.
All UCS certificates can be validated by clocking on the below link.
Initial ISO Certification Audit
Stage 1
The purpose of this Audit is to confirm that your organization is ready for full Audit. This Audit will take place at your management system center (normally head office) and will be a documentation review Audit.
During the stage 1 Audit, your Auditor will:
internal audit or management review processes. Certification may not be issued for ISO 27001 until there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that arrangements for management reviews and internal ISMS audits have been implemented, are effective and will be maintained.
Stage 2
The purpose of this Audit is to confirm that the management system fully conforms to the requirements of the chosen standard in practice. If you undertake site work or have more than one location that you want within the scope of your certification then your Auditor will also need to audit these activities / locations.
During the stage 2 Audit, your Auditor will:
- document how the system complies with the standard by using objective evidence
- undertake sample audits of the processes and activities defined in the scope of certification
- visit any remote locations, additional sites or remote activities to evaluate the effectiveness of the management system off site
- report any non-conformities or opportunities for improvement
- produce a surveillance plan and agree a date for the first annual surveillance visit
If the Auditor identifies any major non-conformances, certification cannot be issued until corrective action is taken and verified. Accreditation requirements stipulate that if this is not completed within 6 months, then certification cannot be recommended without a further stage 2 Audit.
Specifically for ISMS this requirement extends to any nonconformity regarding the Our collaborative partnership approach to certification is designed to enable your certification programme to suit your business requirements – not the other way around!
Surveillance Audit
Once certification is obtained a certificate will be issued that will be valid for 3 years. This is maintained through annual surveillance audits (partial audits) and a 3 yearly re-certification audit (full system audit).
Surveillance audits are undertaken annually to ensure that compliance to the chosen Standard(s) is maintained throughout the three-year certification cycle.
The frequency and duration of surveillance is dependent on factors including:
- size and structure of organization
- complexity and risk of activities
- number of management systems standards included in the scope of certification
- number of sites listed within the scope of certification
During the surveillance audit you must demonstrate continual improvement. This is a fundamental requirement of all ISO standards.
What happens if your business changes during this time?
Don’t worry – we are used to organizations of all shapes and sizes changing on a regular basis including additional locations and activities, increase or decrease in head count. We can provide you with all of the options to change and adapt your scope / standards / management system to suit your business requirements – we just need you to be honest with us and let us know If anything changes as soon as possible.
- confirm the accuracy of the information that you submitted during the application process
- confirm that the management system conforms to the requirements of the standard
- confirm the implementation status of your management system(s)
- confirm the scope of certification
- check legislative compliance
