APPLY FOR CERTIFICATION
CLIENT INFORMATION FORM
To apply for ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and/or ISO 45001 certification from Alpha Certification Services please download the PDF Client Information Form to complete by supplying as much information as possible and if necessary attach supporting document/s (See Certification Audit Process below or download the Certification Audit Process), Ad Form 45 for more details). This is necessary and important for Alpha Certification Services cc to prepare an accurate Service Level Agreement. Upon completion please return via e-mail zelda@alphacs.co.za or fax to 086 623 5281 so that an official Service Level Agreement (Quote) can be generated.
It is crucial when indicating the number of employees to only include those who are involved in the Management System (e.g. Manager/s, Management Representative, Trainers, Facilitators, Administrator, Filling Clerks, Secretaries, Workshop Employees, Factory Employees, Drivers, Storemen etc. but exclude staff like cleaners and finance department) as this impacts directly on the number of man-days and costs of the quotation.
The SLA will be submitted with information regarding costs of certification and subsequent surveillance audits and conditions for certification etc. Once signed acceptance of SLA has been received the Lead Auditor assigned to conduct your audit will contact you to setup mutually agreed date/s for the 1st & 2nd Stage audit.
We are a registered certification body accredited by SANAS which means we issue Internationally recognised certificates as per our SANAS accreditation to our clients who meet the requirements of the standard. (See SANAS website for confirmation of our accreditation https://www.sanas.co.za. Click on “Accredited Organisations” and “Certification Bodies”)
For your company to be certificated you would need to implement and maintain aISO 9001, ISO 14001 and/or ISO 45001 Management System which would include such documents as Management Review/s, Internal Audits, Procedures/ Work Instructions, Process Flows, Forms, Non-Conformances etc.
Unfortunately, we as a certification body are not allowed to assist your company with the implementation of the system, but we can recommend an independent party who works totally independent from us that can assist you with the implementation steps. Therefore, if you require assistance please contact us via e-mail to zelda@alphacs.co.za with your details and we will forward your information to the independent third party mentioned above.
Below you can find important information regarding the granting, refusing, maintaining, renewing, suspending, restoring or withdrawal of certification plus the expanding or reducing of your current scope of certification.
- Certification Audit Process (granting, refusing, maintaining)
- Re-certification Audit Process (renewing)
- Suspension of Certificates and Restoring Process (suspending & restoring)
- Withdrawal of Certificates Process (withdrawal)
- Expanding or Reducing the scope of certification Process (expanding or reducing)https://www.sanas.co.za/Pages/index.aspxAccredited
CERTIFICATION AUDIT PROCESS
1.
Request an Client Information Form for certification, from Alpha Certification Services or download the PDF Client Information Form document. Complete the form and return to Alpha Certification Services. The form can be by hand, posted, e-mailed or faxed. Alpha will then generate a Quotation (Service Level Agreement) for a three-year certification cycle. This Service Level Agreement will be accompanied by our Conditions for Certification, which should be read carefully to ensure full understanding of requirements. Any queries may be discussed and resolved by contacting our personnel by telephone or e-mail zelda@alphacs.co.za.
2.
To accept our Quotation, merely sign and date Page 3 of the Quotation as indicated and return to our offices. A confirmation letter of receipt and acceptance will be sent to you by return.
3.
A Lead Auditor will be allocated to process your certification. He/she will contact you to arrange for the 1st Stage certification audit and to assist with any queries.
4.
On the day of the on-site 1st Stage audit the Lead Auditor will review your documents against the requirements of the ISO 9001 Standard (including checking whether Internal Audits and a Management Review has been conducted). Most potential problems with documentation can be identified at this stage. A formal report is issued, identifying any problems or queries for you to address prior to the on-site 2nd Stage certification audit. An invoice, covering the 1st Stage certification audit fee, will be sent via e-mail at least 3 days prior to the agreed 1st Stage certification date (refer point 12 below).
5.
The Lead Auditor will discuss and confirm the date for the on-site 2nd Stage certification audit with you. This will be determined considering any time needed for you to make changes to documents, arising from any deficiencies identified during the 1st Stage Audit. An invoice, covering the 2nd Stage certification audit fee, will be sent via e-mail at least 1 weeks prior to the agreed 2nd Stage certification date (refer point 12 below).
6.
Together with the invoice, Alpha Certification Services will send you the 2nd Stage Audit Plan via e-mail. This will provide an outline of the audit, identify the audit team (if more than one Auditor), and provide information on the Agenda for the opening and closing meetings. If you have any objections to any members of the audit team, you may contact the Alpha Certification Services offices and discuss the issue. Auditors can be changed if valid reasons are given.
7.
All audits commence with an opening meeting. During this meeting the objectives of the audit will be explained, the audit programme confirmed and any questions answered. This meeting may be attended by whomever you wish to attend, but it is recommended that senior management be present.
8.
All audits are conducted by sampling objective evidence – records, observation of working practice, and discussion with personnel at all levels of your organisation. If the audit requires more than one calendar day to complete, at the close of each day there will be a brief feedback on the progress so far.
9.
Should the Lead Auditor decide, at any stage of the audit, that there is a complete breakdown of the system which will require substantial change, he/she will call an immediate meeting with you to decide whether to abort the remainder of the audit or to follow the audit to its conclusion.
10.
At the end of the on-site 2nd Stage Certification Audit, a closing meeting will be held to provide an overview of the audit, identify any deficiencies noted and advise the decision of the Lead Auditor regarding recommendation and confirmation of your scope of certification.
Deficiencies identified will be noted on an Observation Form, or a Non-conformance form. Where a Non-conformance Request is classified as minor, only a written indication of the action to be taken to address the deficiency is required.
Where a Major Non-conformance is identified, this requires completion of the Non-conformance and presentation of objective evidence.
11.
Upon receipt of the Non-conformance, the Lead Auditor will review and approve the action/s taken. Once these have been accepted, the Lead Auditor will finalise the audit report and submit all the relevant certification audit documents through to the Alpha Certification Services offices for a final, independent review by the Approbator/s. This would normally take two weeks. This is to ensure continued impartiality and objectivity.
12.
After approval has been received from the Approbator/s the certificate only then can be issued by Alpha Certification Services office. The certificate is normally issued within one week of receiving the approval. However, it is a condition of certification that no certificate or approved report may be issued unless payment has been received.
The certificate, approved report and rules for use of your certification logo are e-mailed to the client followed by the originals being couriered to your premises.
13.
Where approval is not granted by the Approbator/s the auditee’s representative will be formally notified and of any action that is required.
14.
Surveillance audits will be scheduled to take place on a twelve-monthly basis from the date of the Certification audit and will be quoted on such a basis. However, an option exists for nine-monthly Surveillance audits for those clients who prefer a more frequent visit programme and can be requested prior to the issue of the Service Level Agreement, or at a later date. It should be noted however that a change in audit frequency after acceptance of the Service Level Agreement will require a revised Service Level Agreement to be issued.
Where clients fail to effectively maintain their Management System, Alpha Certification Services reserves the right to move the client to a more frequent visit programme until confidence is returned, or suspended or withdraw certification.
You will be contacted in the month prior to the scheduled audit to mutually agree and confirm the actual audit date by the Lead Auditor assigned. While some flexibility is allowed, audits must take place within plus/minus one month of the original scheduled month.
RE-CERTIFICATION AUDIT PROCESS
A re-quote and re-audit will be required at the end of each three-year registration cycle in accordance with ISO 17021 accreditation rules, although the man-days required are generally slightly less than for the initial certification audit. The re-certification process is the same as the certification process except no 1st Stage Audit is conducted.
SUSPENSION OF CERTIFICATES AND RE-INSTATEMENT
A certificate may be suspended for a maximum period of six months where, for example:
- Non-conformities have not been followed up and closed out within the appropriate time-scale.
- The client does not effectively address a case of improper use of the certificate or logo.
- Failure to notify Alpha Certification Services of any changes affecting the product/processes of the Management System.
If a client’s certification is suspended, Alpha Certification Services shall notify the client in writing and the client shall immediately halt all claims to certification.
The suspension notification shall indicate the conditions for removal of the suspension. At the end of the suspension period, an investigation will be carried out by Alpha Certification Services to evaluate whether the specified conditions for removal of suspension have been met:
- If conditions have been met, the certificate shall be re-instated.
- If the conditions have not been met the certificate shall be withdrawn.
WITHDRAWAL OF CERTIFICATES
A certificate may be withdrawn when:
- The client does not meet conditions specified for re-instatement of a suspended certificate.
- The client does not keep up with the annual audits e.g. 1st & 2nd Surveillance audit followed by a Re-certification audit once the 3-year cycle has been completed.
- The client fails to pay fees due to Alpha Certification Services
The client will be informed in writing of the withdrawal of a certificate, and does have the right to appeal against this decision. Alpha Certification Services will not be liable for the reimbursement of any fees and the withdrawal of the certificate will be made public.
The client will be required to return the certificate and any other property to Alpha Certification Services.
EXPANDING OR REDUCING THE SCOPE OF CERTIFICATION
Where your organisation needs to expand the scope of certification an e-mail with the details needs to be forwarded to zelda@alphacs.co.za.
Alpha Certification Services will review the details on the e-mail and will re-adjust the Service Level Agreement if necessary and allocate the suitable qualified auditors. Upon completion of the audit the certificate will be revised accordingly and forwarded to you.
If you have any further queries or require clarification on any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact us at office@alphacs.co.za
