The Certification process shall consist of the following key stages

1. Application

2. Application/Contract Review

3. Initial Certification Audit (stage-1 audit),

4. Assessment (stage-2 audit) and

5. Continual assessment (surveillance audit).

6. Recertification.

1. Application :

Inquiries may be received in several forms, by telephone, letter, e-mail, or facsimile or online as available on the website under the Tab Application. In case the client needs a physical copy of the application form then the client can write to us at info@aqccert.ca and demand a copy of the application.

2. Application Review :

After getting a complete application the Certification Manager will send the application for application review and a work order shall be sent to the client including a copy of the client agreement.

3. Initial Certification Audit (Stage I & Stage II) :

A. Stage 1 audit

AQC shall proceed with the Initial Certification Audit (Stage-1) audit activity on completion of earlier activities. A pre-assessment is a trial audit that is conducted before the Certification audit at the client’s option to provide a macro-level assessment of the status of implementation and identification of any major deficiencies in the compliance of the documented quality system with the requirements of the certification standards, for corrective actions to be taken in advance of the certification audit. It provides valuable input to give confidence to the client and saves time for taking necessary corrective action, later. However, pre-assessment is done in special cases and it is also ensured that the auditor signs the conflict of interest before every visit.

A detailed report shall be prepared by the Team Leader and a copy shall be given to the client. The report shall be evaluated by the Audit Member (AM) and a plan for the subsequent audits of the organization is discussed with the client.

A detailed report shall be prepared by the Team Leader and a copy shall be given to the client. The report shall be evaluated by AM and a plan for the subsequent audits of the organization is discussed with the client.

B. Stage 2 audit

The purpose of the Assessment (STAGE-2) is to ensure that the requirements of relevant ISO standards as addressed by the documented quality system are being complied with. The Auditors will be looking for objective evidence of compliance with the standards, and Non-compliances are brought to the attention of the guide and noted on a report form. At the end of the assessment, these are discussed and the company’s management representative is asked to sign the report acknowledging that he understands and accepts the findings.

The Assessment is concluded with a “Closing Meeting” at which the Team Leader presents the findings and makes recommendations, either for certification to the applicable standards of ISO otherwise with a requirement for a verification audit in case of major non-conformances having been identified. 2.5.3 In cases where non-compliances are minor, certification is recommended subject to a corrective action plan that addresses the non-compliances and observations raised in the report being submitted together with objective evidence for all non-compliances within 60 days. When this corrective action plan and the objective evidence are received at the AQC office, the audit reports shall be verified for conformance against the requirements of the certification standard. The client’s file is reviewed to ensure an independent verification of compliance against the certification checklist and grant of certification.

The stage 2 audit shall take place at the site(s) of the client. It shall include at least the following :

Each certified organization shall be required to undergo a surveillance audit once a year during the term of validity of its certification. The continual conformance of the organization management system with the certification standard shall be verified by auditing selected elements of the management system at each visit besides verification of the effectiveness of the corrective actions against the non-conformities raised during the previous audit.

The Auditors are required to complete the Reports in a precise and accurate manner. The justification for the non-inclusion of any element as per the ISO standards e.g. Design Control etc from the company’s quality system should be carefully verified and recorded in the Report.

4. Information for granting initial certification

The information provided by the audit team to AQC for the certification decision shall be as per AQC procedure and shall include, as a minimum:

AQC shall make the certification decision based on an evaluation of the audit findings and conclusions and any other relevant information (e.g. public information, comments on the audit report from the client).

The audit team/AM shall analyze all information and audit evidence gathered during the stage 1 and stage 2 audits to review the audit findings and agree on the audit conclusions.

QC shall issue the certificate as per the procedure

5. Surveillance audits

Surveillance audits are on-site audits but are not necessarily full system audits. Surveillance audits are planned together with other surveillance activities so that the certification body can maintain confidence that the certified management system continues to fulfill requirements between recertification audits. The surveillance audits are conducted at least once a year and the date of the first surveillance audit following initial certification shall not be more than 12 months from the last day of the stage 2 audit.

The objective of a surveillance audit is to:

6. Recertification Audit

There shall be recertification after every 3 years of certification. Conduct a re-certification audit before the certification period for continuation of the Certificate of registration and subsequently follow up by Surveillance audits as per the accepted proposal. Re-certification audit shall be completed, preferably before one month of expiry of the present certificate of registration including the provision of adequate time to close any NCRs.