Bureau Veritas Certification Process for Management Systems

The services offered by Bureau Veritas Certification to future and existing clients include testing and certification by independent auditors to recognized and appropriate standards. Certification issued by Bureau Veritas Certification only covers the services or products produced or delivered under the management system certified by Bureau Veritas Certification.

The Certification Process

The certification process aims to verify compliance with applicable national or international standards, regulations and requirements. Its procedure comprises several stages. First, the client is asked to complete the Bureau Veritas Certification questionnaire, which forms the basis of an offer in accordance with ISO 17021. At the client's request, a pre-audit can be carried out to determine the level of readiness for certification.  Certification usually involves on-site audits, standardised tests and inspections and later, throughout the validity of the certification, continuous reviews (e.g. surveillance audits).

Bureau Veritas Certification audits the management system documentation on site and produces a Documentation Review Report. A detailed report on the results of the documentation review is then provided to the client before the actual certification audit. The site and site-specific conditions as well as readiness for the next stage of the audit are assessed and the resources and details of the audit are agreed with the client.

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Before the audit begins, Bureau Veritas Certification draws up an audit plan. The audit team meets with the client's management in the opening meeting and discusses the details of the audit as well as possible questions related to the execution. At the final meeting, the audit results are summarized. The audit team will discuss all observations, general remarks and deviations found during the audit with the customer. The team will then prepare a report containing the results of the audit, the decision to grant certification and the scope of certification.

Bureau Veritas Certification then issues the certification to the client and hands over the certificate when all corrective actions identified by the auditors have been documented by the client with a measure and a deadline, and actions have been initiated or completed. In accordance with the relevant provisions of ISO 17021, the certificate describes in detail the standard that is met at the time of the audit and the scope of the management system, products and services to which the certificate relates. The certificate is accompanied by a document describing the permitted use of the Bureau Veritas Certification logo and/or an associated certification mark.

To maintain certification, surveillance audits must be carried out at least once a year, which are also included in the certification process. This is a continuous audit. The Client shall promptly inform Bureau Veritas Certification of any significant changes to the management system, its products and services or any other circumstances that may affect the validity of the certification. Examples include changes of address, additional offices, number of employees, changes in procedures, changes in ownership, changes in scope/scope and similar information. In addition, audits may be carried out for special reasons, e.g. if an extension of the scope of an already granted certification is applied for.