Assent Risk Management can help you recover from a failed ISO audit without loosing your certification!
Things don’t aways go to plan but with some help from us, you can find the problems in your management system and fix them before it’s too late.
Failure Criteria
If any major non-conformances are raised by the auditor, they will be unable to recommend you for certification. A major non-conformance identifies a serious break-down in the management system or an element of the standard which has not been satisfied.
Time Scale for Correction
You need to rectify any non-conformances as soon as possible. If you have already gained certification to an ISO standard, the external auditor will want to visit again within 3 months to ensure that the system has been returned to a satisfactory state.
If it is your first audit, you may wish to seek advice on how far away you are from certification, before setting a date for the next external audit.
Why Do Things Go Wrong?
There are lots of reasons why a major non-conformance can occur. Here are some of the common ones:
Company Restructure
Although it should be taken in to account, often restructuring a company can cause the responsibility for ISO standards to be assigned in the wrong place and therefore the system isn’t managed effectively.
Loss of Skills
Similarly, staff exiting the business can take away valuable knowledge or skills required to operate the ISO management system.
Change to the Standard
Occasionally ISO standards change, and are replaced by an updated version. Most recently this has occurred with ISO 9001 which became ISO 9001:2008. We have seen several companies have difficulty meeting the new requirements without outside help.
Our Approach
We can offer help and advice including a gap analysis, internal audit and corrective actions.
We can also attend external audits to ensure that your corrective actions are presented accurately.
If we can help, call us on 020 3432 2854
entry110909-162355
