Principle of certification according to ISO 9001

The certificate issued by an independent accredited certification body guarantees that the quality management system has been established, documented and used in accordance with the requirements of ISO 9001 standard.

The internationally valid ISO 9001 standard can be applied to any production activity or services. It was drawn up by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), whose aim is to set international requirements for Quality Management System.

ISO 9001:2008 is the latest version of the standard, issued on and valid as from 14 November 2008.

Benefits of certification

Stabilization of the achieved quality level of the range of products and services;
Enhancing the company”s trustworthiness in respect of customers and other business partners;
Establishing order and rules in all activities within the company;
Possibility of subsequent backward checking of observance of the set rules in the quality management system;
Prevention of possible nonconformities and defects by means of preventive actions

Certification process

The certification process consists of 3 basic phases:
1) Elaboration of documentation
2) Putting QMS into practice
3) Certification by an accredited certification body
The times of elaboration of documentation and putting the system into practice are individual (it usually takes several months).

Certification by the accredited certification body

Registration of the application
Agreement for conducting a certification audit (Note: the certification audit is conducted in two stages)
Appointing a team of auditors
Preparing an audit plan
Audit ” verification of facts in the following stages:
a) examination of the client”s documentation
b) checking facts on site
Elaboration of the Certification Audit Report
Assessment of the Audit Report by the Certification Body
Issuing the Certificate

During the three year validity period of the certificate, a surveillance audit takes place once a year. One of the following is issued depending on the surveillance findings

Decision on confirmation of the certificate validity until the next surveillance;
Decision on suspension of the certificate;
Decision on withdrawal of the certificate in case of fundamental deviations from requirements of standards.