Certification is a process where an independent body verifies that your business is meeting the necessary or appropriate standards. These standards might be regionally, nationally, or internationally regulated. Your business or organisation may have a variety of aspects certified – for example its management system, or products, or both.
Certain products sold in Australia must be certified to a Standard. The purpose of a mandatory standard is to make particular safety or information features on products compulsory for legal supply into the Australian market. It is an offence to supply these goods if they do not comply with mandatory standards. A list of these can be found on the ACCC website and they include Australian product standards for:
- Safety boots and construction hard hats.
- Blinds, curtain and window fittings.
- Child restraints for use in vehicles.
ISO standards are in place to ensure consistency. When it comes to management systems, the Standards that businesses most frequently use are:
- ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems.
- ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems.
- ISO 45001 Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems.
ISO stands for International Standards Organisation. They are an independent, non-government, organisation that began in 1947. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, they have a membership of 163 countries making them truly international.
Certification can be a useful tool to add credibility, by demonstrating that your product or service meets the expectations of your customers. For some industries, certification is a legal or contractual requirement.
ISO develops all international ISO standards with the assistance of people from industry, but they are not involved in their certification, and they do not issue certificates. This is performed by certification bodies. More about them in my next post.
Need a practical Lead Auditor who speaks plain English and a Certification Body big enough to be well known but not so large that you become just another number? Please call me on 0411 829 963 or message me via LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/in/lizcoleprofile