Why use ISO Certification Services with an US based Acceditation?
Companies around the world can get their management systems ISO certified by certification bodies in any country. The ISO certificates of accredited bodies are valid every where and accepted by other certification bodies and accreditation bodies in other countries. Many certification bodies whith operations on different continents tend to have several accreditations. Hence, a certification body may be accredited with DAkkS in Germany, while its subsidiary is accredited in USA with ANAB. The same applies to dutch certification companies accredited in the Netherlands (RvA), Singapore (SAC) and USA (UAF). Hence, you can be audited by a European audit team and receive a certificate with an US based Accreditation (e.g. ANAB, ANSI, UAF, NAC, IAS). Key difference is that the audit team has to follow the rules set by the US based accrditation body and not the rules set aby a national accreditation body in the company’s home country.
Advantages of an US-accredited ISO Certificate
As previously mentioned, when a certification body (CAB) conducts an audit it needs to be compliant with the rules set by the applicable accreditation. Hence, if the is being conducted according to an US-based accreditation the the rules of that accrediation will govern the certification process. Eventually the certificate will display the logo of the certification body and the governing accreditation body (AB). As an ISO certificate is valid worldwide, companies have the freedom to choose the conformity assessment body (= CAB = certification body) and by which accreditation they desire to be certified. Nevertheless, a certification body can only issue certificates with the accreditations it active holds.
The freedom of choice is one benefit of global markets. Nevertheless, there are some certifications that can only be issued with a particular national accreditation. In general, all ISO standards can be be applied to a management system and audited by any accredited conformity assessment body (e.g. Stratlane, TLSC, InterTek, KPMG).
Avoid disadvantages in Europe
The most unspoken advantage of US accreditation is that the audit calculation is based on a different approach. Many European accreditation bodies require certification bodies to treat sites that are dependent on a HQ as a separate legal entity. As an example, the US accreditation bodies treat a location opposite the HQ, but devided by a road, as one united site.
In contrast the German DAkkS rates the factory building across the road as a separate site. Hence, an US accreditation based calculation will see only one site. The european calculation rules will increase audit costs as DAkkS sees 2 sites. The fact that in the opposite building is a small office room with 2 simple desks make such an audit calculation highly questionable. Due to the status of european accreditation bodies it is unlikely that a reformed approach to such calculation will take place in the near future.
Other rules also limit the availability of auditors. this leads to longer waiting queues for an audit appointment. A US-Accreditation resolves such unfortunate long waiting lists. Auditors still need to be qualified according to the international standard, but they do not need 4 years work experience in a field that didn’t exist 2 years ago.
Faster audit delivery
A more enterprise friendly approach is the key signature of the US-approach to certification. It is well known that the entreprenurial spirit in places like silicon valley have continued to create successful unicorns due to the political policies of the past decades. This also finds its way into the rules set by North American accreditation bodies. Be not misled by the belief, that certification audits in the USA are conducted in a sloppy way. The audit of a management system will be conducted in the same way, as it is done in Canada, Mexico, Singapore or Tokio. Unfortunately some countries allow ISO rules to be modified by adding national rules. This results in unnecessary bureaucracy and distorts the internationally set rules of auditing.
By a more pragmatic approach, US accreditations allow auditors to be focused on what really matters. This speeds up audits. The documentation remains intensive and compliant with the international standards. This allows certification bodies to adopt more innovative audit technology and coordinate assignments avoiding bottlenecks.
Auditors in europe can audit according to US-based rules
More and more certification bodies are getting their auditors approved to conduct audits according to the rules of North American accreditation bodies (e.g. IAS, UAF, NAC, ANAB). These auditors are based in europe. Hence, European clients do not need to pay the high travel costs of auditors fyling from offices in the US to Europe. An European auditor can conduct an audit in his native language (e.g. Dutch, Germany, Italian, Polish, Spanish) and any other language he is proficient (e.g. French, Finnish, Swedish).
Opportunity to save on certification costs
Based on the previous example of audit calculation, organisations with multiple national and international locations can see considerable savings. Even small businesses with a single office site will see a benefit in opting for an audit based on a US based accreditation.
No confidential data transfer to the uSA
People tend to think, that their data will have to travel to the USA so that the US based accreditation bodies can inspect the quality of a selected audit. It is not necessary to transmit data to US-territory as European data is stored within Europe’s borders. Should an accreditation body choose to inspect the audit of an European client, the inspection will be conducted on European soil.
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