ISO Certification for the Defence Industry
Getting supply contracts from the defence industry or even NATO forces can be quite a lucrative opportunity. It is also a very good reference, when trying to convince new potential customers in the civilian sector. If you do want to supply material, equipment, services or other type of components to the key defence contractors then you need to have a range of certifications. Here we will provide you an overview of the options for you to follow. They 2 key options are an ISO Certification for a range of Standards (e.g., ISO 9001, ISO 27001, ISO 42001, etc.) and alternatively the AQAP certification (based on ISO 9001).
ISO Certification Services for Defence contractors
As a company based in one of NATO’s member states, you can supply manufacturers and the armed forces of any member state. Hence, if you are based in Germany, you can supply the US Army with special equipment. The same applies as a US based Manufacturer, you can supply the Dutch Royal Navy with state of the art technology. Hence, there are lots of opportunities for deals inside your own country and other NATO Member states. Before you actually do start applying for contracts, you need to get your documentation, staff and infrastructure mission ready.
ISO 9001 Certification Services for Defence Sector
When you have an ISO 9001 certification then you already have a good starting point. Should your organization have no quality management system certified under a military scope then you will need to get this done, before applying to military tenders. This is due to tenders often rquiring a variety of certificates and items included in th scopes of the certification audits.
ISO 14001 Certification Services for Defence Sector
During the manufacturing and storage of military equipment it is ncessary to protect the environment from potentially lethal substances. It is often expected for base material suppliers to hold an ISO 14001 certificate. This requires a compliant environmental management system (EMS) which has been audited by an accredited certification body in accordance with ISO 14001:2015. Please be aware of the time needed to develop your own EMS documentation as the audit teams will have to inspect on site your documentation and the application of the set policies in the daily business processes.
ISO 27001 Certification Services for Defence Sector
Information security is very importnant for the military and its suppliers. Remember that some suppliers manufacture highly complex defence technology (e.g. Tanks, Fregattes, Fighterjets) and need 3rd party components in order to manufacture such products. Here these OEM companies need to exchange data with their own suppliers in order to get the components to fit into the allocated spaces of their core products. The risk of sensitive data leaking, can cost the lives of soldiers in the battlefield.
ISO 31001 Certification Services for Defence Sector
Risk management should always be an important part of any business. Nevertheless, the military have a substancial requirement of endurance as in the battlefield an unknown and unresolved risk can cause many deaths. Hence, if your potential government contract requires an ISO 31001 Certification then we should have a focused conversation. Presuming that you already have a variety of certificates (e.g. ISO 9001 + ISO 27001) then the audit time could be reduced to a reasonable amount of days.
ISO 42001 Certification Services for Defence Sector
Achieving an ISO 42001 certification is a bit tricky as currently AI based technology is accompanied with a range of national security risks. The armed forces procurment officers are well aware of the fact, that AI based products may be exposed to data leaks due to their way of processing data and using it to learn. Should you be in need for an ISO 42001 certificate, then it is best to have a conversation with a specialized expert, who can guide you on what might be the best path to gain such a iso certificate.
As certification body, Stratlance may not provide consulting services, but we can get you in touch with independent consultants.
Ready to book your audit appointment? Then use our scheduler to arrange the audit date(s) with our coordinators.
Calculate an Audit Offer
Do you want to get a “no frills” offer? Then use our offer calculator to generate your ISO certification audit offer document.
What is NATO's AQAP?
NATO has had its own quality management certification for several years. It is based on the pricniples of ISO 9001 and the particular requirements of the military. You might have heard in documentaries about world War 2, where US torpedo dive bombers often experienced mal functioning ammunition and torpedos. This was often due to a lack in quality control and consistant inspections before delivery to the armed forces. In other situations soldiers lost their lives unnecessary due to poor equipment quality. In order to prevent such undesirable risks, NATO introducted its AQAP standard certification program. Here a manufacturer can get audited by a specialized audit team on behalf of a particular NATO defence unit (e.g. US Marines, German Armed forces Logistics, the UK’s Royal Airforce).
How much will the certification with military scope cost?
The cost of an ISO 9001:2022 certification process is dependent on the size and risk profile of the organization. The IAF MD 5 Standard document provides an average number of audit days for an organization of average risk and certain number of included staff. Our audit estimators evaluate the to be expected audit time in relation to company specific parameters. Some factors allow for a reduction of audit duration and thereby positively reducing the audit costs.
Where risks require additional depth of audit activities, the audit plan will have to allocate extra time for it. This increases the audit time and the audit related costs. In addition if auditors have to travel to the client’s operational locations, the client organization will incur additional travel expenses. The ISO standard allows for up to 30% of the audit to be conducted as remote audit. If the company structure (home office) or the situation (e.g. pandemic) required a 100% remote audit, the certification body is required to gain consent from the respective accreditation body. Remote audits avoid travel costs and are usually ideal for “virtual organizations” (e.g. 100% home office based teams).
| Number of persons doing work under the organization’s control | QMS audit time for initial audit (auditor days) |
|---|---|
| 1~5 | 1,5 |
| 6-10 | 2 |
| 11-15 | 2,5 |
| 16-25 | 3 |
| 26-45 | 4 |
Above table is based on the IAF MD 5 document (Annex A, Table QMS 1).
FAQ for ISO Certification for Military Suppliers
The cost of your ISO 9001 certification will be quoted based on organization size and risk profile. The offer will contain a fixed fee basis and the estimated audit days. This will allow you to better budget your certification project.
The cost of certification will depend on:
- your organisation’s total size
- the sector you operate in
- the number of locations you operate from and their particular activities
- your organisation risk profile
You will be assigned an account manager who coordinates the first stage of your journey towards the ISO 9001 certificate. This person will get you a fixed fee quote and gather the key details of your desired scertification scope.
The lead auditor will then arrange with you a 1-2 hour call to check that all aspects of your sik profile have been considered and that the audit plan structure matches the availability of the key people in your organization.
Once you have completed the audit, the account manager will keep you updated while the audit documentation is being processed by the compliance team in the certification body. After a positive review the ISO 9001 certificate will be issued to you.
We will also help you understand how to best use the certificate and associated logos, in order to avoid conflicts with the ISO rules.
Stratlane's accreditation is a key part of the assurance we can guarantee those who trust you by trusting your certificate.
Our accredited ISO 9001 certificates include not only your logo but also the logo of the accreditation body and respective accreditation associations.
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Make use of our certification services so that your businesss gains the competitive advantage of having accredited ISO certifications.