Poague & Associates, Inc.

Poague & Associates, Inc. has provided consulting and training services for hundreds of companies, guiding many of them through the certification process.

Whether your company is a small to medium enterprise, or a large corporation, implementing a management system can help improve your business, whether those improvements are internal operational benefits, or whether they marketing and customer expansion.

• The very first question becomes “Should we get certified?"
  The vast majority of companies choose to certify their systems, but it is not an absolute. This is a question that your company must answer based on your own business environment. See the next questions.......
• Are you trying to enter a new market and need the ISO certification to open doors? Will certification allow you to bid on jobs that you currently can’t, because they require certification?
  If you answered "Yes", you will probably be better off to get your system certified. There are many more similar business reasons that certification may be needed. PAI can guide you through the nuances of these type of questions, based on your particular situation. 
• Was implementation of a management system for the purpose of improving your own internal processes? Does certification matter to your customers? To your employees? What are the other intangibles that affect the decision to certify or not?
  PAI helps you understand these intangibles, and make the right decision for your business. 

If you decide to certify:

One of the most important tasks you must perform is to select your Certifying Body (also called CB or registrar).This should be done as early in the implementation process as possible. The CB will select the Lead Auditor, who will be your main contact throughout the certification process. (However, the potential Lead Auditors from the various CB’s should play a role in your selection of a CB. Poague & Associates, Inc. provides specific techniques for this. The Lead Auditor plays a critical role, so we make sure there is a good fit.

There are several CB’s available, ranging from large national and global CB’s, to small regional CB’s.

Key points about Certifying Bodies (CB’s):

• CB’s are private, stand-alone companies - they are in it to make a profit.
• CB’s are “accredited” so that they can “certify” a company’s management system. In the USA, they are accredited by ANAB (ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board). They must be accredited for specific management systems. In other words, not all CB’s can grant certification for all management system standards… i.e. a CB may be accredited for ISO 9001 but not for ISO 13485.
• Most CB’s have auditors that are employees of the CB, and then they supplement that staff with independent contractor auditors.
• CB’s must follow specific processes and procedures, and meet the requirements of ISO 17021 “Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems."

The main component of the certification cost is the number of audit days required. CB’s must follow the same directive when determining the number of audit days required for a certification audit. There are, however, potential allowable reductions to the number of audit days required. PAI will make sure your company gets the proper deductions.....saving you money.