International certifications from Switzerland

Are there any industries that have special requirements?
Special requirements from industries can result from the area of activity and the sales channels of a company. A supplier to the automotive industry, for example, will apply industry-specific IATF-16949 requirements as a matter of priority and also subject itself to the relevant audit regulations. Otherwise, however, it is true that industry expertise and an understanding of a customer's field of activity and corporate culture are always necessary for successful audits - regardless of whether the customer is in the construction, trade, industry, marketing, sales or service sectors.

At its core, it is always about management systems that deliver measurable results for companies and interested parties. This requires the determination of the strategic starting position (corporate context), sound planning and, finally, successful implementation and application.

A good and efficient audit requires that the audit team has knowledge of the context of the organisation to be audited and can form a realistic picture of the essential factors (working models, management culture, risk thinking, linguistic aspects, etc.). Depending on the type of management system, significant local characteristics must also be taken into account, including culture, applicable legal regulations, relevant stakeholders and institutions with their requirements, expectations, measures, etc.

Are there products that have to meet special requirements?
Depending on the type of management system (or one of its disciplines), specific requirements must be met which, in their application, take account of the location. By way of illustration, consider an environmental management system in accordance with ISO 14001. First, different sites do not have the same significance in terms of environmental impacts, environmental risks and environmental performance potentials. This depends on the type of activity, but also on the local environment. Secondly, the interested parties and their aspirations are usually different. The relationship between legal obligations and "required" voluntary measures is also often quite different. Thirdly, environmental corporate cultures can be very specific depending on the social weight. The audit activity must therefore always follow the relevant local factors. This is also true for other management systems (occupational health and safety, energy management, anti-corruption, asset management, food safety, information security).

Are there countries that require specific arrangements?
A look back: In the past 25 years, significant progress has been made in the worldwide recognition of certificates. In the course of globalization, quality certificates have enabled cross-border market access in many areas. According to the ISO Survey, certification has grown strongly worldwide over the same period, and the number of countries and accreditation bodies involved has multiplied. In addition, certification has increasingly become part of regulated systems - for example in the EU (i.e. there is a legal obligation for corresponding product approvals).

The basis for international recognition of the certificates was an increasingly comprehensive and detailed field of audit and certification procedures. The number of standards and regulatory requirements also continued to grow. At the same time, powerful international control institutions emerged, which introduced their own additional rules, interpretations and strict (sometimes too rigid) control practices, with the intention of establishing and strengthening trust in the certificates worldwide. The most important of these institutions are the IAF - International Accreditation Forum and the EA - European Accreditation. In addition, there are industry-specific organizations with similar regulatory and standardization practices (e.g. in the automotive, aerospace and food safety sectors). Switzerland has issued an ordinance stipulating that accreditations are to be based on the applicable international standards, in the expectation of enabling worldwide recognition of the certification bodies accredited by the Swiss Accreditation Service (SAS) and their certificates.

What is the situation in the current global economic situation?
Protectionist behaviour can be observed here and there. Globalization is pretended, but it does not coincide with real action. Seen in this light, "America first" does not seem to be merely a US phenomenon. Other political systems are very probably aiming in the same direction, but more discreetly, more respectfully and with less noise. In the field of certification, protectionism means that individual countries apply the internationally accepted rules but impose additional requirements that allow them to monitor and control certification in their own countries. The arguments put forward for this are "safety, reliability, country-specific needs, avoidance of abusive practices in one's own country".

Two examples to illustrate this: Italy has its own quality certification for the construction industry, which is based on ISO 9001 but includes marginal additions. In Italy, such certificates are only recognised if accreditation has been granted by the Italian accreditation body. With this model, Italy has established a number of other systems and elegantly slows down the free movement of services, despite the fact that there are globally recognised ISO 9001 certificates specifically for the construction sector.

China: Awakened by the "invasion" of numerous foreign certifiers in China, Chinese legislation on accreditation and certification was established at the turn of the millennium and has been continuously tightened since then. Today, China has an effective set of control instruments for all certificates valid in its market. It has its own strict additional requirements with regard to auditor approval, audit implementation and audit bodies.

Conclusion: From the outlined developments and examples, one knows the regulatory and economic-political origin for required "special precautions" of the certification service provider. This background is ultimately a main cause for possible restrictions.

In addition to all these technical factors, the security situation of the audit team, the cultural requirements for the composition of the audit team and the design of the audit itself must of course be taken into account in international certifications.

What is the experience of SQS with regard to the reliability of assured recognition on the international stage?
The more specific and global the certification portfolio in demand (number of standards, number of markets) and the more additional national requirements have an impact, the greater the complexity of the service as a certification body. The decisive factor is therefore how reliably and productively this service is performed in a given and changing environment. Global process capability with internationally recognized accreditation, which is able to efficiently combine local competence and local recognition, is indispensable.

SQS has geared itself to this stringent profile of requirements and provides professional services to numerous long-standing customers in the fulfilment of international certifications. Thanks in particular to its long-standing partnership with IQNet, SQS has a global network and can obtain first-hand information on regulatory developments. It has a share of approx. 30 % in accredited certificates issued abroad, spread over all world regions. Support is always provided by SQS's own auditors, supplemented by targeted assignments of IQNet partner auditors. SQS has also been involved in the relevant international bodies since the company was founded.

The higher dynamics in terms of regulation and standardisation are clearly noticeable in accreditation and certification. For international certifications, this requires very specific knowledge, a high level of availability of the experts and the timely recording of developments. Those who meet these requirements help to overcome market hurdles. SQS clients thus benefit from the reliability and accreditation security of their certification body.