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Is it Legitimate? How to tell if your ISO Certificate is Real or Fake

ISO Certificates should be proof that you have developed and implemented an ISO Management System to meet the requirements of the applicable reference standards. This might include one of the following ISO standards:

But how do you know if the certificate that has been provided is legitimate? There are plenty of shadowy operators in the certification industry so it is important to ensure the Certification Body that you engage to complete the independent, third-party certification audit of your management system is accredited, meaning that your certificate is legit.

Are there really fake ISO Certificates?

Most definitely yes. A recent report into Fake ISO Certification indicated China leads the world in fake certificates. The report is titled Faking ISO 9001 in China: An exploratory study, and a copy is available by clicking HERE. The report concluded that there were four types of fake certifications as follows:

  1. Counterfeit ISO Certificates – where the organisation uses photoshop or other image editing software to create a completely fake certificate.
  2. Unaccredited ISO Certificates – where an unaccredited third party completes an audit and provides a certificate (this is the most common type of fake certificate in Australia – see HERE for more information).
  3. Paperworked ISO – where a company has used another organisations management system to achieve certification.
  4. Implemented but not in use ISO system – where an organisation has developed an ISO system but it has not been implemented so has no bearing on the business operations.

How to check if your ISO Certificate is Legitimate

In the past, you would need to check the accreditation body or certification body register to see whether the ISO certificate was legitimate. This was often impossible as the accreditation bodies and certification bodies didn’t always publish a register.

In order to try and stem the proliferation of fake certificates, the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) has now published a global database for accredited management system certifications called CERT Search.

To use the search function simply CLICK HERE and then enter the “Company Name” or “Certificate Number” and the results will allow you to verify the status of a certificate.

What to do if you find you have a fake ISO Certificate

If your search indicates that you or one of your suppliers have a fake certificate then you need to establish:

  1. Was anyone aware that the certificate/system was fake?
  2. What needs to be done to transfer to a legitimate certificate?

If you were not aware that the certificate was a fake then contact the company that issued the certificate. Confirm the situation and then attempt to come to some resolution. We have heard of many situations whereby the threat of legal action achieves a refund however the majority of times it simply comes down to a costly lesson learned.

In order to transfer certification to an accredited Certification Body then I recommend you contact one of the certification bodies listed on this page HERE. Explain the situation and they will need to obtain a copy of your latest audit report (if the dodgy company provided you with one). Keep in mind that if you had a fake certificate then the chances are your system might have significant deficiencies, in which case you may need to engage an ISO Consultant to help action any items.

How Streamline ISO Consultants can help

Streamline ISO 9001 Consultants can design, develop and implement a certification-ready Quality Management System from the ground up to meet ISO 9001 requirements. If you already have an existing management system in place we will help you integrate ISO 9001:2015 into your current management system (eg ISO 45001 Safety or ISO 14001 Environmental) to form an Integrated Management System (IMS).

Our trained and experienced ISO Certification Consultants have a 100% track record achieving certification for our clients and we guarantee your ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System will get certified by a JAS-ANZ accredited Certification Body.

Streamline ISO Certification Consultants can also help develop, implement and internally audit other ISO Management Systems such as:

Contact Us Today

Please use the form to the right and one of our ISO Consultants will contact you within one business day. Alternatively, you are welcome to contact us directly by emailing hello@streamline.business or by calling:

  • Brisbane 07 3667 8280
  • Sydney 02 8315 7780
  • Melbourne 03 9034 3990
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SAI Global End of Financial Year Sale on Standards and Training

SAI Global end of financial year sale is on again for a limited time offering 20% off all Australian Standards (use code EOFY20 at the checkout) and 25% off online or classroom training (use code EOFY25).

See links for more info:

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Cheap ISO 9001 Certification

Cheap ISO 9001 Certification – sounds great, doesn’t it!

Alas, however, much like anything, cheap ISO certification most likely means poor quality, and “the Bitterness of Poor Quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.” (Benjamin Franklin). 

There is a range of risks when trying to achieve certification on the cheap:

  1. The ISO Management System does not fully conform with the clauses of the reference standards (eg ISO 9001, ISO 45001 or ISO 14001 etc). This can lead to Major Non-conformances at audit time, delayed certification and additional resource requirements to close out the non-conformances.
    Cheep ISO 9001 Certification
  2. The ISO Management System may not be aligned with the organisation’s processes. This often happens with badly designed management systems, when a company downloads a template, or when a system is “borrowed” that has been developed for another company. This is akin to trying to fit a square peg into a round hole – it is never going to work. In fact, it will most likely have the opposite effect and actually act like a handbrake on the organisation. The most likely effect though is the system is just not used, and the benefits of the framework and continual improvement model never appreciated.
  3. Timeframes to certification can be dragged out. When most companies decide to undertake certification to ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems or any of the other standards, it is fair to say that they would like, or need it done by a certain date. If you are attempting to develop the system internally then no doubt the resources allocated have other responsibilities and when these responsibilities take priority the outcome is a delayed ISO certification schedule.
  4. Process mapping may be done incorrectly or inefficiently. Documenting organisational processes including Risks, Inputs, Outputs and process inter-relationship takes time, and to be done correctly and to a level that will support and help achieve business growth requires a high level of engagement of an experienced consultant with key personnel to ensure ownership, a high degree of implementation.
  5. Cheap ISO Consultants often insist that you choose a specific certification body. Always make sure you obtain a number of quotes from different JAS-ANZ accredited Certification Bodies.

Whether you are attempting to develop the system internally or just looking to engage a cheap ISO 9001 Consultant, make sure that whoever is developing the system has a solid, demonstrated history of management system design, implementation, internal auditing, and certification.

Beware of things going cheap! Contact Us Today

If you’d like more information on ISO Management System Design, or to request a Quick Quote please use the form to the right and one of our consultants will contact you within one business day. Alternatively, you are welcome to contact us directly by phone or by emailing hello@streamline.business.

We look forward to hearing from you and answering any questions you may have.

For more information on JAS-ANZ Click Here. 

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Who’s Interested in a Party? A deep dive into clause 4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties

Today’s blog is going to take a deeper dive into clause 4.2 of the ISO standards – 4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties (aka stakeholders – why the change in terminology we aren’t sure but perhaps being interested in a party has more appeal than holding a steak!). Note: a sample/template Interested Parties Register is available by clicking 4.2 Interested Parties Register.

This clause has solidified its place in the ISO standards and is featured in (but is not limited to) the following standards:

It is interesting that this clause is featured so prominently, at the beginning of the standards right in between 4.1 Organisational Context and 4.3 Scope. No doubt the assumption is that in order to develop the management system to satisfy all parties and fulfill all requirements, an organisation must first determine who those parties are, and define their needs and expectations. Once this has been done, the outcome of the management system must appropriately fulfill the needs and expectations as documented.

What does clause 4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties require?

Across all of the standards listed above the very first requirement under 4.2a is to determine the interested parties that are relevant to the management system – the people, companies, organisations, authorities, and groups that interface with the organisation. Pretty straight forward – who are they? This information is usually gathered through cross-functional brainstorming, with actual interested parties varying based on the context of the organization and the scope of activities.

Typically the interested parties include:

  • Certification Bodies
  • Shareholders / Owners
  • Management
  • Employees
  • Suppliers and Subcontractors
  • Partners
  • Clients
  • Competitors
  • Government agencies
  • Finance
  • Insurance
  • Emergency Services
  • Landlords
  • Neighbours
  • Members of Public
  • Unions
  • Utilities and Service Providers
  • Media
  • Regulators
  • any other person or organization interested in the organisation

Now that you have a list of the interested parties applicable to the organisation, you are in a position to define clause 4.2b the relevant needs and expectations (requirements) of these interested parties.

Next to each interested party clearly define what their requirements are – what are their needs (what must we do for them?) and what are their expectations (what are they expecting of us?).

Following this, we recommend reviewing the needs and expectations as documented to determine which of these is currently, or could become a legal requirement. This requirement is not consistent through the ISO standards above however it does feature in most and follows best practice. Many of the standards above also include specific requirements related to the context of the standard ie ISO 55001 Asset Management requires the identification of stakeholder requirements to record information relevant to asset management. These requirements must also be addressed when developing your Interested Parties Register.

What then?

Once the Interested Parties Register has been developed, you may like to use the information as an input when developing SMARTER Quality Objectives – defining what performance targets and results are necessary to deliver to meet the needs and expectations of relevant interested parties. The Interested Parties Register should also be taken into consideration during the development of the risk management framework, with risks of not meeting the needs and expectations and include in the Quality Risk Register (along with controls – mitigation strategies etc) if applicable.

Set and forget?

Definitely not- clause 4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties requires the information related to interested parties is monitored and reviewed, with an implication that they will be maintained and current. Based on this we recommend a review of interested parties as a standing agenda item at Management Review Meetings. Additionally, interested parties could also be reviewed as part of 6.3 Planning of Changes to ensure changes do not have an adverse effect on interested parties, or the introduction of interested parties into the framework as a result of the changes.

How Streamline can help

Streamline ISO Consultants can design, develop and implement a certification-ready Quality Management System from the ground up to meet ISO 9001 requirements. If you already have an existing management system in place we will help you integrate ISO 9001:2015 into your current management system (eg ISO 45001 Safety or ISO 14001 Environmental) to form an Integrated Management System (IMS).

ISO 9001 2015

Our trained and experienced ISO Consultants have a 100% track record achieving certification for our clients and we guarantee your ISO 9001:2015 quality management system will get certified by a JAS-ANZ accredited Certification Body.

Contact Us Today

If you’d like more information, or to request a Quick Quote please use the form to the right and one of our consultants will contact you within one business day. Alternatively, you are welcome to contact us directly by phone or by emailing hello@streamline.business.

About the Author – Scott Bishop

Scott Bishop
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How to use Smartsheet for ISO 9001, ISO 45001 & ISO 14001

Smartsheet is a cloud-based software solution that is extremely easy to use (same as Excel), very cost effective and provides some powerful tools such as conditional formatting and alerts/notifications, team collaboration and resource allocation. Here is our guide for Smartsheet for ISO 9001, ISO 45001 & ISO 14001.

Smartsheet for QMS 9001

As ISO Consultants, we find Smartsheet is our preferred platform to develop Quality 9001:2015, Safety 45001:2018 and Environmental 14001:2015 Management Systems. It streamlines administrative processes associated with the maintenance of ISO business management systems and ensures information is kept current and accessible when and where it is needed.

Typically, we establish the following registers in Smartsheet to support Quality, Safety & Environmental Management Systems:

  1. Document Register – centralised document storage with permissions to control read/write access as required. Reminders set to alert relevant personnel when document review is required.
  2. Training and Competency Register – an improved version of the standard excel Training Matrix that can store employee details, licenses, qualifications, and competencies. Conditional formatting in place to identify when qualifications have expired or Verification of Competency is due.
  3. Approved Suppliers & Approved Subcontractors – register of suppliers and subcontractors including business information, qualifications, insurances and performance history/data.
  4. Risk Register – Threats/Hazards, Risks, Inherent Risk Score, Residual Risk Score, Responsibilities and Controls.
  5. Equipment Test & Calibration Register – list of equipment requiring test, calibration, inspection including due dates, reminders and conditional formatting to provide a visual indication of status.
  6. Plant & Vehicle Register – plant and vehicle information including service, registration, and insurances. Conditional formatting and reminders to ensure key dates are monitored and renewed prior to expiry.
  7. Improvement Register – non-conformance, incidents & improvement opportunity registration, corrective action and action to prevent a recurrence. Responsibility allocation and identification of status.
  8. Quality, Safety & Environmental Objectives Register – register of Quality Objectives, Safety Objectives, and Environmental Objectives along with performance data history.
  9. Internal Audit and Inspection Register – schedule for managing all internal audit and inspection requirements. Copies of completed reports held on register and link to Improvement Register for any improvement items identified.
  10. Any other registers required to support the operation of the management system eg Enquiries Register, Tender/Contract Register, Project Register etc.

To ensure the registers are updated with current information, a combination of Smartsheet Forms and Update Requests can be utilised. We highly recommend you review the possible functionality benefits to your business and consider a Smartsheet based ISO Management System.

For more information contact us, or see below for some links to the Smartsheet Software videos.

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QUICKLINKS TO WHAT WE DO

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
ISO 9001 Quality Management
ISO 45001 Health & Safety
ISO 14001 Environment
ISO 50001 Energy Management
ISO 55001 Asset Management
ISO 17025 Testing & Calibration
ISO 27001 Information Security
ISO 22000 HACCP Food Safety

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KEY ISO ARTICLES

Articles, Quotes, Deep Dives & More
ISO Consultants
ISO Certification Auditors
How to get ISO 9001 Certification
ISO Certification Cost
How to tell if your ISO Cert is fake
4-year-olds and Root Cause Analysis
Fast ISO 9001 Certification
The Ultimate Guide to ISO 9001 Audit
Certification - How Much and How Long?
Who's Interested in a Party?
How to use Smartsheet for ISO
Smarter Quality Objectives
Local Government QMS
Quality Assurance, Quality Control or QMS
ISO Certification in Brisbane

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