Reports and quality
Getting ready for a certification
The six months before, and what can be built meanwhile.
Getting certified for the first time frightens people more than it costs, for one specific reason: they think everything has to be documented. It does not. What is checked is that you do what you say you do, and that it can be proven with dates.
What actually gets looked at
| What the auditor wants to see | What they do not care about |
|---|---|
| That there is a written process and it is followed | That the document looks nice |
| That records are dated and were not filled in afterwards | That there are many records |
| That you detect failures and close them | That there are no failures |
| That people know what they have to do | That they know it by heart |
Important
What fails most is not missing documents: it is records all filled in the week before the audit. A perfect log in the same handwriting and the same ink across twelve months is spotted by any experienced auditor, and from then on they distrust everything else.
What to build in the six months before
- 1
The records filled in continuously
Certified periodically, so their date does not depend on you.
- 2
Supplier control
With expiries marked, which is what shows monitoring rather than an annual glance.
- 3
The non-conformity register
Even if nearly empty. An empty one is suspicious; one with three detected and closed is evidence in your favour.
- 4
Training for whoever does each thing
With its date and its expiry.
Watch out
Do not build processes you will not follow just to look good at the audit. A written procedure nobody follows is worse than none: the auditor asks the people, not only reads the paperwork.
Worth knowing
The first certification costs; renewals cost much less. If what you build genuinely works, the second audit is showing what is already there.
›Do I need to document everything?
No. What the standard requires and what you genuinely do; documenting what you do not do only creates problems.
›Are digital records acceptable?
Yes, and with a trusted date they carry more weight than paper.
›How long does it take?
It depends on the standard and your starting point; ask your certification body before fixing a date.
A real case
The situation
A company prepares its first certification by filling in twelve months of records in two weeks.
What you do
- Stops
- Starts certifying the records month by month from now
- Delays the audit by six months
What you get
Arrives with credible records instead of twelve months in the same ink.
The situation
A month remains before the certification audit and six months of evidence is missing.
What you do
- Checks which controls have no record
- Prioritises what depends on third parties
- Starts recording what is done daily from now
What you get
The month goes on closing specific gaps rather than generating paper after the fact.
The situation
Certification is prepared by creating documents for the occasion.
What you do
- Records what is actually done
What you get
The evidence describes the real company.
The situation
Certification passes and the following year starts from zero.
What you do
- Keeps the record current through the year
What you get
Renewal is a review.
The situation
The auditor asks for evidence of a control and is shown the manual.
What you do
- Shows the log of real operations
What you get
The control moves from assertion to evidence.
The situation
Nobody knows which controls each record covers.
What you do
- Notes which control each one answers
What you get
Preparation stops being a search.
This article answers
- prepare for an iso certification
- first certification audit what do i need
- documentation to get certified
- how long does certification take