Pre-Certification Audit

Welcome to Part 4 of my 5-part series, “The Road to ISO Certification”.  If you’ve been following along, I’ve discussed how to start with a gap analysis and project plan, then develop the management system documentation and implement the management system.  It may be tempting to think you’re ready for your certification audit.  But in the sprit of ISO’s Plan-Do-Check-Act methodology you no need to check that your management system is ready for certification.

Utilize Third Party Audits to Your Advantage

The best way to check that you will be ready to pass the certification audit is to conduct an audit.  Utilizing a third party (i.e., someone outside of your organization) to conduct this audit is highly recommended because third parties are:

• Objective and Independent.  A third-party auditor is impartial and free from internal biases or conflicts of interests. 
• Experienced Experts.  A third-party auditor is highly experienced across various industries.
• A Fresh Perspective.  A third-party auditor will provide a fresh perspective on your environmental management system.

Hiring a third party to conduct a pre-certification audit can help your team get accustomed to the audit process. As they say, practice makes perfect!  Practicing the process of an audit reduces stress and anxiety which will lead to smoother, more efficient audits.

Close any remaining gaps between you process and the ISO standard

This pre-audit audit may reveal any remaining gaps between your systems and the standard. Be sure to close these gaps before the certification audit.

At ECSS, we specialize in ISO 14001 certification.  Contact us to learn how we can hep you on your road to ISO Certification by performing a pre-certification audit.  

Let ECSS handle the environmental aspects of your business so you can stay focused on what you do best—running your core business.