FAQ
Have Questions? We Have Answers
See below for answers to some of SCB’s most frequently asked questions
- SCB is backed by more than 100 years of experience and innovation from The IAPMO Group. This places us in an unrivaled position of experience, knowledge, and reputation.
- Lead time for certification. We know it’s critical having your certification timely and we do our part to ensure your certificate is issued quickly and provide logos and materials so you can proudly display your achievement!
- Competitive pricing. It’s not always easy to absorb the cost of our services so SCB provides competitive prices and works with our customers to ensure certification is cost-effective.
- Good auditor capacity covering all regions in the USA and globally. SCB auditors are assigned based on experience and competency to provide a value-added auditing experience. We also make every effort to assign local auditors to minimize travel expenses.
- Small business expertise. SCB knows the challenges that small business face and our staff works with you through the entire process with a direct point of contact for customer service.
- We work with you to pick an audit date that best meets your organization’s needs and make every attempt to send the same auditor year after year. Our auditors then become more familiar with your business, thus facilitating a smooth audit process.
Rely on SCB’s experience and knowledge for a smooth, efficient registration process. As part of our thorough process, we work closely with you to customize an ideal registration plan. Typical steps include:
- Proposal/quotation prepared
- Proposal accepted audit is scheduled
- Pre-assessment initiated (optional)
- Registration audit completed (Stage 1 and Stage 2)
- Non-conformances cleared (if applicable)
- Registration reviewed, a certificate issued
- Surveillance audits held
- Re-certification audit performed
Clients are notified of quality system deviations through the issuance of nonconformance reports (NCRs) at the time of their audit. Your lead auditor will notify you of the time allowance during the closing meeting.
A pre-assessment is optional; SCB does not require it. However, the benefits of having a pre-assessment are numerous, including focusing your attention on your current quality system weaknesses, allowing you to gain experience and familiarity with an audit and SCB auditors, and increasing your overall chances of passing the registration audit.
SCB considers the pre-assessment to be a very important step toward a successful registration audit. Although pre-assessments are entirely optional, most SCB clients who have undergone pre-assessments pass their registration audit the first time.
SCB works with individual clients to promote consistency among audit personnel. We recommend that a minimum of one person from the pre-assessment team be on the registration audit team; however, no guarantees can be made as to auditor availability.
If the proposed modification is closely related to the existing scope/quality system, it is usually verified and approved at the next surveillance audit to help minimize costs. If it is a substantive departure from the registered scope, a special assessment may be required for approval.
Yes. The client pays for the reassessment, but only for the man-day or days (plus associated expenses) necessary to evaluate conformance to the standard.
The registration certificate is valid for three years. At the end of the three-year period, a reassessment will be scheduled to renew the certificate. Between the time of the initial registration audit and the certificate renewal at three years, clients are audited periodically based on their choice of surveillance schedules: bi-annual (audits every six months) or annual (audits once per year).
The registration certificate is valid for three years. At the end of the three-year period, a reassessment will be scheduled to renew the certificate. Between the time of the initial registration audit and the certificate renewal at three years, clients are audited periodically based on their choice of surveillance schedules: bi-annual (audits every six months) or annual (audits once per year).
Clients are routinely quoted for surveillance visits every 12 months unless they ask for the bi-annual surveillance schedule. In either case, recently issued guidelines from the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) require that the total audit time for reassessment purposes be equal to two-thirds of the time devoted to the initial registration audit. Reassessment time may vary from the mandated 2/3 figure based on “significant factors that uniquely apply to the organization,” including, but not limited to, those contained in Annex A and B of the IAF MD 5:2015. The mandatory document is available on the IAF website at http://www.iaf.nu under “Publications.”
Most SCB clients choose the continuous (every-six-months) surveillance option due to its inherent advantages. Under this method, your quality system remains under ongoing maintenance. With shorter intervals between audit visits, your system has less of a chance to break down. In this way, there is far less of a chance that auditors will find any major nonconformances, which can be time-consuming and expensive to correct.
Yes! SCB will match the audit requirements to your organizational structure and provide a well-defined audit plan and a detailed audit schedule for your review well in advance of the actual audit.
SCB follows the guidelines contained in ISO 19011:2018 to define its competency criteria for quality system auditors. ISO 19011:2018 details requirements for education, training, experience, personal attributes, management capabilities, and continuing education.
SCB has confidentiality agreements with all of our auditors and staff. Any information collected during the audit remains confidential and secured.
Yes. The dialogue between you and your Lead Auditor is very important as this interaction helps coordinate the entire registration program. Your assigned Lead Auditor will be a valuable resource to guide you through the pre-registration and registration process.
Yes, SCB maintains a list of all its certified companies. For details, please click here. If you are unable to find the organization that you are looking for, please contact us at (909) 230-5526.
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Travel, lodging and per diem are billed at cost. Since SCB has auditors all across the country, our aim is always to select the closest auditor to the client’s facility, thereby keeping travel costs to a minimum.
SCB may charge for travel time if it involves travel of half a day or longer (more than 4 hours). Travel time is charged at a fixed rate and without additional handling fees. SCB, upon availability, will select local auditors to avoid/reduce travel-related expenses.
SCB offers an extensive curriculum of training courses. Understanding your standard is critical to ensure that company operations remain compliant with standards and that the full terms of certification are met. SCB training programs help ensure that initial improvements in operations are sustained and that opportunities for further improvement are recognized. To find out more information on training courses, please contact info@iapmoscb.org or (909) 230-5526.
No. Although employing a management systems consultant to help you in obtaining/maintaining your management systems certification may be a good option for your organization, this will not make the certification process with SCB any simpler, easier, faster or less expensive. Please click here for our full disclosure memorandum.
