A big part of maintaining the integrity of ISO Certification is the Impartiality process. If Certification Bodies are not acting impartially then it throws the entire process into disrepute and people will question the validity of such processes.
To obtain and maintain confidence, it is essential that Auva’s decisions be based on objective evidence of conformity (or nonconformity) obtained by Auva, and that its decisions are not influenced by other interests or by other parties.
Impartiality Committee
Although not a mandatory process, Auva has an Impartiality Committee in place to help ensure that Auva’s activities remain impartial and that we are not influenced by outside pressures. This committee is made up of various external personnel and bodies who represent different areas we Auva operates within, for example, we have representation from a number of manufacturing and construction organisations who are there to ensure we are maintaining the high levels expected for their respective industries.
We have a financial expert who challenges us on our financial wellbeing to ensure we are not over committing the business which may put as at risk.
We have an environmental expert to ensure that our environmental activities and competencies are up to expectations. We have a health and safety expert for the same reason.
The committee is under constant review and new personnel are added on a regular basis as the business evolves.
Risk of Auditors
A big part of the business is obviously our auditors, we need to ensure that they are acting impartially and without coercion. As well as regular performance reviews, each auditor is also required to complete a risk declaration that identifies any interested parties they are linked to. This could be a relationship with someone within one of our clients for example, we would ensure that the the auditor is not assigned to that assessment.
Consultancy
Auva does not provide consultancy services and do not have any direct links to any consultancy body.