A Certification Review / Technical Review is a process that all ISO assessments have to go through in order to have their certification granted, renewed or amended.
Whenever an assessment takes place, the auditor will only make a recommendation for or against certification, they do not have the final decision, the final decision is down to the certification officer / decision maker within the Certification Body. Each certification body uses different terminology but the activity and the principle is all the same.
This process takes place to ensure impartiality over the process, the certification officer will be independent of the audit process and will review the report and supporting information to ensure that the auditor has completed the audit effectively. The review will ensure that all areas have been covered, the technical content is sufficient to demonstrate compliance against the standard itself and any other requirements such as legislation, a review is also taken of any findings and the closure.
Each certification body does this slightly differently but the person performing the review needs to be technically competent for your business and the standard, we can’t use just anyone. The process generally takes a few hours but can vary depending on the complexity and length of the assessment. There may also be some back and forth with the assessor to get some of the report either clarified or rectified depending on the issues, there are commonly some tweaks to be made as auditors sometimes forget to clearly present discussions. There is no need to worry if you hear of reports getting rejected or if the assessor needs to come back to you for some clarifications, it’s all just part of the process.
The entire process from start to finish varies on certification bodies, we have a KPI of 14 days maximum but our average is far less, these typically get completed within 5 days as your certificate turnaround is a key priority of our business.
If you have any specific questions or concerns you can contact us anytime.