CLIENT INFORMATION
International Northern Registrar is an International entity of Management’s Certification Systems.
INR is the brand under which the member firms of INTERNATIONAL NORTHERN REGISTRER International Limited (INR) operate and provide professional services. Together, these firms form the INR network. ‘INR’ is often used to refer either to individual firms and franchises within the INR network or to several or all of them collectively.
For these reasons, the INR network consists of firms which are separate legal entities in differente countries. The firms that make up the network are committed to working together to provide quality service offerings for clients throughout the world. Firms in the INR network are members in, or have other connections to INTERNATIONAL NORTHERN REGISTRAR main offcie, a private legal entity. INR does not practise advisory in Management Systems . Member firms of INTERNATIONAL NORTHERN REGISTRAR can use the INR name and draw on the resources and methodologies of the INR network. In addition, member firms may draw upon the resources of other member firms and/or secure the provision of professional services by other member firms and/or other entities. In return, member firms are bound to abide by certain common policies and to maintain the standards of the INR network as put forward by INTERNATIONAL NORTHERN REGISTRAR .
Since its beginning it has grown steadily and has reached leadership positions in the outcome of certificates in various categories.
We are engaged in an ambitious plan for global expansion in order to provide coverage and international recognition to all our costumers and also to be able to be closer to them.
We are the future projection merged from a pragmatic vision, which provides the necessary guidance to achieve the new requirements
INR STATEMENT OF IMPARCIALITY
INR understands the importance of impartiality and potential conflicts of interests .INR has a compliance program, based on its Code of Integrity and Professional Conduct, to ensure that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all its activities worldwide in accordance with international best practice.
We conduct an annual risk assessment on impartiality and conflict of interest, which is reviewed by the impartiality committee. This is an independent committee made up of members representing our key interests.
Conflict of Interest and objectivity is further covered through training sessions on the INR Code of Integrity and contractually binding agreements, to ensure all validation, verification and certification activities are conducted in an independent and impartial manner.
CERTIFICATION PROCESS
Step 1
Complete the questionnaire and return to INR or request an information pack from your local office, which will include the questionnaire for the required service. Complete this questionnaire and return to INR who will review the information provided and prepare and issue a Proposal of Cost (Quotation) for a three-year Cycle.
Step 2
On acceptance of the quotation, submit the signed and dated Application (which is the final page of the Proposal of Costs) to confirm your intent to utilise the services of INR. A confirmation of receipt and invoice for the first year’s fees will be posted to you by return.
Step 3
On receipt of a signed Application, a Lead Auditor will be allocated to conduct your audits. He/she will contact you to agree a provisional schedule for the visits, explain the registration process and answer any questions you may have.
Step 4
Once your company’s Procedures and Manuals and other system documentation are complete, these will be reviewed against the requirements of the relevant standard. It may be necessary to carry out this review on-site supported by a limited audit to validate the effectiveness of the documentation prior to the registration audit. This is referred to as a Stage 1 Audit. You will be presented with a formal report of the findings from this audit.
Step 5
On completion of the Stage 1 audit the Lead Auditor will discuss and mutually confirm the registration audit date. This will take account of any time needed to make any adjustments to the documented system resulting from any deficiencies identified during the document review.
Step 6
The main registration audit will commence with an opening meeting. During this meeting the methodology and conduct of the audit will be explained. The itinerary will also be confirmed and an opportunity given for any questions you may have regarding the audit. Who attends the opening meeting is a matter for the client but it is recommended as a minimum the key management personnel responsible for the implementation of the system are in attendance.
Step 7
The registration audit will consist of sampling of objective evidence (records) observation of working processes and discussion with personnel at all levels of your company’s organisation. For audits over several days a brief outline of the progress of the audit will be given at the close of each day.
Step 8
Should the Lead Auditor decide at any time during the audit that there is a complete breakdown of the system against the requirements of the standard, a meeting will be called with senior management to advise you of the Team’s findings and agree with you a course of action. It is worth noting however that this is a rare occurrence.
Step 9
On completion of the main registration audit (Stage 2), a closing meeting will be convened to provide an overview of the audit and detail the audit findings and recommendations. Any deficiencies identified will be documented within a Corrective Action Request (CAR). Where these deficiencies are minor in nature, the CAR will be designated as a minor. Where major deficiencies are noted then the CARs will be designated as major. In both cases a written indication of the action to be taken to address the deficiency before the certificate can be issued must be provided to INR.
Step 10
It is general policy of INR to produce a written report on site at the time of the main registration audit (where this not possible, a written report shall be prepared within 10 working days of the registration audit). This report will be submitted to INR for review by the appropriate Certification Manager on behalf of the Independent Governing Council of INR, whose role it is to ensure that AJA Registrars are impartial and fair in its dealings with its customers. The Governing Council reviews reports retrospectively.
CERTIFICATION ISSUE
Once the report has been successfully reviewed a Registration Certificate and Registration Schedule will be issued, usually within 15 working days of completion of the audit. The INR registered company mark is now available to be used by INR¨S client companies. The mark can be applied to stationery and publicity material that relates to the company’s Scope of Registration. This can include websites, brochures, product cards, walls, exhibition stands, advertisements etc, and may also cover items such as company flags and vehicles.
SURVEILLANCE
Quotations will be provided on the basis of a 12 monthly or 6 monthly surveillance visit routine following the main registration audit and a quotation can be provided accordingly upon request. Should clients fail to effectively maintain their management system on a 12 monthly visit programme or during the main registration audit it is evident that there were sufficient concerns to indicate that more regular visits would be more appropriate, and then INR would retain the right to impose 6 monthly surveillance visits until confidence is restored.
FEEDBACK AND APPEALS
If you are an end-user wishing to make a complaint about an installer who has been certified by us, please contact our dedicated consumer support team at support@inrcert.com
If you are a client of ours and have feedback or matters you would like to raise with us regarding our certification services, this procedure flow chart gives an overview of how we manage your feedback.
At INR we will:
Ensure any and all complaints are recorded
Report performance and analysis of the outcome to senior management
Make changes to service delivery where appropriate
Publicise service improvements.
If you wish to provide feedback about any other part of our service, please get in touch via the contact page.
CERTIFICATION LOGOS
Certification Logos
INR International and ASCB(E) strictly govern the use of the INR International logo and the ASCB(E) Accreditation logo. Only companies authorised by INR International or its agents may use these Logo's. Full instructions on the use of the logo are as follows:
You are granted licence to display the logo, in accordance with the conditions described below.
Conditions of Use of Logo
1. These certification marks may only be used in conjunction with a valid (current) certificate and must be accompanied by the certificate number.
2. You are hereby granted licence to display the logo on your Company paperwork, business cards and advertising literature.
3. This licence is valid for the period during which your Company remains a member of the Approved Management Scheme, administered by INR International, or until permission is otherwise withdrawn at the sole discretion of INR International.
4. INR International is not liable for any costs that you or your Company may incur as a result of the withdrawal of the licence.
5. You must not display the logo in a manner which may be construed as approval by INR International for any service or product supplied by your Company. Failure to observe this requirement may result in withdrawal of the licence at the sole discretion of INR International.
6. The logo may be altered from time to time at the sole discretion of INR International. In this case, you will be permitted to continue to use the original logo for a period of up to twelve months after the change, after which time, you must display the new logo only (in the case of vehicles this stipulation may be relaxed at the discretion of INRInternational, all such relaxations must be applied for and granted in writing). Notification of all changes, or proposed changes will be made in writing to all scheme members.
7. Permitted colours are as per logo, no deviations are permitted any enlargement or reduction must be done proportionally.
By using the respective logo(s) you are agreeing to these terms and conditions.
Once certificate issued client will be sent logon details to download their respective logo(s)
ISO AND ACCREDITATION
Certification can be a useful tool to add credibility, by demonstrating that your product or service meets the expectations of your customers. For some industries, certification is a legal or contractual requirement.
ISO does not perform certification
At ISO, we develop International Standards, such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, but we are not involved in their certification, and do not issue certificates. This is performed by external certification bodies, thus a company or organization cannot be certified by ISO.
However ISO's Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO) has produced a number of standards related to the certification process, which are used by certification bodies. Read more about CASCO standards.
Certification – the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements.
Accreditation – the formal recognition by an independent body, generally known as an accreditation body, that a certification body operates according to international standards.
Choosing a certification body
When choosing a certification body, you should:
Evaluate several certification bodies.
Check if the certification body uses the relevant CASCO standard
Check if it is accredited. Accreditation provides independent confirmation of competence. However, accreditation is not compulsory, and non-accreditation does not necessarily mean the certification body is not reputable.
Complaints about certification
ISO is interested to hear from you if you feel that any ISO standard, including ISO 9001 or ISO 14001, is being misused. Read more about making a complaint to ISO.
https://www.iso.org/certification
REMOTE AUDITS
When you’re seeking ISO certification, certification bodies undertake audits to determine whether your organisation is compliant with the required standards. Before COVID-19 audits would always be carried out via on-site visits, but since the pandemic started the majority of ISO audits in the UK and all over the world have been carried out remotely – using technology to make it all possible.
What is a remote ‘desktop’ audit?
To assess whether your organisation is compliant with ISO standards, we review evidence of how you deliver your products or services. That evidence includes reviewing documents, systems, processes and behaviours. Traditionally, we would visit your premises and do the assessment on-site, but now there’s another option.
A remote ‘desktop’ audit means both our assessor and your team don’t need to be on-site to complete the audit. The whole process can take place remotely using an online platform, such as Microsoft Teams. Should the audit necessitate an on-site visit, the Audit Plan will confirm site-specific elements which will need to be reviewed by our auditor as a part of this process.
How do remote audits work?
1. Determining whether a remote audit is suitable
We begin by undertaking a risk assessment to determine whether your organisation is eligible for a remote audit. We might ask you for further information to complete this. If you don’t have the technology in place to support a remote audit, don’t worry, an on-site audit should still be possible. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we will need to carry out a second risk assessment to determine if an on-site audit is safe.
2. Meeting your auditor
If a remote audit is possible, we will contact you to arrange a convenient date. Then, a short time before your audit, your auditor will get in touch to introduce themselves and determine which online platform/s you’ll use to complete the audit. You’ll then receive a meeting invite for your remote audit.
You should make sure you have all of the necessary documentation available in advance – the same as you would for an on-site audit – and that all appropriate team members are available to be interviewed on the day.
Your auditor might also ask you to send documentation beforehand, such as internal audits, management reviews, key processes and site plans. This will help make sure the process is efficient and give the auditor more of a chance to focus on the process-based activities related to certification during the audit.
3. Preparing your remote auditing platform
Microsoft Teams is our recommended platform for completing your remote audit. It offers chat, video meetings and file exchange, and it’s free to use. You’ll also need a reliable internet connection – Microsoft recommends at least 2Mbps.
It’s also possible to use video chat services, such as FaceTime, WhatsApp, Zoom and Skype, on mobile devices, for interviews and site tours; telephone where video is not an option; text chat to share information; and document sharing tools like OneDrive and Dropbox. If you have an online management system, such as BAB Activ, we can also audit your management system remotely.
We recommend testing your agreed platforms and tools in advance of the audit day, and make sure everyone who needs access has it. While most remote audits go ahead without any technical issues, if there is a problem, such as a poor internet connection, the auditor will do their best to carry on.
4. On the day of your audit
Just like an on-site audit, your remote audit will start and finish at an agreed time. The only difference is the interaction will take place remotely through your preferred platform/s. The auditor won’t be online with you for the full day, and there will be reasonable breaks throughout the day.
You will receive an audit plan in advance, which will act as a schedule for the day, detailing the times at which processes will be reviewed and when your people are needed for interview. If necessary, the plan will also confirm any essential site visits to take place at a later date.
What are the benefits of remote auditing?
The COVID-19 pandemic means not all organisations are back to business as usual, but that makes it the perfect time to think strategically and put measures in place, like ISO management systems, and ensure you’re ready for what comes next. We have been developing our remote audits for a while now, working closely with ASCB to ensure they’re as effective as can be.
Here are just some of the benefits:
Remote audits are less of an impact on day-to-day business.
They are delivered to the same standard as an on-site audit, from wherever your team are currently working.
Site tours can be carried out remotely using video technology when required.
No need to worry about putting COVID-19 measures in place for your auditor.
Keep your standards up to date without compromising your team’s health and safety.