Get more out of every management system certification audit

Companies today are constantly challenged to balance existing demands and emerging risks. Risk Based Certification™ targets your management system and audits to support in areas that matter most to your business success and resilience.

For many companies, management system certification is a ticket-to-trade and a means to meet legal requirements. Very often such customer demands and governmental legislation address quality, environment and safety topics.  However, companies must increasingly manage emerging complex issues on top of existing demands. Cybersecurity has become a must threat for any company to tackle, for example.  Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is rising on many a corporate agenda and delivering on United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) commitments and improving ESG performance are increasingly becoming hot board room topics.

Whether a demand or threat, how can companies turn it into a performance improvement opportunity? 

A certified management system is a solid foundation upon which to build. While often a ticket-to-trade requirement, your management system can contribute in more ways than one.  Whether ISO 9001 for quality, ISO 14001 for environmental management, ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety, or any other standard, the requirements lay out best-practice processes for a well-functioning management system. Certification by an independent third party assesses conformity and proves compliance to customers and other stakeholders.

Becoming certified is an accomplishment in and of itself. But is it possible for companies to achieve more? Using Risk Based Certification™, DNV takes every audit beyond compliance. You identify topics (Focus Area) critical to the company’s business success.  While checking the management system’s conformity with the chosen standard(s), DNV’s auditors assess how well it supports the  Focus Areas agreed for the audit.

Risk Based Certification has been DNV’s standard audit methodology for more than a decade. Over the years, we have compiled a library comprised of the Focus Areas most preferred by our customers and auditors. All DNV customers automatically get access to our digital tool Boost My Audit to help them select the right Focus Areas. You can browse by standard, risk and business process and check what UN SDG goal and ESG dimension each supports.

DNV auditors are available to guide your selection, making sure the Focus Areas fit your company’s specific needs. While the more than 200 pre-defined Focus Areas found in Boost My Audit are more than sufficient for many, bespoke Focus Areas may be needed, especially for multi-national companies. DNV auditors can help formulate these. Focus Areas can be repeated year on year or new ones selected. It often depends upon the management system’s performance and need for improvement, monitoring and follow-up. Each Focus Area comes with a checklist developed by DNV lead auditors to aid certification audit preparations and any internal audits along the way.  This means that companies can leverage upon Boost My Audit and Risk Based Certification before, during and after the audit.

All results and Focus Area performance are presented in the closing meeting and in the audit report. For complex projects with multiple sites, details are also made available in the My Certification Dashboard. This allows for in-depth analysis, comparison and trend insight to identify weak spots and measure progress across sites. Companies today have to navigate a complex world of ever evolving demands and threats. Each requires attention and potential action to manage and grow business. This requires time and resources, making prioritization of the essence. Leveraging on existing means and building from existing foundations - like your management system – and getting more out of every certification audit is both effective and efficient. It can truly support a company in areas that matter most.