subject: Factors To Consider In Administering The Certification Of Quality Management Systems [print this page] Certification of Quality Management Systems, or QMS, is a very useful and important document that you could put beside your brand name. But getting this indispensable certificate is like passing through the eye of a needle. To become a QMS-compliant corporation you must first meet the requirements by the standard-setting bodies and go through the application process of availing a certificate.
To apply for QMS certification serviced by the International Standards Authority, or the ISA, companies interested for the certification must fill out an application order to receive a free, non-obligatory commendation from the ISA. Next, the company would be pre-assessed to validate corporate policies, provide aid to correct errors, and to prepare the company for the registration audit.
At the registration audit, assessors study and appraise the current QMS policies of the company, and compare it to the required standard. The duration of the inspection is contingent to the size of the company, the intricacy of company activities, and the number of sites liable for the certification. Then, all of the data will be quantified in a primary auditing, which is Stage 1 Audit, and matched with ISO 9100, AS 9100 or AS9120.
If the company passed the primary auditing and have complied with the basic world standards, the assessor will then help the company for further improvement of the policies. After this, in Certification Stage 2 Audit, the company will be granted an Initial Certification while being reviewed for the entire implementation of their QMS and make arrangements for the authorization of certification of quality management systems of the company.
When the closure of the review meets approval, the company is then registered by the Certification Committee. With the final compliance to other standards such as ESD 20:20, etc., the ISA then releases the registration certificate.
The registration is then sent to the ISA and Online Aerospace Supplier and Information System, or OASIS, for database referencing and archiving. OASIS submission is required for all AS 9100 and AS 9120-compliant organizations as a confirmation that the company is certified for all aerospace operation, as endorsed by the certification of quality management systems granted to the company.
