Quality Policy
IQ Verify Ltd aims to provide professional services to its Clients on time and within budget. IQ Verify Ltd operates a Quality Management System.
The Management is committed to:
- Develop and improve the Quality Management System.
- Continually improve the effectiveness of the Quality Management System.
- The measurement and enhancement of Client satisfaction.
- Ensuring that clients audited or assessed by IQ Verify Ltd, meet the standard to which they are being assessed in full.
The Management has a continuing commitment to:
- Ensure that Client needs and expectations are determined and fulfilled with the aim of achieving Client satisfaction.
- Communicate throughout the Organisation the importance of meeting Client needs and legal requirements.
- Establish the Quality Policy and its objectives.
- Conduct Management Reviews of the effectiveness of the implementation of the Quality Management System.
- Ensure the availability of resources.
- Review and ensure the effectiveness of assessment.
- Ensuring that staff are responsible for the quality of their work by providing a quality environment which includes training and by supporting all members of staff (including sub-contractors) to achieve the standards required.
- Ensure continual improvement
The structure of the Quality Management System is defined in this Quality Manual. All personnel understand the requirements of this Quality Policy and abide with the contents of the Quality Manual.
In addition to all English and EU commercial legislation and regulations, the organisation complies with all legislation and regulations specifically related to its business practices.
The Organisation constantly monitors its quality performance and implements improvements when they are required.
The Quality Policy is regularly reviewed in order to ensure its continuing suitability.
Impartiality at IQ Verify
IQ Verify is committed to working impartially, this is overseen by an independent impartiality committee, which consists of senior industry experts, who are experienced in the area which IQ Verify operates.
The Impartiality committee review IQ Verify’s processes, policies and procedures to ensure that impartiality is maintained.
IQ Verify has commitment to impartiality in all its activities relating to the certification process and that it fully understands the importance of impartiality, conflicts of interest and ensures the objectivity of its certification activities.
The senior management of IQ Verify are responsible for the impartiality of its certification activities and will not allow commercial, financial or other pressures to compromise impartiality. However, ALL IQ Verify personnel, either internal or external, or committees, who could influence the certification activities, shall act impartially and shall not allow commercial, financial or other pressures to compromise impartiality.
IQ Verify identifies risks to its impartiality on an ongoing basis. This will include those risks that arise from its activities, from its relationships, or from the relationships of its personnel (this includes internal and external personnel, or committees who could influence certification activities). A relationship presenting a risk to impartiality can be based on ownership, governance, management, personnel, shared resources, finances, contracts, marketing (including branding), and payment of a sales commission or other inducement for the referral of new clients, etc. IQV acknowledge that relationships do not necessarily present a body with a threat to impartiality, but must be considered.
Specific identified risks involving personnel including external auditors includes the following:
- Self-interest (e.g. overdependence on a contract for service or the fees, or fear of losing the client or fear of becoming unemployed, to an extent that adversely affects impartiality in carrying out conformity assessment activities);
- Self-review (e.g. performing a conformity assessment activity in which the certification body evaluates the results of other services it has already provided, such as consultancy);
- Advocacy (e.g. a certification body or its personnel acting in support of, or in opposition to, a given company which is at the same time its client);
- Over-familiarity, i.e. risks that arise from a certification body or its personnel being overly familiar or too trusting, instead of seeking evidence of conformity (in the product certification context, this risk is more difficult to manage because the need for personnel with very specific expertise often limits the availability of qualified personnel);
- Intimidation (e.g. the certification body or its personnel can be deterred from acting impartiality by risks from, or fear of, a client or other interested party);
- Competition (e.g. between the client and a contracted person).
When a relationship poses an unacceptable threat to impartiality then certification shall not be provided.
IQ Verify or any part of the same legal entity and entities under its organisational control will not:
- Be the designer, manufacturer, installer, distributor or maintainer of the certified product;
- Be the designer, implementer, operator or maintainer of the certified process;
- Be the designer, implementer, provider or maintainer of the certified service;
- Offer or provide consultancy to its clients;
- Offer or provide management system consultancy or internal auditing to its clients where the certification scheme requires the evaluation of the client’s management system.
- Outsource audits to a management system consultancy organisation
This does not preclude the following:
- The possibility of exchange of information (e.g. explanations of findings or clarifying requirements) between IQ Verify and its clients;
- The use, installing and maintaining of certified products which are necessary for the operations of IQ Verify.
- The use of sub contracted individuals
IQ Verify will respond to any threats to its impartiality appropriately
Publicly available information
IQ Verify maintains and makes available upon request, the following:
- Information about (or reference to) the certification scheme(s), including evaluation procedures, rules and procedures for granting, renewing, for maintaining, for expanding or reducing the scope of, for suspending, for withdrawing or for refusing certification;
- A description of the means by which IQ Verify obtains financial support and general information on the fees charged to applicants and to clients;
- A description of the rights and duties of applicants and clients, including requirements, restrictions or limitations on the use of IQ Verify’s name and certification mark and on the ways of referring to the certification granted;
- Information about procedures for handling complaints and appeals;
Company information that holds a certification with IQ Verify, including:
- Name
- Scope/activity certified for
- Any related normative document
- Geographical area covered (city and country)
- Status of certification (applicant, current, withdrawn, suspended)
Certification scheme document which details:
- Application for registration
- Audit method (Initial / Stage 1 / Stage 2)
- Certification
- Notification of changes by client
- Surveillance / Maintaining certification
- Re-certification (Management systems only)
- Extension to scope audits
- Short notice audits
- Marks of conformity
- Certificate misuse
- Certificate suspension, withdrawal, reduced scope
- Cancellation of registration
- Changes to certification requirements
- Impartiality commitment
- Complaints /record of complaints
- Appeals procedure
- Personnel
- Confidentiality
- Fees
- Liability
- Non-discriminatory conditions
- Indemnity
- Changes to terms and conditions
- Publicly available information
- Communication
To request any of the above information please contact info@iqverify.org.uk