i-VAC Certification Ltd

Why Management System?
In today’s competitive environment, an organization has to be managed more effectively and efficiently in order to manage various types of risk exposure and to take on challenges such as increasing cost, increasing risk, demanding customers and everlasting change.

Based on the Deming PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle coupled with a system approach, a management system has proven to be an effective means for an organization to manage its business. It offers a platform for risk management, objective setting, process control, verification and continual improvement. In short, the benefits of implementation include,

•	Enhanced stake holder satisfaction
•	Platform for management/process control and improvement. Minimization of risk and instillation of a prevention culture.
•	Improved product, process and system performance
•	Facilitation of staff training and induction. Improved staff relation
•	Demonstration of due diligence
•	Improved financial performance through increased sales, reduced cost (eg insurance premium) and minimized cost of failure

Why Certification ?
The above benefits can be derived without certification. The benefits of third party certification are two folded,

•	Promotion (confirmation of compliance through a third party) and enhancement of customer confidence
•	Regular surveillance by a third party to ensure system integrity, and using a value-added external audit report as input for continual improvement

Why i-VAC Certification ?
In line with the Mission of delivering a value-added service, the i-VAC Certification service features the following,

•

Improvement Driven
The i-VAC audit is based on the fundamentals of business: customer, opportunity and risk. With Value Added Auditing techniques, audit is approached from the fundamentals of business. We recognize every business is different and there are alternative ways of doing things. Our auditors will not insist on a particular one. Focusing the audit around the Key Business Factors shall provide organizations with opportunities that shall bring them to the next level of excellence. The following are typical issues identified,

•Improved policy and objectives setting/cascading in line
with Vision and Mission
•Reduction of non-value adding documents and records
•Process improvement, leaner processes
•Stronger PDCA cycle with more effective internal audit and
management review
•Development of a prevention culture

•	Accurate Understanding i-VAC auditors are trained to an accurate understanding of the certification standard. This means our auditors will not be requiring organizations to add to their management system elements which are personal opinion only.
	i-VAC will be more than happy to answer questions from the customer, or their appointed representatives on issues of interpretation and implementation. We will be pleased to clear up major issues prior to the Certification Audit.
•	User Friendly Service
	All i-VAC staff members have to response to customers' needs. Auditors are required to provide service in a transparent manner. They will not be looking for trivial issues, nor will they be nit-picking. Intimidating audit style is prohibited.
	In line with accreditation requirements, i-VAC will not be providing consultancy service. Our informative web site contains links to various related bodies where useful references may be found.
	It is an i-VAC objective with gravity to serve organizations with a high level of customer care. i-VAC is proud to announce our Performance Pledge as follows,

Process	Pledge
General Enquiry	2 Working days
Documentation Assessment	5 Working days
Issue of Certificate	3 weeks (after clearance)
Complaint Handling	2 months

Download D131 Certification Service Leaflet

Impartiality Statement (ISO 17021)
i-VAC Certification understands the importance of impartiality in carrying out our management system certification activities, manages conflict of interest and ensures objectivity.

Certification Standards
Since the publication of ISO 9001 in 1987, management system international standards flourished. Presently i-VAC offers certification service to the following standards,

Quality Management System, ISO 9001:2008

Download Q100 ISO 9001:2008 QMS Certification Leaflet

Environmental Management System, ISO 14001:2004

Download E100 ISO 14001:2004 EMS Certification Leaflet

Occupational Health and Safety Management system, OHSAS 18001:2007

Download H100 OHSAS 18001:2007 OHSMS Certification Leaflet

Food Safety Management System, ISO 22000:2005 (and HACCP)

Download F100 ISO 22000:2005 FSMS Certification Leaflet

Information Security Management System, ISO 27001:2005

Download S100 ISO 27001:2005 ISMS Certification Leaflet

Certification Process Flow
Irrespective of the certification status of your organization, you may explore certification opportunities with i-VAC Certification by sending us a completed T181 Certification Data,

T181 Online submission

Download T181 Certification Data (pdf)

Download T181 Certification Data (doc)

In accordance with ISO 17021, the following is a typical certification process flow,

Stages of Certifications

Integrated Management System Framework
With the advancement of different management system standards, it makes sense for organization to develop and implement one single management system to address their business needs. The concept of Integrated Management system is a breakthrough in overall system effectiveness. ISO Guide 72, Guidelines for the justification and development of management system standards, Annex B common elements of ISO Management System Standard offers a framework for integrated management systems.

•	Policy
•	Planning
•	Implementation and Operation
•	Performance Assessment
•	Improvement
•	Management Review

Download D924 Integrated Management System Framework (pdf)

Why Assessment?
Apart from third party certification, i-VAC supports its customers’ quest for business excellence through other assessment services,

Value Added Assessment Service (First Party)
Simply this is an assessment service to be conducted on the organization based on customer requirements. Generally customers may be looking for gaps against certain standard requirements, or new opportunities and ideas for the next phase of improvement. This assessment may be positioned as an internal audit.
Supplier Related Service (Second Party)
This service area supports customers in dealing with and managing suppliers. The range of services includes initial supplier selection, conformance to standards, or ongoing supplier performance monitoring.

Links
The following are useful links related to accreditation and certification in general,

Hong Kong Accreditation Service
http://www.itc.gov.hk/en/quality/hkas/about.htm

International Accreditation forum
http://www.iaf.nu

Pacific Accreditation Cooperation
http://www.apec-pac.org

International Organization for Standardization
http://www.iso.ch