The certification of products and services constitutes the verification of their conformity with the requirements of a standard or another normative document by an independent third person. Metrosert is specialised in the certification of the following products and services:

• Provision of translation services (ISO 17100)
• Assessment of production management of products

BASIC DOCUMENTS OF CERTIFICATION

• Standard EVS – EN ISO/IEC 17065
• Guidelines of the cooperation organisation of accreditation institutions – the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA)

STAGES OF CERTIFICATION

Offer request

The volume of work related to certification depends on the complexity of the certified product or service, the size of the organisation and the number of sites. If the product has to be tested, the fee for testing the product at an independent testing laboratory is added to the certification fees. Tests related to the safety of the product must be conducted at a recognised testing laboratory. A certification agreement is concluded with the organisation that has agreed to the offer.

Certification offer request

Certification audit

A certification audit for verifying the conformity with standards is conducted by a competent team. A certification audit consists of two stages. In the 1st stage of the audit, the sufficiency of documentation, the conducted tests and product management is assessed, and any possible ambiguities are resolved. A report is presented concerning the 1st stage of the audit, together with a description of the irregularities found.

The 2nd stage of the certification audit is conducted no later than 3 months after the 1st stage. The aim of the 2nd stage of the certification audit is to assess the implementation of the organisation’s production management. All the organisation’s production-related sites are visited during the audit. The findings recorded in the course of the audit are analysed in conjunction with the organisation. The process outlines the impact of the findings on the efficiency of the organisation’s activities. The result of the certification audit is presented to the organisation as a written report. The organisation then has up to 3 months to rectify the irregularities.

Issuing certificates

A certificate is issued upon rectifying the irregularities found in the course of the certification audit. A certificate is valid for three years. During the validity of a certificate, the conformity of the organisation with the requirements is checked in regular supervisory audits.

Supervisory audits

Supervisory audits held during the validity of the certificate are conducted upon agreement with the organisation at an interval of 6, 9 or 12 months. The result of the supervisory audit is presented to the organisation as a written report. The organisation has up to 3 months to rectify the irregularities found.

Renewal of certificates

The validity of an issued certificate can be extended after every three years. A new certification audit is conducted in order to extend the validity of a certificate. If no significant changes have taken place in the organisation, the volume of the certificate renewal audit corresponds to the volume of the 2nd stage of the certification audit.

Cancellation or suspension of certification

Metrosert may cancel or suspend a certification, if:

• the customer has violated regulations on which the certification is based, or the terms and conditions of the certification agreement;
• the validity of the certificate has been arbitrarily extended to areas or departments that have not been certified;
• the customer does not allow for the timely performance of supervisory audits;
• the customer has provided incorrect data upon certification or during supervision;
• the customer has failed to give notice of changes in its management system;
• the customer is unable to rectify the irregularities found in the course of an audit;
• the customer has incurred a financial debt to Metrosert;
• the customer’s organisation has discontinued its activities;
• the customer has submitted a respective request or letter;
• another certification institution has taken over the respective certificate.

The validity of a certification may be suspended for up to 6 months for good reason (except for the first supervisory audit after initial certification). If the validity of the certification cannot be restored after 6 months have passed, the certification is cancelled.

Upon a certification being cancelled, the customer shall return the certificates issued to it.

Restoration of certification

Certification can be restored if the circumstances that led to the suspension have been resolved, following the customer’s respective notice. In order to restore a certification, a short notice audit may need to be undertaken.

Extension or restriction of the area of certification

Metrosert may restrict the extent of certification in the following cases:

• the customer is unable to rectify irregularities that have been classified as significant within the granted term;
• the customer has submitted a respective request.

If the customer is unable to rectify irregularities that have been classified as significant within the granted term, the suspension or restriction of the certification must be considered. A certification can be restricted in parts that do not affect the overall conformity of the certification issued to the customer with the certification requirements.
An organisation has the right to request the extension or restriction of the area of certification in the event of changes in products, processes, service or production location or in order to fulfil the requirements of another standard. Upon new sites being added, the sampling rules shall be added to the new sites independent of the number of the organisation’s certified sites, and the new sites shall be added to the others after certification.

In order to have the area of certification extended, the organisation submits the documentation concerning the area related to the extension. Metrosert assesses the conformity of the documentation with the data presented in the extension request and conducts an audit to the extent of the area of extension. In the case of a positive decision, a certificate with a new area of certification is issued.

Upon the area of certification being restricted, the valid certificate is cancelled and a certificate with a new area of certification is issued.

Short notice audits

Metrosert may, if necessary, carry out audits at short notice (up to three days) or without prior notice:

• to investigate complaints;
• to respond to changes that have taken place at a customer;
• for the follow-up check of a suspended certification.

The Head of the Certification Division appoints auditors to conduct such an audit. An audit is aimed at investigating the circumstances that called for the audit. Depending on the audit results, the certification institution decides on further action – the suspension, cancellation or restoration of the certification.

Use of certificates and certified marks

Customers who have been certified by Metrosert and hold a valid certificate have the right to use a certified mark (e.g., on the website and in brochures, catalogues, offers or orders related to the organisation’s certified activities). A more detailed information concerning the use of certificates and certified marks is available here. Please forward any questions related to the use of certificates and marks by e-mail to sertifitseerimine@metrosert.ee.

METROSERT’S ACCREDITATIONS

Accreditation certificate PC 002

 

FURTHER INFOMRATION

AS Metrosert’s Certification Division
sertifitseerimine@metrosert.ee