Dear Customer,
As a Company (or Organisation) that is holding a ‘Certificate of Registration’ from QA International Certification Limited (QAICL), you are a recognised and valued member of a supply chain, proven to be engaged in activities that meet Internationally recognised standards.
Some of the supply chain products or services that you may provide, could be deemed critical to maintaining the health, or at least economic infrastructure, of not only your own Country but also other Countries and regions around the globe. Currently many of these regions are suffering from the effects of CoViD-19 or the Coronavirus.
The Certification awarded by QAICL, is an essential part of a collection of measures that are employed by Companies to ensure the ongoing quality, safety and legal compliance of many of their products and services. Without such measures, there could be potential impacts upon public users (consumers) further down the supply chain and therefore, it is essential that integrity of this process is maintained.
Please be advised that QAICL has guidelines that it must follow, in order to manage its audit and certification processes during these extraordinary times. These guidelines which are published by the International Accreditation Forum, Certification Trade Bodies and Accreditation providers (such as UKAS/CNAS) are translated into working policies and arrangements by all Registrars.
The team at QAICL would like to present some guidance in relation to how we are dealing with the developing COVID-19 Pandemic and what this means for our clients.
We have contingency plans in place, which align with the relevant guidance documents for Extraordinary circumstances issued by the IAF, Accreditation partners and trade bodies. The main documents used as an input for our measures are IAF ID3 and UKAS TPS 66 (for UKAS accredited management system certification); CNAS document “Certification Implementation During Period of Prevention and Control of New Coronavirus Infection Pneumonia by Market Monitoring Bureau” for CNAS accredited certification and BRC072 / BRC073 for clients certified through QAIC Packaging Limited.
Should an onsite assessment become impossible to conduct due to guidance issued by the government, albeit the most economical method to maintain certification, QAICL and our assessment teams have provisions in place to consider remote auditing, using available technology, to ensure risks are mitigated whilst extending certification for a defined period. This would usually involve a separate physical process audit being conducted once the Pandemic has subsided and control measures are relaxed.
Each case will be assessed individually, and we must respond to the guidance and information that we are receiving daily. It is important during this difficult time to maintain communication with your local office, to review the options that are available for maintenance of your certification.
Should you have any concerns or queries in relation to your certification, please contact your local team, who should be happy to provide guidance and assistance.
If you should find the need to contact your local QAICL office, please be mindful that in certain regions our own offices may be working to reduced capacity and there may be a short delay in answering any enquiries we receive. In such circumstances, we would recommend that customers send all requests for information as an email enquiry in the first instance.
We take this opportunity to thank all our customers for their flexibility and understanding during this unprecedented set of circumstances. Most of all, on behalf of the Directors, Management and personnel of our Company globally, we take this opportunity to express our warmest and sincerest wishes that all of our customers, staff and associated families remain safe as this pandemic runs its course.
Yours sincerely,
Stephen Carter
Scheme Manager – QA International Certification Limited
Root Solutions