By Bill Sullivan

All ISO 9000 certificates may seem to be created equal, but only those that carry a recognized accreditation mark have any real value. When looking at your certificate, your customers and prospects want to know if:

• The company that performed your audit was competent
• The auditors were well trained
• At least one member of the audit team was familiar with your industry by virtue of work, education and/or prior auditing experience
• The auditors were required to demonstrate their abilities and knowledge of the standards before being allowed to audit

Without an accreditation mark on your certificate your customers can’t be sure.

ISO 9000 certification is an unregulated market. Anyone can act as a registrar or certifying body -- performing audits and issuing ISO certificates. This can be done without any kind regulation or oversight. Tellingly, when Ford, GM and Chrysler designed their requirements for QS-9000, one of the first things they demanded was that registrars issuing QS-9000 certificates be accredited by an accreditation body which they designated.

Accreditation bodies provide regulation and oversight of the entire auditing and certification process. Many countries that have adopted the ISO 9000 series of standards have their own national accreditation bodies. The most widely recognized are the RAB (U.S.), RvA (The Netherlands) and UKAS (U.K.).

The accreditation process is very similar to the ISO 9000 certification process. ISO Guide 62 is the ISO 9000 of the certification world. Registrars are assessed by accreditors to ensure that their documented registration systems meet the requirements of Guide 62. Like an ISO 9000 system, audits are conducted on registrars to gather evidence that their auditing system is implemented and effective. The scrutiny is rigorous and on-going. Registrars are usually audited by the accreditation bodies on at least an annual basis. This is in addition to the accreditation bodies witnessing the registrar’s audit teams as they perform audits. Passing muster with the accreditation bodies allows the registrar to place an accreditation mark on the ISO 9000 certification. This mark gives your customers and prospects confidence in your certificate. The credibility of your ISO 9000 compliant system is only as good as the (accredited) reputation of your registrar.

Not only is accreditation important to your clients, but it could also be of direct importance to you. For a variety of reasons, companies sometimes need to change registrars after their initial certification. If your certificate is accredited, it is usually an inexpensive and straightforward process. But if your certificate does not have an accreditation mark, you are almost certainly facing a complete reassessment of your system in order for the new registrar to issue an accredited certificate. This could also be the case if your current registrar is acquired or taken-over and your certificate must be reissued by the new owner.

There are at least 50 RAB accredited registrars operating in North America. But the fact that they are accredited does not necessarily mean that all the certificates they issue carry the accreditation mark. Accreditation is normally granted for specific industries based on Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), NACE or European Accreditation Council (EAC) industry codes. If a particular industry is not within a registrar’s "accredited scope, " they can still perform the audit, but they must issue an unaccredited certificate. Choose an accredited registrar whose accreditation scope matches your industry classification.

Maximize the added value of your ISO 9000 certificate: choose an experienced, accredited registrar with a reputation for service and value.