Project Overview
Congratulations to Belfast, Northern Ireland based AM Civil Engineering on their successful journey to achieving ISO certification. Being awarded ISO certification for quality, environmental and health & safety management has been extremely beneficial to the organisation.
Aside from being able to offer a service to accredited quality, safety and environmental standards. Achieving ISO certification has provided the organisation with the ability to tender for more lucrative projects.
These certifications are globally recognised and the process of obtaining each certification is renowned for enhancing operational efficiency along with environmental and health and safety performance.
AM Civil Engineering provide civil, structural, and geotechnical engineering design, management, and advisory services in Northern Ireland, Ireland, and Great Britain. It has been a huge privilege to support them on their journey to ISO certification.
Being awarded the following certifications in less than nine months is a fantastic achievement for the organisation;
AM Civil Engineering’s Journey
- System Development
- Training – A Key Element in Becoming ISO Certified
- System Implementation – Preparing for the Certification Audit
- The External Certification audit
System Development
We were delighted to be engaged by AM Civil Engineering in January 2022 to assist them in developing a system that would help the company achieve ISO certification. Specifically, ISO9001:2015 certification, ISO14001:2015 certification and ISO45001:2018 certification.
By March 2022, the journey to ISO certification was well underway. Working alongside Aidan and Sarah at AM Civil Engineering, together we had developed a fully documented Quality (ISO 9001:2015), Environmental (ISO 14001:2015) and Health & Safety (ISO 45001:2018) Integrated Management System (IMS).
Training
In April 2022, following creation of the bespoke Management System, we delivered system training to the team at AM Civil Engineering on their new Integrated Management System (IMS). The Quality (ISO 9001:2015), Environmental (ISO 14001:2015) and Health & Safety (ISO 45001:2018) compliant IMS was ready to go ‘live’.
System Implementation – Preparing for the Certification Audit
Now that the Management System was ready to be embedded into the day to day operations at AM Civil Engineering, Hannah and Emily of New Paradigm Consulting coordinated with the team to complete the System Implementation element of the project. This involved conducting internal audits to ensure the processes were working for the benefit of the business and providing support in preparation for the external audit.
The External Certification Audit
Our journey to ISO Certification with AM Civil Engineering was almost complete. A date for the external certification audit had been set with Certification Body, NQA. Stage 1 ISO certification audit was undertaken by NQA in June 2022 and Stage 2 ISO certification audit was undertaken by NQA in September 2022.
It is our pleasure to announce that AM Civil Engineering successfully passed their ISO certification audit, with zero non-conformances, at the first time of asking. A fantastic achievement! Congratulations to Aidan, Sarah and the Team at AM Civil Engineeringand we look forward to supporting them in the future.
AM Civil Engineering is just one of the many organisations we have helped to optimise their business practices and achieve ISO certification. To learn more about our recent work and how our work helps organisations, please check out our Projects page for recent examples.
Achieve & Maintain ISO certification
Are you interested in gaining certification to ISO standards? Below is a list of certifications we help organisations achieve;
- ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems certification
- ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems certification
- ISO 45001:2018 Health and Safety Management Systems certification
- ISO 27001:2022 Information Security Management Systems certification
Our friendly team of ISO consultants have the experience and expertise to help you develop a management system that meets the requirements of these standards.
We aim to provide you with the best advice to help you make informed decisions for your organisation. If you want more information on ISO standards and certification, please read more on our ISO Standards page.
Already certified, we can also help to;
- Rewrite your existing system to make it more user friendly and suitable to your needs. Especially if the current system requires too much administration or no longer reflects your organisation’s operations.
- Train your staff on how to operate your management system to allow your organisation to get the most benefit from being ISO certified. This is usually required when an organisation has grown or staff have changed.
- Get certification audit ready – If you have an audit coming up and would like a pre-audit to make sure that it will all go smoothly on the day.
- Digitise and automate your ISO certification obligations. If you are using word documents and spreadsheets to administrate your system, our proprietary ISO compliance software can help you to;
- Stop chasing suppliers & subcontractors for their insurances, certifications, licences etc after they have expired.
- Stop relying on people to ensure key system elements are kept up to date.
- Stop logging your non-conformances on paper based forms
- Manage your training proactively instead of always playing catch up.
- The software can be tailored to your specific needs.
- Manage your System – If finding time to maintain your system is a challenge, our ISO consultant can help you with the on-going management of your ISO certified system, by;
- Conducting independent internal process audits
- Carrying out site audits
- Legislative compliance audits
- Internal auditor training
- Updating registers of environmental Aspects or safety Hazards
- Updating legislation
- Completing COSHH Assessments
- Conducting and reviewing risk assessments
- Monitoring environmental data
- Maintaining document control
- Preparing for and chairing your Management Review Meetings
- Assisting in development and review of interested parties / Stakeholder Analysis
- Assisting in your SWOT Analysis and organisational risk assessment
- Monitoring progress against set objectives and KPIs
- Developing new objectives that will align with your business plan
- Managing your Supplier database
- Maintaining training and competency matrices
- Managing problem logs
- Managing calibration records
Aside from ISO standard specific support, we also help our clients with additional support services;
- Are you thinking of going Net Zero / Carbon Neutral and need a Carbon Management Plan in line with PAS 2060?
- Do you need practical support in managing your Health, Safety and Welfare obligations?
Whatever your ISO certification / compliance requirements are, New Paradigm Consulting is on hand to help. Get in touch with a member of our expert team today to arrange your FREE CONSULTATION and start your ISO certification or compliance journey today. Sometimes, a fresh approach is all you need!
Demystifying Certification
Is there a difference between ISO certification & accreditation?
They are different, however, we are very confident that you need to be certified and not accredited!
Lots of organisations believe that they need to become ISO9001, ISO14001, ISO45001 or IS27001 accredited, due to the fact that the terms ‘accreditation’ and ‘certification’ are used interchangeably. However, they are two very different concepts within the assurance framework.
In short, when organisations need ISO certification, that certification (audit) process is carried out by a Certification Body. In order for Certification Bodies to operate and carry out certification services, they need to be accredited by an Accreditation Body (E.g UKAS, IAS, ANAB etc).
When a Certification Body is accredited by an Accreditation Body, it means they have undergone an audit process to assess; their competence to carry out audits, their compliance with auditing standards and their impartiality during the audit process.
What does the Certification process involve?
Firstly, there is a request to a Certification Body (or numerous) to provide a quote. Ultimately they want to know what standards you are seeking Certification to, what you do as an organisation, where you do it (how many sites you have) and how many staff you have.
They will provide you with a quote detailing their daily rate and the number of days it will take to audit you over the next 3 years – the Certification cycle. Once you have chosen your Certification Body, they will schedule a stage 1 audit.
In its simplest terms, the stage 1 audit establishes if you;
- Have a documented Management System that meets the mandatory requirements of the standards you are seeking certification to.
- Have been using your system and are ready to progress to stage 2.
The Auditor will detail their findings within an audit report. Following a successful stage 1 audit (which all of our clients experience), the stage 2 audit will be booked. This usually takes place 4 to 6 weeks after stage 1.
During the stage 2 audit, the Certification Body Auditor will assess your compliance with the standard(s) and your Management System. Effectively checking that you do what you say you will do. The evidence will be documented within the audit report and the Auditor will make a recommendation to the Certification Body on whether you should be awarded certification.
The audit report is reviewed by the Certification Body’s technical team to ensure it has met the requirements of their Accreditation. If they are happy, you will be awarded certification, unfortunately, this process can take a number of weeks.
