Rank: Forum user 
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I am checking the credentials of a company and notice that their 14001 registration is with a company that is not UKAS accredited. This certificate is issued by a company ran from a local University campus........my question is; what is the difference between UKAS and non-UKAS certification companies (if any, or is it ££££££'s)?
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Rank: Forum user
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walker wrote:Credibility ?
I know from previous employment that held non-accredited 9001, 14001, 18001 that customers (national builders etc) did not know the difference. On their PQQ's the word 'accredited to UKAS' was never once used, so the tick box asking whether the company held 9001, 14001 and 18001 could be big fat ticked, using a company that did all the work for us and audited their own paperwork for a fraction of the cost!!!!!!
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Rank: Forum user
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I went through the process of gaining 9001 with ISOQAR, who are UKAS accredited.
ISOQAR was chosen as they were supposedly slightly easier than BSI.
The initial audit was quite tough - they came to audit our project sites and got quite deeply involved in what we did and how we did it. It took 2 days. We passed but had a couple of minor non-conformances that we had to submit a plan for improvement before our certificate was issued.
Certification lasted 3 or 5 years, I think.
My next employers had accrediation through a non-UKAS accredited organisation.
Their audit was mainly paper based, and only took a few hours. They never went to site, and where shortcomings were evident (and they were evident) it was really just a case of saying..... " you need to look at that".
Their Certification lasted 10 years !!!
Andy
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Rank: Super forum user
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fiesta wrote:
My next employers had accrediation through a non-UKAS accredited organisation.
Their audit was mainly paper based, and only took a few hours. They never went to site, and where shortcomings were evident (and they were evident) it was really just a case of saying..... " you need to look at that".
Their Certification lasted 10 years !!!
Andy
Outfits like this are on par with those "on line universities" that send you a degree in return for a few hundred quid. As an auditor, I can sniff out both at considerable distance. Anyone involved will never again work for us.
Problem is most company's systems are so shoddy any old bit of paper will do and thus cowboys thrive at the expense of the honest.
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