LRQA helped us ensure that we will continue to further strengthen supply chain security, thereby safeguarding the company’s interest and boosting the confidence of our customers.
Managing Director, DB Schenker Logistics
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While conformity is an important aspect of LRQA's (LRQA) assurance services, our unique methodology turns assessment into a powerful management tool to improve and protect performance. By understanding what really matters to your organisation and stakeholders, we help you improve your management system and your business at the same time.
Our approach allows assessment to be tailored according to how well your system manages and reduces operational risks in every aspect (e.g. quality, environment or health and safety) while still ensuring conformance to the full requirements of the chosen standard or scheme.
LRQA's unique assessment methodology is built on three pillars, risk-based methodology, themed surveillance and continual improvement, which add value to traditional assessment and certification.
We assess your management system, applying gap analysis where appropriate, to ensure that it meets the requirements of a standard, scheme or set of assessment criteria. To make sure you get the most out of your assessment we visit your company twice before we recommend approval/certification.
Before carrying out your assessment, we need to find out if you're ready. We do this at our first visit. We'll normally carry out the stage 1 visit on site.
During the visit we will:
We will document the results from this visit and communicate them to you before the assessment team leaves. We'll tell you if we have any areas of concern that could be classed as a non-conformity during the stage 2 assessment. The time between the two visits will depend on how long we think it will take you to resolve any areas of concern from the first visit.
Now you're ready for your initial assessment. This visit will take place at your site. Its purpose is to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of your management system. We'll gather evidence that the management system conforms to the standard and other certification requirements.
During this visit, the assessment team will assess enough examples of your organisation's activities for us to be able to make decisions on the implementation and effectiveness of the management system. We'll interview staff, including top management and operational personnel, so that we're sure the system is implemented and understood throughout the organisation.
The assessment team will analyse all the information and evidence we gathered during both visits to decide whether all of the certification requirements have been met and whether any non-conformities exist. The team might propose opportunities for improvement based on their experience.
We will examine your management system to address at least the following points:
When the stage 2 visit has been completed, the assessment team will write up the findings in the report of the visit. This report will record the results of the assessment, any areas for improvement and any identified and agreed non-conformities. The report will normally be left with you prior to the team leaving your site.
To make sure your management system is still effective, and to follow up on the progress that has been made since our last visit. Visits occur at regular intervals.
The surveillance visits aim to confirm that the approved management system continues to:
For clients who are…
a) New to the approach: The assessor will discuss the new approach and the best way to introduce it to your company and agree the arrangements for talking to senior management at the opening meeting.
b) Used to the approach: The assessor will confirm that the theme selected at the previous visit is still relevant and that the right people will be available. They will agree modifications to theme as necessary.
If the visit is the certificate renewal planning visit, the assessors will introduce the Review, Preview and Planning principles.
The assessor will…
With the theme agreed for this visit (or for future visits) the assessor will identify which departments, processes controls and systems relate to the theme and are assessable:
Future plan flexibility - Plans for future visits should be flexible. If the circumstances change, such as with a major customer complaint or regulatory breach, LRQA should be able to modify the theme of the visit, or introduce a new one, to address issues of current concern to our client and / or their stakeholders.
When performing the visit the assessor will:
The visit report left with you after the visit will:
In the closing meeting the assessor will:
LRQA helped us ensure that we will continue to further strengthen supply chain security, thereby safeguarding the company’s interest and boosting the confidence of our customers.
Managing Director, DB Schenker Logistics