Preparing for ISO Certification Audit – A Plain English Guide

A step-by-step handbook for ISO practitioners in small businesses

“Before you decide if your company should go for the certification, you have to ask yourself one important question: Do you really need it?” This book is a complete guide that will not only help you decide on this crucial concern, but also lead you from the beginning of the certification project to the end. This book is not focused solely on one ISO standard – the certification process is the same for any standard, so the book is adapted in such a way that it is perfectly acceptable for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001, ISO 20000, ISO 22000, OHSAS 18001, ISO 13485, and IATF 16949.

Kosutic wrote Preparing for ISO Certification Audit: A Plain English Guide primarily for beginners in this field, and for people with moderate knowledge about ISO certification. The book is structured in such a way that someone with no prior experience or knowledge about ISO standards can quickly understand how the whole certification process works, and what steps to take for its successful completion.

This book is a straightforward guide for ensuring your company passes the certification audit, leading you through the following steps:

• The final check before going for the certification – this part of the book explains in detail all the necessary steps that need to be done before going for the certification.

• How to choose a certification body – here you will learn about the most important criteria for choosing the certification body. Among others, you should consider the reputation, specialization, and experience of a certification body.

• Steps in the company certification and how to prepare – in this part of the book you will learn more about the Stage 1 audit, Stage 2 audit, and surveillance visits – the three main steps in the certification process.

• Which questions the certification auditor may ask – this section of the book will give you insight into how the certification auditors usually perform the certification audit, explaining what documentation you should prepare, what evidence the auditor will try to find, and what kind of questions you can expect during the certification interview.

• How to talk to the auditors to benefit from the audit – “Don't forget that auditors are only people, and no matter how professional they are, they will always be glad if you treat them fairly, and will be negative if you treat them badly.”

• What the auditor can and cannot do – this section is also very important in order to prepare your company for the certification audit. You have to be aware that there are borders that a certification auditor shouldn’t cross.

Written in plain English with easy-to-understand language, this is the only book you will ever need on the subject.