Certification by Kiwa

ISO certification means that an organisation meets the requirements set by the ISO for the quality of a product or service or the way in which an organisation operates. Well-known ISO standards are the quality standard ISO 9001, the ISO 14001 for environmental management, the occupational health and safety standard ISO 45001 and the ISO 27001 for information security. Independent external certification bodies such as Kiwa assess on the basis of Audits whether an organisation meets the requirements set in a certain ISO standard. If this is the case, an official ISO certificate is awarded.

The use of ISO standards helps organisations to create products and services that are safe, reliable and of good quality. ISO certification also helps companies increase productivity while reducing errors and waste. Certification against ISO standards also ensures transparency. By allowing products from different markets to be compared directly with each other, they facilitate entry into new markets and help develop fair global trade. Certification against an ISO standard also has a positive effect on an organisation's image: it ensures that consumers and end users trust products and services.

Starting a process for ISO certification starts with a quotation request without obligation. If you choose Kiwa, you can start by preparing your organisation to work according to a certain guideline. Kiwa can help you with this, for example with a trial audit or a baseline measurement. In this way you will know where you stand and what points of attention there are. As soon as your organisation is ready, the initial audit will follow which, if successful, will result in the ISO certificate. After that, we regularly check whether your products, processes or system continue to meet the requirements and whether you can retain the certificate. Want to know more about ISO certification by Kiwa? Contact us or take a look at our overview page with the most popular ISO certifications.

Certification refers to the confirmation of certain characteristics of an object (a product), process, person or organisation. In most cases, this confirmation is provided by some form of external review, assessment, or audit. So, an accredited or authorised person or agency assesses and verifies (and attests in writing by issuing a certificate) the attributes, characteristics, quality, qualification, or status of something or someone. The assessment and verification are in accordance with established requirements or standards.

A certificate creates trust. Trust in your products, services, (management) processes and employees. Your certificate enables you to demonstrate that your organisation works efficiently and safely, that you manage the work and work processes and that you strive to be sustainable. It allows you to reduce risks, improve the quality of your organisation and have more satisfied clients. An independent third party like Kiwa ensures it stays that way.

Apart from creating trust, here are additional reasons for certification.

Kiwa is a global authority in a wide variety of markets, from construction and energy to water and healthcare. Our experts know their way around the minefield of European and global regulations, quality norms and safety criteria. This knowledge enables them to open doors for you that would have otherwise remained closed. We may make the difference in your efforts to access markets. And we can certify quite a lot, as you will see below.

• Certifying a product or an aspect of it
• Certifying personnel skills
• Certifying a process
• Certifying (management) systems

First-party certification means that the individual or organisation providing a product or service offers assurance that it meets certain claims. CE marking is an example of first-party certification. A CE mark is often needed to bring a product to the European market. By marking a product, a producer assures it has been tested and meets basic criteria regarding safety, health and the environment.

In second-party certification, an association to which the individual or organisation belongs provides the assurance. An association can, for example, create a quality mark for a certain market segment. Individuals or organisations can obtain it by meeting the requirements set. Thus, such a mark may improve quality level.

Kiwa provides third-party certification. This kind of certification involves a fully independent assessment declaring that specified requirements pertaining to a product, person, process or management system have been met. The requirements have been independently drawn up by Boards of Experts representing a certain market segment or an association. The advantage of third-party certification is that you nor your association, but an independent third party assures you and your customers that objective requirements have been met.

On top of certification, there is accreditation. Organisations like Kiwa that certify third parties are themselves formally accredited. Accreditation is provided by a so-called accreditation body, which is put in place by the government of a certain country. The accreditation process ensures that certification practices are acceptable, which means a certifier is competent to test and certify third parties, behaves ethically and employs suitable quality assurance. Kiwa has been accredited by various accreditation bodies for a wide variety of certification processes in many countries.

Kiwa is also a Notified Body, or NoBo. In the European Union, a NoBo is a third-party entity that has been accredited by a Member State to assess whether a product to be placed on the market meets certain standards. Conformity assessment can include inspection and examination of a product, its design, and the manufacturing environment and processes associated with it.

See our Accreditations and notifications