Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

WHAT IS CERTIFICATION?

Certification is a seal of approval from a 3rd party/ certification body that the organization is managed according to one of the internationally recognized management systems. The certification can be used to tender for business as a proof of a company’s credibility and also to install confidence in the potential client that you will keep your promises. However, there can also be many different names of certification where ISO is one of the widely known standards.

WHY WOULD MY COMPANY NEEDS CERTIFICATION?

Certification is a statement to your stakeholders, employees and senior management that the business wishes to operate to a set framework in order to achieve its company objectives. By having and maintaining an external certification, you are proving the company’s commitment as well as increasing the credibility and customer confidence in the brand, service or product.

For example by running a quality management system, a company can stay in control of its processes and procedures, ensure if anything does go wrong it is rectified quickly, efficiently and to the satisfaction of the customer. It can also ensure a smooth line of communication between employees, suppliers and customers at all times.

Many public and private sector tenders request certification as either a pre-requisite to moving to the next stage or as a filter to remove companies from the tender process. By achieving the certification that your customers give weight to, ensures that you are on a ‘level playing field’ with your potential competitors and improves your chances of successfully tendering. Many companies report a major internal efficiency improvement which allows them to achieve greater results both in a sales and operational capacity.

WHAT TYPE OF ORGANIZATION CAN APPLY FOR CERTIFICATION?

All types of organisations can apply for certification, irrespective of its size and number of employees and products/ services. The standards may vary subject to the requirements of the organization. 

WHAT ARE THE PREREQUISITES FOR APPLYING CERTIFICATION?

The organization must ensure that the relevant legal requirements in the country as well as from the local authorities have been fulfilled for the business to operate and continue to operate legally. Once apply for the certification the organization has to transform itself to implement the management system standards in its functions and operations through an effective consultation process.

WHAT WOULD BE THE COST OF CONSULTATION AND CERTIFICATION?

The cost of consultation and certification may vary based on the size, number of employees, required standard, process, products and complexity of transformation. We will propose the most suitable solution to meet your organization’s objective.

WHAT IS THE MINIMUM DURATION REQUIRED TO BE READY FOR CERTIFICATION?

Naturally, the larger the organization is, the longer the project may take. However, the rate of time increase is not necessarily linear. Aside from the working committee responsiveness, the next large contributor is the number of processes, or the services the organization has. Regardless of the number of personnel or locations, a company with several products or service lines, will require additional time compared to a company with a single product or service.

Generally, the organization will require some preparatory work to be carried out in order to implement the system for a minimum of 3 months before external audit. Audit arrangement with 3^rd party certification body may also take up some time. Most of the processes can be carried out concurrently to reduce the duration, subject to the pace and complexity of implementation.

We aim for a 3-6 months delivery period, but again this can vary from organization to organization as well as the standard’s requirement. We will never delay the process, however we understand that things can happen that may mean you require a small delay. We will accommodate this where possible; however for those who are looking to achieve the certifications as soon as possible, we will endeavor to ensure you obtain your certification within our standard timescales.

WHY IS CONSULTANT IMPORTANT IN THE WHOLE PROCESS?

Our consultants help organizations to understand the requirements and carry out implementation according to their functions and operations. We work with organizations to implement the standards through consultation, training, discussion, coaching, internal audits, documentation support and guidance until certification audit, and beyond. We do not provide certification, instead we work hand in hand with our clients to get certified instead.

Our main focus is to keep the process for you, the customer, as simple as possible.

1. We undertake an initial assessment of the company, to see where the company currently stands with regards to the chosen system.
2. From this, we make a series of recommendations on what needs to be completed to become compliant (we will not make any major procedure changes unless absolutely necessary).
3. We will then draw up a plan for implementing the recommendations (to be completed over the next few months according to agreed time frame), assist in documentation, coaching on implementation of the system, completion of internal audit and conducting management review.
4. Prepare for external audit and follow up on any actions required from the audit conducted.

You will be certified from this point forward. The systems are focused on continual improvement. Therefore, we will follow up on a regular basis to ensure that you are on track with the recommendations and always ready for re-certification year on year. We will also provide continual support to ensure the system is well maintained and provide recommendation on latest updates in the management system requirements. 

HOW MANY AUDITS PRIOR TO THE CERTIFICATION?

There is one internal audit and one external audit prior to certification. On top of that, consultants will also continuously check on the implementation progress and provide guidance prior to external audit.

The internal audits (also called a first-party audit) are carried out by the organization’s assigned internal auditor team with the assistance from the consultants.  Organizations usually set their own internal audit schedule and the frequency of internal audits should be based on risk and importance.

The initial external audit by the certification body consist of stage 1 and stage 2. During the Stage 1, the auditor will review your management system documented information, evaluate your site-specific conditions, and have discussions with personnel. A Stage 1 Audit is usually carried out over 1 or 2 days.

The Stage 2 Audit evaluates the implementation and effectiveness of your organization’s management system(s). During the Stage 2 audit, your Certification Body will determine the degree of compliance with the standard’s requirements and report any nonconformances or potential nonconformances that your organization will have to correct before the certification can be issued. If the Stage 2 audit is successful, your organization’s management system(s) will be certified.

HOW LONG IS THE VALIDITY OF CERTIFICATION?

The certification and audits is a continuous process. The validity of certification varies, ranging from 1 year to 3 years. Organizations need to be continually audited in order to renew the certification.  

For certificates with 3 years validity, the certification body will carry out surveillance audits on year 2 and year 3 to ensure that the system is being maintained according to the requirements. Our consultants are able to assist the organization to ensure that its system is being maintained and ready for audit in the long run.

We can also provide continual support to ensure the system is well maintained and provide recommendation on latest updates in the management system requirements. 

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF CHOOSING DO GREAT SDN BHD AS YOUR CONSULTING PARTNER?

WHICH INDUSTRIES / SECTORS DO WE (DO GREAT SDN BHD) SPECIALIZED IN?

Since 2014, DO GREAT SDN BHD has been serving organization in various industries to become certified. Here are examples of industries we have helped in the past:

Although Do Great has expended to new sections over the years and has amassed a great deal of expertise and knowledge on certain industries sectors, we always treat every organization as unique; ensuring that its own processes are taken into consideration when implementing the desired management system. .

WHAT ARE THE TYPICAL STEPS INVOLVED?

There is no typical job, as every client has their own processes and criteria. However, in therms of steps to certification, we can summarize them as follows:

By ensuring all tasks on the project plan have been completed, Do Great has high certainty that the first 4 steps have been completed and that our client is ready for the third party audit (Step 5) with the selected certification body. 

WHAT DOCUMENTS DO WE (DO GREAT SDN BHD) HELP WITH?

Depending on the standard being sought out and the organization’s processes, this may include manual, procedures, work instructions, forms, or other specific documentation.

WHAT IS AN INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (IMS)?

An Integrated Management System (IMS) is the general term for a documented management system that addresses more than one standard. Standards often have significant cross-over (similar clauses and requirements). Hence from a management system design perspective, and a system user perspective, it is more efficient, consistent and a better approach to address each of the requirements in one integrated management system rather than separate individual systems for each standard.