How does the certification audit work?

The certification audit is split into 2 parts. Called phase 1 and phase 2.

Phase 1: this is actually a preliminary audit, to determine whether you are really ready for the real phase 2 audit. This is to avoid going into the phase 2 audit only to find that you have forgotten some crucial issues. A phase 1 assessment takes half a day or a full day. Depending on the size of the organisation. At the end of this assessment, the auditor gives the 'verdict' whether the organisation is ready for the phase 2 audit. There may still be areas of concern, which you can then address before the phase 2 audit. The lead auditor always makes a report of his findings.

Tip; should you want a better and more complete picture of the status of the management system, we can also always conduct a pre-audit, or baseline measurement. Contact us to discuss the possibilities.

Phase 2: during the phase 2 audit, we will audit the management system and all control measures. During an audit, we always look at SETTING, EXISTING and OPERATING.

Set-up = does the organisation have a defined policy or procedure

Existence = does the procedure described suit the organisation (hasn't copy/paste been done secretly)

Operation = is there demonstrable evidence that the policy or procedure works?

At the end of the certification audit, the lead auditor creates a report and together with you the file is completed. At DigiTrust, you always receive the audit report within a few days! Next, the certification manager will review the file and all documents. This is a kind of peer-review and quality assurance of our own process. If everything is ok, the certification manager makes the decision. The back office then gets to work and within a few days you receive the certificate. If you like, we can always come to you to issue the certificate. We do that for free, just because we like it too.

Take contact with our back office to make an appointment about this.