APPLICATION PROCESS FOR NSI EMS GOLD CERTIFICATION
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS COMPLYING WITH BS EN ISO 14001:2004 & NSI QUALITY SCHEDULE EMSQS 101
NSI EMS Gold Certification to BS EN ISO 14001:2004 and NSI Quality Schedule EMSQS 101 is targeted at organisations who already hold an NSI Gold Approval for Quality Management Systems (QMS) Certification as there is increasing demand for NSI to provide a ‘one stop shop’ certification service for companies operating within the Security and Fire Safety Industries. The advantages of this are that the applicants are already familiar with the principles of management systems certification and they have already demonstrated compliance with the recognised technical requirements for the product or service. Additionally compliance will have already been demonstrated with the General NSI Rules and Regulations, which equally apply to NSI Gold QMS and EMS Certification Schemes.
Although the NSI EMS Gold Scheme is targeted at organisations already holding an NSI QMS Approval, applications for NSI EMS Gold Certification will still be accepted from organisations in the Security and Fire Safety Industries that do not hold any existing NSI certification. In such cases no actual EMS Auditing will commence until it is demonstrated that the General NSI Rules and Regulations are satisfied.
The NSI Gold EMS and the NSI Gold QMS Schemes both satisfy the relevant International requirements for Accredited Management Systems Certification i.e. ISO/IEC 17021 and are accredited by UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service). [UKAS operate under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Secretary of State for Business Innovation & Skills and are the sole authority for accrediting certification bodies in the UK].
NSI Gold QMS Schemes are with one or two minor exceptions also accredited by UKAS as PC (Product Certification) schemes.
APPROVAL PROCESS
1.Confirm that you can meet the general criteria for the NSI EMS (Environmental Management Systems) Gold Scheme
Before submitting your application verify that you either already satisfy the following conditions or that you will satisfy the same by the time of the NSI Initial Certification Audit:
a)You have documented an Environmental Management System and Programme that addresses all clauses of BS EN ISO 14001:2004 and takes note of the additional guidance and clarification within the NSI Quality Schedule EMSQS 101.
b)You believe you are aware of and comply with all applicable Environmental legislation.
c)You have appointed a management representative to establish, implement, maintain and report on the EMS.
d)You believe that you can satisfy the NSI Rules and Regulations for the EMS Scheme.
e)The Scope of your EMS is clear and relates mainly to services or product provided within the Security and Fire Industries.
Note: Organisations that already hold an NSI Gold Approval for their QMS (Quality Management System) should not experience any difficulty in complying with NSI General Rules and Regulations. They will also find that there are a number of clauses within BS EN ISO 9001:2008 that are compatible with BS EN ISO 14001:2004 and it may therefore be possible to have common procedures for certain activities e.g. internal audit, document control, that only need minor revision to reflect any additional emphasis required by the EnvironmentalManagement Systems Standard.
2.The Application Form
Complete and sign the common application form and annex I and return to NSI with the following items:
a)A cheque for the application fee (see current fee schedule or where relevant the supplied quotation). This covers the processing of the application and the required audit days to complete the initial certification audit. If due to the size and complexity of the company and its declared scope additional days are subsequently required, then these will be later charged at the standard daily rate.
Note:
1)For on-going certification, an annual registration fee is charged that includes a head office element and provision for the annual surveillance audit(s).
2)When an organisation maintains more than one management systems certification with NSI an annual registration fee is only charged for the first management system and the necessary additional man-days for maintenance of the EMS are charged at the standard daily rate.
b)A copy of any initial environmental review that you may have carried out to determine your significant environmental aspects.
c)A copy of your documentation that shows how you address the clauses of BS EN ISO 14001:2004. This may include a stand-alone manual or one integrated with an existing QMS Manual, Policy Statements etc. If possible also include a copy of any supporting procedures and any listing or register of applicable Environmental legislation and significant Environmental aspects.
d)A statement identifying the major shareholders.
e)A list of all offices, branches and locations that the EMS applies to.
3.Review of the information submitted to the NSI
The general information submitted to the NSI office is reviewed and if the application is acceptable a lead auditor is appointed. The Lead Auditor carries out a desktop review of the submitted Environmental Documentation to verify that there is sufficient indication of compliance for the initial certification dates to be agreed. If the Environmental Management System Documentation is clearly unacceptable the Lead Auditor will highlight the concerns in a letter to the applicant and make it clear whether or not revised documentation is required before a stage 2 implementation audit can be programmed.
4.Preliminary Visit
A preliminary visit can be carried out to verify whether a potential applicant is ready for an initial certification audit. If a complete gap analysis and report is required then the visit will be charged for.
5.InitialCertification Audit
The initial certification audit is normally conducted in two stages as follows:
Stage 1: A detailed review of the EMS documentation is carried out and it is determined whether the applicant is sufficiently prepared for the stage 2 implementation audit to proceed. A documentation review and stage 1 audit report shall be produced and issued to the applicant.
Note: In some instances the stage 1 visit may be carried out at the applicant’s premises. This is recommended when there are indications of significant aspects and impacts and specific environmental legislation that needs to be seen to be satisfied e.g. if there is oil storage for a diesel generator the sooner it is established that it is either double skinned or bunded to 110% capacity , the better as capital investment could be required to resolve any nonconformity with applicable legislation..
Stage 2: There has to be at least a short interval between the stage 1 and 2 audits and the stage 2 implementation audit shall always include an appropriate number of audit days conducted at the applicant’s premises. The priority for the stage 2 audit is to verify that the EMS Management System is sufficiently and effectively implemented such that the scheme criteria are satisfied. If this is the case then a recommendation for immediate certification can be made.
If however, nonconformity is identified an improvement need or improvement observation report will be raised. Improvement needs are a barrier to certification and a recommendation for certification cannot be made until there is a satisfactory corrective action response and we have verified the effectiveness of the action taken, or at least indicated that sufficient progress has been made to downgrade the improvement need to the lower level improvement observation report.
If only improvement observation reports are raised, provided we have a satisfactory corrective action response within 21 days, then a recommendation for certification can be made and the effectiveness of the corrective actions taken will be verified on the first surveillance audit once certification is granted.
6.Certification
A detailed summary report is produced on completion of the stage 2 initial certification audit with a clear recommendation as to whether or not certification can be granted. This summary report and the supporting audit evidence then have to be reviewed by a competent person who was not present on the audit. Once the independent review has been carried out and the recommendation for certification endorsed then a certificate of approval will be issued under cover of an appropriate letter which references the guidelines and requirements relating to the use of the certification marks and the UKAS logo.
The letter will also make it clear that to satisfy international rules for accredited certification, certificates of approval can only be issued for a three-year period and that prior to expiry of each three-yearly certificate of approval a re-certification audit has to be conducted.
During each three-yearly certification period annual surveillance audits shall be conducted. The duration of the surveillance audit shall be dependent upon the size of the approved organization and the range of activity and services provided. Where more than one day is required rather than conducting just one multi-day audit per year the requirement may be split across two six monthly visits.
ESF 104.2Page 1 of 4October 2012