ISO 14001 Assessments Process
You will need to employ someone internally or from an external source who has the experience of implementing Environmental Management Systems and who knows what is needed to achieve ISO 14001 Certification.
The first stage will be to assess all areas of your organisation that have an impact on the Environment.
Your appointed Auditor will be able to check current systems and documentation that is being used and inform you of any improvements or additions required.
Some of the main areas they will be assessing:
- Site activities
- Documentation compliance
- Documentation management
- Processes
- Regulatory requirements of ISO 14001
- Preventive and corrective measures
- Recording of information
- Management reviews of the system
- Internal Audits
- Staff awareness and training
The next stage is the audit to check processes are being followed and documentation is kept up to date.
During the audit you will be assessed on:
Documentation control
Records being kept
Staff and management conformance to the system
How the system is working in each area of the organisation
Staff training necessary to meet the requirements
The audit can be performed by a number of Certification Bodies, however it is important to note that not all ISO 14001 auditing organisations are UKAS Accredited. If you do not use a UKAS Accredited Certification Body your certification could end up being worthless.
Please check out the British Government Department BIS for clarification:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/innovation/standardisation/non-accredited-certification