Certified Quality Systems Ltd (CQS) accredited by International Accreditation Board

[Cats Clause]

Hi all
Had a call from a company in the UK who are having some external surveillance audit difficulties on their 9001 certified systems. Certification is by CQS. CQS don’t seem to be UKAS accredited, but state that they are "accredited by International Accreditation Board". I had a brief chat with the company and have booked a meeting to look at what their problems are. Anyone have any dealings with either CQS or IAB?
Thanks

 

[Sidney Vianna]

I moved this discussion to the proper Forum. The issue surrounding unaccredited, self-accredited, alternatively-accredited and pseudo-accredited CB's has been discussed here a number of times. What happens between consenting adults exchanging services for cash is their business....

 

[blackholequasar]

I've run into this issue countless times now with my suppliers. They provide me a piece of paper with fancy seals on it from someone who runs a business out of a garage. That business says they're accredited by someone out of their mom's basement.

Then I go here and check:
Certification Bodies | Management Systems Accreditation
(This works for me, there may be other resources for others - I'm usually just checking for ISO 9001)

When I tell them that I checked with reputable certification bodies and could not find their information, they typically get pissed off and tell me they paid thousands of dollars for a 'registration' that doesn't actually mean anything.

 

[Cats Clause]

This is my concern, Im in the UK and generally expect to see CBs UKAS accredited, but didnt want to dismiss out of hand.

 

[Scanton]

Although there are exceptions, most nations only have one recognized accreditation service. In the UK that is obviously UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service), and you can search their accredited certification bodies here: UKAS - Search Accredited Organisations.

Over the years I have received a few ISO 9001 certificates from prospective suppliers certified by the likes of CQS & QMS International (many of these have 10 year expiry dates), and I always question these to find out if the supplier is aware of what they are paying for.

If its a conscious decision, then that's fine, it's their money and their choice (although I generally can't use them as my company holds an IATF certification), however quite a few have been unaware and change to an accredited certification body fairly quickly.

My personal view is that the certification body you use, speaks volumes about how much you value your quality management system.