Certification

A certificate or quality mark shows that something meets certain requirements. These can be safety or sustainability requirements, for example. A certificate is a written statement that a product, process, service, person or quality management system meets certain requirements. Certification bodies issue these certificates after a positive examination (audit).

A certificate inspires confidence. Confidence in your products, services, (management) processes and employees. With your certificate you demonstrate that your organisation works efficiently and safely, that you have control over the activities and work processes and that you strive for sustainability. This allows you to reduce risks, improve the quality of your organisation and achieve more satisfied customers. An independent third party such as Kiwa ensures that you maintain this. But there are more reasons for certification.

Certification means certainty

A certificate means certainty for customers: they can be sure that your management system, process or product meets widely supported (international) and objective requirements and the conditions that follow from them. When it comes to the certification of persons, a certificate provides certainty about the knowledge, competences and skills of a person who must perform certain activities.

Certification improves efficiency

Certification can improve efficiency and make your activities more manageable. Certification identifies all processes in your company and shows where improvement is possible – not just now, but in a continuous and systematic process. This also ensures that you can identify risks (errors, delays, unnecessary costs) and take measures. Your processes will become increasingly efficient, safer and more transparent, which will improve the quality of your activities. This means you will quickly earn back the investment of certification.

Certification stimulates involvement

Certification helps to stimulate involvement. When work processes are transparent, your employees work more efficiently and make fewer mistakes. They become more involved and work in a more goal-oriented way. At the same time, they will enjoy their work more. Sustainable management will become second nature to your company.

Certification creates trust

A certificate helps you build trust with the authorities. You avoid discussions about whether or not you are complying with laws and regulations. The number of external assessments is minimised. A certificate also makes it easier to obtain certain permits.

Certification improves customer satisfaction

By improving the quality and efficiency of your activities, your customers receive better service and better products – thanks to the certification requirements and continuous monitoring. This way, you improve customer satisfaction in both the short and long term.

Certification is a good marketing tool

A certificate ensures that your product gains a good name on the (international) market. It is also an excellent marketing tool. You have an extra selling point: not only you, but also a renowned, independent inspection institute such as Kiwa confirms that you deliver quality. Make use of this and benefit from your certificate!

Kiwa is an authority in many different markets, from the construction and energy sectors to the water sector and healthcare – and that worldwide. Our experts know everything about European and global regulations, quality standards and safety criteria. With this knowledge, doors will open for you that would otherwise remain closed. We can help you gain access to certain markets. And we can certify many things for you.

Certification of a product or a part of it

Product certification allows you to demonstrate that you have internal quality control and management in every part of the production process, from checking the raw materials supplied to storing the end product. For the certification of your product, we actually check your internal quality control system. This way, your product will always meet the requirements. Product certification increases your chances in the market because you can provide (potential) customers with objective proof that your products and production process meet the applicable quality and safety requirements.

Perhaps you do not want to certify an entire product, but only a certain aspect or characteristic of it. In that case, we can provide an aspect certificate. For example, to certify that your product can be safely connected to a drinking water installation.

Certification of a building design

A building certificate is a one-off assessment of a building design. A certificate does not make any statements about product characteristics, although it can be linked to the certification of a system or product. A certificate only proves that a building element meets the performance requirements as set out in a country's building code or an equivalent document.

Certification of personal skills

People are the most important factor in achieving your business goals. Certification of individuals, or rather of personal skills, complements the quality assurance of organisations and products. In contrast to educational programmes, which are mainly aimed at acquiring certain knowledge, we focus on determining a person's skills and then verifying them. After the period of validity of a personal certificate has expired, the person in question must demonstrate that he or she still has the required skills in his or her area of expertise.

Certification of a process

If you provide a service or produce, manage or process something that cannot be tested against objectively measurable criteria, Kiwa can certify the work process. This also applies to processes at different locations and processes in which craftsmanship plays a role. The continuous monitoring of the quality of all possible activities in your organisation improves the efficiency and accuracy of employees and makes it easier to control business risks. Examples of such processes are the installation of pipe systems, the manufacturing of foundation piles and the application of liquid-tight pavement at petrol stations. A process certificate strengthens your position in the market and offers you an advantage when projects are assigned.

Certification of (management) systems

System certification focuses on the management system that you use in your company or organisation. This maps out the responsibilities, authorisations and procedures in your organisation. Most shortcomings in an organisation can be traced back to unclear communication and lack of clarity about responsibilities, tasks, competencies and procedures. A quality management system in accordance with an international ISO standard makes people more aware of what they do and how, when and why they do it. Customer opinions are revealed through customer satisfaction surveys. With a well-functioning management system, other aspects of business activities are also more manageable. The advantages are clear: more efficient work processes, happier employees, better risk management, greater customer satisfaction and higher profits.

CE marking

CE marking is not a certificate. However, it is very important if you want to bring products onto the European market. CE stands for Conformité Européenne (European Conformity). As a manufacturer, it is your responsibility to carry out a conformity assessment, prepare a technical file, draw up the declaration of conformity and apply the CE marking to your product. By applying the CE marking, you declare that your product has been tested and complies with European directives in the areas of safety, health and the environment. These directives may require you to have your product tested by a competent inspection authority, also known as a notified body. The EU has designated Kiwa as a notified body; this means that Kiwa is authorised to issue CE markings. Product groups that require CE marking include machinery, gas appliances, pressure equipment, personal protective equipment, medical devices, construction products, electrical and electronic equipment, recreational craft and toys.

View Kiwa's notifications on the website of NANDO (New Approach Notified and Designated Organisations)

Certification by a first party means that the individual or organisation offering a product or service guarantees that the product or service meets certain requirements. CE marking is an example of certification by the first party. CE marking is often required to bring a product onto the European market. By labelling a product, a manufacturer shows that the product has been tested and meets basic criteria in the areas of safety, health and the environment.
Certification by a second party means that a (professional) association or sector to which an individual or organisation belongs provides the guarantee. An interest group can, for example, establish a quality mark for a specific market segment. Individuals or organisations can then obtain this quality mark by meeting the requirements. Such a quality mark can improve the level of quality.
Kiwa provides certification as a third party. This type of certification consists of a completely independent assessment in which it is declared that a product, person, process or management system meets specific requirements. These requirements are independently drawn up by boards of experts representing a particular market segment or professional group. The advantage of third-party certification is that it is not you or your sector, but an independent third party that guarantees you and your customers that objective requirements have been met.

Accreditation literally means: giving trust. Accreditation institutions can grant this trust to certification and inspection bodies and laboratories after a thorough investigation by issuing an accreditation statement. There is usually one national accreditation institution per country. Within the Kiwa group, various entities are accredited by these national accreditation institutions. For more information, see the overview of accreditations and notifications on our website.

Kiwa is a notified body (NoBo). In the European Union, a notified body or NoBo is a third party that has been approved by a member state to assess whether a product that is being introduced to the market meets certain standards. The conformity assessment consists of inspection and examination of a product, the design, the production environment and the associated processes.

View our accreditations and notifications.

ISO certification is official recognition that an organisation complies with specific international standards set by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). These standards set requirements in various areas, such as quality, the environment, occupational safety and information security. Some common ISO standards are ISO 9001 for quality management systems, ISO 14001 for environmental management systems, ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety management systems and ISO 27001 for information security.

To obtain an ISO certificate, an organisation must be audited by an independent, external certification body such as Kiwa. During audits, these organisations assess whether the organisation actually meets all the requirements laid down in the relevant ISO standard. When an organisation successfully passes the audit, it is awarded an official ISO certificate as proof of conformity with the specified standards.

Create trust with ISO certification