Coronavirus: consequences for Kiwa services

1. Type of audit
   In the list below, the same guidelines are used for product and management system certification.

• Initial or certificate extension
  If the certification scheme requires site and/or project visits, you will be contacted to see if this on-site audit can be conducted as planned. If this is not possible, an agreement will be made with you to start the audit by means of remote auditing (see under 2 and 3), which already gives an impression of how you are currently doing. However, the actual finishing and granting of certificates can only take place after all requirements of the certification scheme have been met. Finally, in certain cases it is also possible to postpone the audit in whole or in part.
• Follow-up audits
  Normally these should be performed within a set time. For management system certification, the 1st follow-up audit must be carried out within 12 months after the last audit day of the entrance examination. However, if there is sufficient evidence to assume that the quality and other management systems function effectively, consideration may be given to conducting the (1st) follow-up audit by remote auditing. In those cases where this is not permitted or possible, there is the option to postpone this for a maximum of 6 months. The auditor requests data for this, see under 2). Within these 6 months, the Kiwa auditor must issue an advice on continuation of the certification.
• Recertification (only applies to certificates with an expiry date)
  Normally, the recertification, including decision, must be completed before the expiry date of the certificate. In these special circumstances, however, the certificate can be extended by a maximum period of 6 months if there is sufficient evidence to assume that quality and other management systems are still functioning effectively (see under 2). This implies that:
  • The recertification audit has already started before the expiry date of the certificate;
  • There is sufficient documented evidence that quality and other management systems function effectively;
  • A certification decision is taken for this limited extension.

The full audit must be completed with a positive decision within six months of the original expiry date, after which the certificate can be issued. The new expiry date is based on the original expiry date.

2. Execution of the product or management system audit
   In the above-mentioned situations, where the audit is (partially) postponed, it is stated ‘sufficient evidence to assume that quality and other management systems function effectively’. This means that it is possible to look at previous audit results (Past Performance Review) and current relevant documentation such as:

• Management review;
• Records of quality controls, corrective measures, complaints, internal audits, test and inspection reports, etc.

This document assessment and the explanatory interviews with those involved can largely be carried out remotely. Your Kiwa contact person will discuss with you what information is needed, as this can differ per certification scheme. For remote, see under 3).

3. Conditions for remote auditing

Before it can be decided to conduct the audit remotely, a number of questions are asked to determine whether a remote audit may take place.

Many people in the Netherlands have a personal professional certificate from Kiwa. Such a certificate can be obtained in two ways: by passing an exam or by creating a portfolio containing documents to demonstrate experience, education, etc. People who obtained their certificate by passing an exam should be aware of the fact that all exam organizations working for Kiwa are closed, at least until further notice. If your certificate has already reached the expiry date during this period and the only possibility for extension is a new exam: this will be taken into account. It depends on the scheme owner how this is accomplished. You can obtain more information from the examination organization where you took your exam.

If you have a personal professional certificate because you have demonstrated that you have met the conditions by means of portfolio creation, then this will simply continue. If portfolio creation is combined with an exam, the above applies to the part of the exam. You can of course continue to supplement the documents that must be included in your portfolio.

Inspections are carried out as much as possible if an inspector can inspect autonomously and (if inspection permits) inspect according to the guidelines, with appropriate distance from those involved. Inspections in the open air or in closed offices or shops can continue if the certificate holder or building owner permits this. If the inspection scheme and the subject to be inspected allows it, an inspection can take place by means of a remote live video connection. The inspector concerned will contact the customer about this.

Kiwa makes every effort to continue testing and lab activities as much as possible. Measures have been taken within the Kiwa laboratories to provide employees with the best possible protection against the coronavirus. As part of this, we customers to visit our laboratories only in the most extreme cases, strictly adhering to the instructions. Products to be examined can continue to be sent to the relevant laboratories. Kiwa follows the instructions of the government. If this leads to other measures, we will inform you.

Kiwa Training also follows the Dutch government measures concerning the coronavirus. This means that we moves all classroom training courses that were planned between now and April 28. The courses will be postponed or, if possible, continued online. Participants who have already registered for these courses will be informed by Kiwa Training. Do you have questions about rescheduling training and courses? Contact us at training@kiwa.nl or 088-9983539.

Because of the coronavirus and the measures against its further spread, our lives temporarily look quite different. We work at home as much as possible and limit physical social contacts as much as possible. Do you have spare time that you want to spend well? Or do your employees temporarily have less work and do you want to put that time to good use? Make a virtue of necessity and follow an online training!

E-learnings
E-learning and other online study options are an integral part of Kiwa Training’s portfolio. Not surprising, because this way students can learn at their own pace, when and where they want. E-learning is the perfect way to gain knowledge efficiently, without having to leave home. The training offer of Kiwa Training includes e-learnings about hydrogen, the safety ladder, information security and the ISO 9001 quality standard. View the overview of Kiwa online training courses (Dutch).

Professional webinar studio
We have a professional webinar studio at our location in Apeldoorn. From here we will offer various online training courses in the near future. In this way we help our customers to continue to learn in these exceptional times. Our studio is also available for customized online training. Would you like to teach employees or customers remotely by offering them an online training that is tailored to your organization? Kiwa Training can help and is happy to think along with you. Contact our training experts by emailing training@kiwa.nl.