Complaint #007 Complaint Against an Accredited
Certification Body
Details:
Improper Auditing and Training Practices
Accredited: March 1999
Certification Body: BVQI
| Details of Complaint: |
Element: |
| Auditor Training practices do not follow accreditation
requirements |
SAAS Procedure 150 |
Certification procedures not being followed |
|
Actions Taken:
September 2002: SAI received a complaint that a certification
body had both improperly certified a factory and that its
auditor training program did not follow SAI accreditation
requirements.
September 2002: SAI conducted a surveillance audit of the
certification body and investigated the training program.
The auditors found evidence that the accreditation requirements
were being met, and concluded that the complainant was not
in possession of all needed relevant information on the firm’s
training procedures nor on the SAI training requirements.
In particular, the accreditation requirements specify that
training must be at either an approved or an accredited course,
and the complainant specifically was concerned that auditors
had not attended an accredited course. However, they had indeed
undergone approved training. SAI auditors review and need
to approve the curricula and teacher qualifications of approved
courses.
The issue of improper certification was investigated, including
a review of the audit reports and interviews with the auditors
during the surveillance audit. The complaint was found to
be unsubstantiated and the SA8000 certificate valid, and the
complaint was formally closed.
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