Auditing and certification

No matter whether in the area of quality, environment, energy or occupational health and safety, as soon as management systems are to be implemented, further developed or certified, one is confronted with the term audit. But what actually is an audit? The term comes from the Latin word “audire” and means “to hear/listen”. An audit examines whether processes, procedures or even entire management systems meet specified criteria from standards, guidelines, norms, customer-specific or legal requirements.

Here, our mantra goes far beyond simply assessing compliance with standards. Our practical, as well as process-oriented and risk-based approach helps identify gaps in terms of process effectiveness and efficiency. As a by-product, so to speak, conformity with the applied norms, standards and other requirements is evaluated.

With (production) process audits, we dive deeper into the value-adding processes of our customers, as well as their suppliers. We have appropriately certified VDA 6.3 process and service auditors who cover both specific product groups and special processes. Customer-specific required audits such as the Volkswagen self-assessment and CQI audits of American OEMs complete the picture. We are also able to help our customers define their own approach to process audits and implement it in the organization, e.g. through customized Layered Process Audits

If you want to extend your management system by integrating other international standards such as ISO 14001 Environmental Management, ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety, ISO 50001 Energy Management or ISO 22000 Food Safety Management, we perform GAP analyses. M.S.S. Group auditors are qualified by recognized training organizations and certified by accredited institutions where required.

Does the topic of supplier management and development play a significant role for you? Part of this is also regular and systematic auditing in the supply chain. However, there is rarely sufficient capacity available for this. Here M.S.S. Group supports you with its worldwide present auditor team. We help you define your supplier development process and develop schedules for supply chain audits. We conduct these audits, including the effective follow-up of resulting measures.

In the area of certification (3rd-party audits), we work with accredited cooperation partners whose certificates are not only recognized worldwide, but also enjoy the highest reputation.

More and more companies have standardized supplier selection processes. In all selection processes in virtually all industries, a key criterion is whether a company is “certified”. In other words, whether an independent, recognized and accredited certification company confirms that the company’s processes meet nationally and internationally applicable basic requirements. These requirements are in turn laid down in internationally recognized standards, such as ISO 9001. These can be supplemented by additional industry-specific requirements. For example, special hygiene rules in the food industry, safety standards in mechanical and plant engineering, additional requirements of the automotive or aerospace industry. In addition, there are special standards dealing with environmental protection, occupational health and safety, energy efficiency, IT safety, food safety, medical product safety, but also ecology and sustainability. ISO 9001 can be called the “mother” of all standards; together with ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 50001, it can be applied and certified in all industries.

The verification takes place through “audits”, on site at the company. At the end of this process, there is usually a certificate valid for 3 years. During the certificate period, regular audits are carried out to check whether the processes are being actively improved and whether the requirements of the standards are still being met.

We provide this service as a subcontractor of our internationally recognized and accredited certification cooperation partners.