Thousands of valuable ISO management system certifications earned by UK companies may now be at risk because auditors from Certification Bodies may not have been able to attend organisations’ premises to conduct essential re-certification audits during the current coronavirus pandemic. Worldwide, hundreds of thousands of certifications are at risk of lapsing as lockdown conditions look set to continue for the foreseeable future.
Current UKAS guidelines - unchanged since August 2016 - state that: If [a] recertification assessment cannot be undertaken within six months of the anniversary of the certificate being issued], the certificate should be suspended, and a new initial assessment will be required.
