HEIACert is fully committed to maintaining impartiality in the performance of our Certification Services. Our commitment to impartiality is manifested by our adherence to the following organizational policies and procedures:
– We don’t permit commercial, financial or other incentives to certify clients, which would compromise impartiality .
– We do not provide services such as design, manufacturing, installation, implementation, operation, maintenance, or distribution of a certified product/system or of a product/system to be certified.
– We do not provide management system consultancy services or internal auditing to any client where the certification requires HEIACert to evaluate the management system of the client .
– We do not provide consultancy services at all.
– We do not assign any individual who has performed consulting services or who has worked for the client within the preceding two years to participate in the certification process of said client.
– We do not assign any individual who has family relations with the client to assess .
– We do not certify another certification body for its quality management system.
– We do not subcontract audits to a management system consultancy organization.
– We do not state or imply that certification would be simpler, easier, faster, or less expensive if the client has a HEIA membership or has received any other service from HEIA, or if a specified consultancy organization were used.
– We do not market or offer our activities as linked with the activities that are provided by a management system consultancy organization.
– We don’t provide any service that creates a threat to impartiality; we will take the necessary actions to eliminate/control such threats .
All HEIACert personnel (internal and external) are aware of the importance of fulfilling this impartiality statement in our Certification Services and related activities to eliminate/control any conflict of interest and are required to sign the HEIACert Code of Conduct Agreement to assure that they understand and will comply with our Impartiality Statement.
All HEIACert personnel (internal and external) that detect possible conflicts of interest, or any situation that could be considered as a threat to our impartiality, shall report these immediately.
To monitor adherence to this Impartiality Statement, HEIACert performs continuous risk assessment by recording identified hazards, our countermeasures, and any additional actions (maintenance) in the HEIACert Hazard Log, which is reviewed for accuracy on an annual basis and updated if any changes to our system occurred which influence the previously identified hazard to impartiality and the corresponding mitigation methods.
– For further details see the HEIACert Impartiality Management and Risk Assessment Procedure.
For all these purposes, we have created a Committee for Safeguarding Impartiality (CSI), which meets annually to monitor and assure that HEIACert has consistently fulfilled the Impartiality Statement. The CSI performs random sampling of certification cases with a higher potential for conflict of interest and evaluates if certification decisions have been taken impartially.
– For further details see the HEIACert Terms of Reference for the Committee for Safeguarding Impartiality.
The Committee for Safeguarding Impartiality has been established to safeguard HEIACert’s impartiality regarding the content and functioning of the Certification Services. The Committee for Safeguarding Impartiality (CSI) conducts meetings on an annual basis to monitor and obtain an independent, third-party view of:
– HEIACert’s handling of any hazards or conflict of interest cases.
– The policies and principles relating to the impartiality of the certification activities.
– Any tendency on the part of HEIACert to allow commercial or other considerations to prevent the consistent, impartial provision of certification activities.
– Matters affecting impartiality and confidence in certification, including transparency.
Committee of Safeguarding Impartiality responsibilities:
-
- Guarantee of impartiality of the HEIACert certification activities, as well as that all persons who perform the assessment activities, from any other organization (or person) who has an interest in the assessment result activities.
- Advise and recommend on matters relating to the impartiality of certification activities, such as technical rules, certification criteria, procedures, and guidance documents, including policy matters relating to the operation of HEIACert and supervision of the implementation of those policies.
- Advice on matters that might be affecting the impartiality and confidence of certification, including openness, besides guiding the development of new certification schemes.
- Assist in the identification of conflicts of interest that might exist or arise and counter any risks that may prevent HEIACert, from operating with objectivity and impartiality in issuing certificates.
- To ensure that potentially critical activities at HEIACert/HEIA are identified, therefore on this risk assessment is performed, to prevent interference with the certification services and approve the HEIACert Hazard Log.
- Provide advice or give decisions on any complaint or appeal forwarded by the HEIACert.
- Monitor the income sources and finances of HEIACert to ensure that initially and on an ongoing basis financial, commercial, or other pressures do not compromise its impartiality.
- Verify, through systematic sampling, from certified clients’, performed in the time interval from the previous meeting, to ensure the fairness and impartiality of the certification process relative to the assessment team and the independence of each member in charge.
- Treat information obtained during the Committee of Safeguarding Impartiality meetings as confidential and privileged information.
Committee of Safeguarding Impartiality membership:
The Committee of Safeguarding Impartiality (CSI) consists of representatives of the various parties to safeguard the impartiality and independence of the certification activities implemented by HEIACert.
HEIACert selected the Committee of Safeguarding Impartiality )CSI( Members from senior management positions within the relevant considering representatives sectors as:
– HEIACert certified client or potential client.
– Representatives of industry, trade organizations, and government/non-government organizations such as:
√ Regulatory bodies or equivalent.
√ Consumers’ associations or equivalent.
√ Project/Business Management body or equivalent.
– Universities, research institutions or professors, and academic expertise.
– Individual persons with experience in certification processes/schemes.
HEIACert may accept requests to get impaneled on the committee. Individuals interested in serving on the committee must submit, to HEIACert, a copy of their Biograph/CV, and documents pertinent to their qualifications and experience, as well as for review by the HEIACert.
The Committee of Safeguarding Impartiality Members will be registered in the HEIACert CSI Members List; the committee composition shall be a balanced mix of different categories of parties with a stake in the certification activities.
The committee members’ experience requirements:
– Member should possess a min. of 10 years in their specialty.
– Demonstrated knowledge of the fields of HEIACert certification.
– Knowledge of the governmental regulations in the technical areas, or related academia.
– Committee members shall complete an introduction training (refreshment) about HEIACert QMS requirements and this through the committee meetings.
The registered committee members are:
– Membership on the committee is personal.
– There is no maximum number of years.
– Members have no financial compensation awarded, nor to its organization.
– Committee members shall sign the HEIACert Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest Declaration.
Please don’t hesitate and contact us: Mr. Mostafa Adel (HEIACert Quality Assurance Manager) e-mail mostafa.adel@heiacert.org
If you interested or have concern to be one of the HEIACert Safeguarding Impartiality Committee member, or
If you found any breach to HEIACert Impartiality, or conflict of interest exist through our certification activities (with solid evidence).