EPI Certification Pte Ltd (EPI) strictly follows the ISO audit process flow as shown in the illustration below:

Certification fee

Please contact our sales department ( sales@epi-certification.com)  for information about the fees for application, initial certification, continuing certification and renewal.

Communication

EPI will notify all its clients through official emails/letters on any update or changes of the requirements for certification.  EPI shall verify its clients conformity with the new requirements.

The certified clients are expected to inform EPI, without delay, of matters that may affect the capability of the management system to continue to fulfil the requirements of the standard used for certification. These include, for example, changes related to;

• Legal, commercial, organisational status or ownership
• Organisation and management
• Contact address and sites
• Scope of operations under the certified management systems
• Major changes to the management systems and processes

EPI shall act as appropriate.

Special Audit

EPI may conduct audits of certified clients at short notice or unannounced to investigate complaints, or in response to changes, or as follow up on suspended clients.  In such cases;

1. EPI shall describe and make known in advance to you, the conditions under which such audits will be conducted
2. EPI shall exercise additional care in the assignment of the audit team because of the lack of opportunity for you to object to the audit team members

Process for expansion or reducing scope of certification

All requests for changes, either expanding or reducing, to certified scopes must be made in writing.  No application form is required to be completed.

For extension of scopes to include new processes, additional cost will be charged for the assessment conducted.  Certification Assessment Report shall be used for the assessment conducted. Review and approval process of the recommendation remains the same as for certification assessment.

If the organization requests for a reduction of a certified scope, this shall be confirmed during the continuing assessment or during a special visit that might be required to better understand the reduction in scope. A revised certificate or Appendix to Certificate to the organization will be issued after all the necessary verification has been completed complete.

Process for suspending or restoring the scope of certification

The certified organisation is required to inform EPI in writing if there is any reorganisation or revamping of the certified management system.   If the reorganisation takes more than six months from the due date, the organisation’s certificate may be suspended.

For cases where no suspension is made, a verification assessment shall be conducted upon completion of the reorganisation or revamp of management system. The verification assessment will normally be carried out during the continuing assessment.

Request for postponement of continuing assessment is required if the postponement would result in an overdue of more than 2 months for the certified organisation. At the sole discretion of EPI, the certified company may be submitted to Stage 2 audit at the next visit.  Its certification would be suspended if the coming audit is overdue more than 6 months from the due date.

If the certificate has been suspended, a full assessment will be required to be conducted prior to the reinstatement of the certification.  The assessor is required to complete the Certification Assessment Report. The recommendation will be subject to the same review and approval process as for certification.

Process for Withdrawal of Certification

The certificate may be withdrawn if:

1. the certified company requested for it
2. the certified company consistently violated the terms and conditions governing the scheme
3. the certified company fails to pay the certification related fees
4. the certified company fails to take corrective measures during the suspension period
5. consistent misuse of certification status or certification mark

EPI shall inform the certified company in writing of the withdrawal. The certified company shall not be included in the subsequent Directory of Certified Companies.

A company, which had its certificate withdrawn, may re-apply for certification and shall be treated as a fresh application.

Upon suspension or withdrawal of a certified company from certification, EPI will notify, where applicable, the relevant accreditation body or its associated bodies within the required timeframe. At the same time, it will post the suspension information in the website.

The list of organisations that had been withdrawn from certification will be maintained in the website for a period of 6 months from the date of withdrawal