Question 1

What is management system certification?

Accepted Answer

It audits the system, not the product. An independent team judges how you manage a defined activity against a published standard — ISO 9001, ISO 45001 — and the certificate states that the system, inside a stated scope, met it at the time of audit.

Question 2

How long is a certificate valid?

Accepted Answer

Three years from the certification decision, and conditional rather than automatic. A surveillance audit in each of the two intervening years confirms the system is still in place and still working. Recertification before the third year ends opens the next cycle.

Question 3

What does a surveillance audit check?

Accepted Answer

That the system is still used, not just still documented. The auditor reviews internal audits, management review, corrective actions, complaints and any change to scope, sites or processes, then confirms the previous findings were closed. It samples, so it is shorter.

Question 4

Can we transfer a certificate from another certification body?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if the certificate is current and neither suspended nor withdrawn. We first review its scope, the latest audit reports and any open nonconformities. A complete file keeps your existing cycle and your original dates; an incomplete one means extra audit work.

Question 5

How long does certification take?

Accepted Answer

Three things drive it: how ready the system already is, how wide the scope is, and how many sites and people it covers. One site with a system in daily use and complete records usually runs from application to decision in a few weeks. A wide scope, several sites, or a system still being built runs to months. An indicative schedule comes with the quotation.

Question 6

What determines the cost of certification?

Accepted Answer

Cost follows audit days, and audit days follow scope. The number of standards, the number of sites, headcount including shift and seasonal workers, and the complexity of the processes all move that number. Travel is added only where a site visit requires it, and shown as its own line. We calculate the days using recognised time-determination practice and set out the basis in writing before you commit.

Question 7

How should we prepare for a first audit?

Accepted Answer

Run the system long enough that it has produced records, not only procedures. Fix the scope, complete at least one full internal audit and one management review, and close what they found. Nominate a single point of contact and arrange access to the sites, records and people the team will need. Preparation is the largest single factor in how a first audit goes.

Question 8

How does greenhouse-gas verification differ from certification?

Accepted Answer

Verification assesses a statement; certification assesses a system. We examine a specific inventory, reduction claim or sustainability disclosure for a defined reporting period, test the data behind it against an agreed materiality threshold, and issue a verification statement at a stated level of assurance. Different rulebooks — ISO 14064-3 and ISO/IEC 17029 — and a different question.

Question 9

Where does GCCQS work?

Accepted Answer

Damascus is the base, and the work runs throughout Syria and the wider MENA region. Application review, planning, document assessment and some interviews can be done remotely. Anything that needs a process, a site or a physical control to be seen is done in person, agreed with you in advance and priced separately.

Question 10

Is GCCQS accredited?

Accepted Answer

Accreditation details will be published here once they are confirmed, and not before. What that means today: audits planned and run on the principles of ISO/IEC 17021-1 — competence-matched auditors, evidence-based findings, a decision taken independently of the audit team. What it does not mean: we claim no specific accreditation, so the certificate must not be presented as an accredited one. If a customer or regulator requires that, tell us before you engage us.

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What the certificate says

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What we do, where, and what we claim

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