Amtivo (formerly Certification Europe) & INAB Case Study

Introduction

This case study highlights the background of our business, the history of our relationship with INAB and the benefits of accreditation.

To find out more about INAB, accreditation and ISO certification, you can visit the INAB website.

INAB: Our Accredited Clients – The Benefits of Accreditation

The Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) have over 235 accredited clients covering a wide spectrum of industry. INAB is the sole body recognised by government with responsibility for accreditation in accordance with the relevant International Organisation for
Standardisation ISO 17000 series of standards.

INAB was established in 1985, it has a reputation for strong and independent service delivery. It is a division of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA). The HSA is the statutory body with the responsibility for ensuring that workers and non-workers are protected from work related injury and ill health.

Our accredited laboratories are testing in the medical, chemical, biological, veterinary, forensic, mechanical and construction fields; metrological traceability underpinning all this testing is secured through the calibration laboratories for mass, volume, electrical, dimension, temperature and flow.

Certification bodies certify products, food and security installations against quality and safety standards. INAB accredit certification bodies areas issuing accredited certificate for management systems such as quality (ISO 9001), environmental (ISO 14001), energy management (ISO 50001), health and safety management (ISO 45001), food safety (ISO 22001) and medical device (ISO 13485). Our accredited inspection bodies are active in the areas of farming and food production and car testing.

The Benefits of Accreditation

The single European market is of fundamental importance to Ireland, as more than 60% of our total exports are sold to Europe. INAB is part of the European network of accreditation bodies and plays a pivotal role in securing the access of Irish products and services to the EU market. INAB accreditation ensures that certificates and test results are acceptable worldwide. Accreditation eliminates the need for multiple assessments when goods cross frontiers, giving Irish industry the best competitive advantage possible in what is an ever-expanding and aggressive marketplace.

Government

Accreditation is the preferred mechanism for ensuring public confidence in the reliability of activities that impact on health, welfare, security and the environment. Accreditation is used, therefore, to identify bodies competent for the implementation of government policies and regulations. Consumer Accreditation gives consumers confidence through ensuring consistently high standards in the quality and safety of products or services
purchased.

Industry

Accreditation is an essential tool for decision making and risk management. Organisations can save time and money by selecting an accredited (and therefore competent) supplier.

Accreditation can provide a competitive advantage and facilitates access to export markets within Europe and beyond – with the aim of “tested or certified once, accepted everywhere”.

Accurate measurements and tests carried out in compliance with best practices limit product failure, control manufacturing costs and foster innovation.

Accreditation Symbol

The accreditation symbol is a combination of INAB’s logo in association with the accreditation standard and the registration number referring to the organisation’s scope of accreditation. The use of the symbol is awarded to INAB accredited organisations once they successfully complete the accreditation process.

For further information on INAB clients visit the Directory of Accredited Clients. INAB recommend using an accredited service to assure that you are receiving a competent and reliable service.

The Benefits of Accreditation for Amtivo, formerly Certification Europe

Amtivo (formerly Certification Europe), founded in 1999, is an Irish based, internationally focused Certification Body. Headquartered in Dublin, with offices also located in Japan and Italy, Amtivo provides auditing services through a professional, client focused and dynamic approach.

Amtivo’s primary industry is to provide management system certification services for ISO standards to a variety of organisations around the world in both the public and private sectors. As an accredited certification body, we carry out thousands of INAB accredited assessments globally to assess organisations on their management systems’ compliance with international standards for the following:

• Energy Management Systems (ISO 50001)
• Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001)
• Health & Safety Management Systems (ISO 45001)
• Information Security Management Systems (ISO 27001)
• Quality Management Systems (ISO 9001)

Our client community includes micro-enterprises as well as multi-nationals, Government Departments and State Bodies in forty-two different countries. Amtivo is accredited to 31 different EA codes across the suite of accredited standards with key sectors including Information Technology, Construction, Food, Pharmaceuticals and Engineering Services.

History of Certification Europe Ltd. and INAB

Certification Europe’s relationship with INAB commenced in 1999, when we first applied for accreditation for ISO 14001. Upon successfully achieving accreditation, we issued our first accredited 14001 certificate in 2000 and this was quickly followed by INAB accreditation for ISO 9001.

In 2001 Certification Europe Japan was founded which coincided with the achievement of our third INAB accreditation to BS 7799, the predecessor to ISO 27001. Certification Europe Italy was founded in 2006 and was added to our INAB schedule of accreditation that same year.

In 2007 Certification Europe continued to build on our relationship with INAB when we became accredited in the field of energy management system certification, first under IS 393, then EN 16001 and, most recently, ISO 50001. Soon after, Certification Europe further applied for OHSAS 18001 and later migrated to the ISO 45001 through INAB, totalling five accreditations. Now Amtivo, the organisation continues to evaluate and build upon its accreditation status with the assistance of INAB.

Benefits

Achieving accreditation through INAB has given formal recognition that our team is competent to perform ISO Management System Audits in a reliable and accurate manner for our clients. INAB accreditation is internationally recognised, enabling Amtivo to move into global markets and give our clients confidence, assurance, and certainty that our processes are credible and conducted to the highest-standard
to meet and exceed client expectations.

With the aid of INAB, the business has strategically grown over the last twenty years. As a result of our brand being associated with INAB accreditation, Amtivo now certifies an array of companies globally and has grown its workforce from seven employees in 1999 to over eighty employees in 2022. Through the ongoing EA code extension process on our INAB scope of accreditation, this growth is expected to continue into the future.