MANAGING STANDARDS

Information on the BRC's Key Performance Indicator Ratings of Certification Bodies

BRC do not undertake audits themselves, but license this task to approved third party Certification Bodies who must be independently accredited by a National Accreditation Body to audit against the relevant BRC Global Standard.

The key aim of the BRC is to ensure integrity and consistency of the BRC Standards certification scheme for all users.  This means that an audit should be carried out in the same way, irrespective of product type, country of production, Certification Body or auditor.

Rules and guidance are laid down detailing the responsibilities of the Certification Body and auditors, and adherence and understanding to those rules are monitored by the BRC Compliance team.

The performance of Certification Bodies is formally reviewed every six months (due January and July).

The five key areas assessed are:

• Quality of written audit reports - where a sample of audit reports is reviewed

• Compliance to protocols (how audits are undertaken and reported)

• Auditor registration and compliance training, experience and competence requirements

• Speed of upload of audit data to the BRC Directory www.brcdirectory.com

• Communication with the BRC

All Certification Bodies which are approved and appear listed at www.brcdirectory.com operate satisfactorily -  those where performance is in doubt would have sanctions instigated aginst them including suspension and withdrawal of BRC approval.

However, to provide transparency in performance ratings each Certification Body is awarded a star rating according to their overall service performance.  This reflects the overall management of the BRC certification scheme by the Certification Body head office and does not reflect performance by individual auditors or audits.  This rating is published against the Certification Body listing on the Directory.

The aim of the performance rating is to ensure continuous improvement and the BRC will require an action plan and demonstrated by the Certification Body.  Certification Bodies can be searched by star rating on the Directory.

Feedback and referrals, for which BRC have a defined procedure, provide invaluable information for ensuring the certification schemes are working in practice.

Further details of compliance activities can be obtained from Karen Betts at karen.betts@brcglobalstandards.com.

Please click here for FAQ's relating to the KPI results.