Poland is a very promising market, testified by the fact that the world's most important certifying firms have branches here. However, the rapid development of certification in Poland is also a threat to quality systems.

Some entrepreneurs tend to treat ISO standards as a product that can be readily and cheaply purchased. The short time it takes to prepare and implement a quality system negatively affects the change that should take place in the mind-set of the firm's employees, a change that is indispensable if the quality system is to produce economic benefits.

Due to the large number of enterprises, especially of the small and medium-sized type-over 3 million companies-Poland is a significant market for certifying bodies. At present, over 30, including 12 Polish, certifying bodies operate in Poland, offering quality system certification. Fifteen have accreditation with the Polish
Accreditation Center (www.pca.gov.pl). It should be noted, however, that only about 20 firms, both Polish and foreign, deal with system certification on a regular basis.

No problem?

The quality system certification procedure should be based on the requirements of the EN 45012 European standard, the requirements of the accreditation firm and the company's own quality policy. The choice of a certifying body should be made with the interest of the entrepreneur in mind, and not only for the sake of a "non-problematic" certification. After the selection of, and decision to implement, a given management system, the customer faces the problem of which certifying body to choose. At the moment of choosing a consulting-and-training firm, before the signing of an agreement, the question will be asked concerning the choice of certifying body.
The answer should be preceded by a long discussion with the customer about their requirements, the specific character of their operation, production, main business partners and area of activity. Sometimes the representative of the consulting firm indicates a certain certifying body as the best one, and adds that, since they have links with them, there will be no problems with certification.
Fortunately, such an attitude is not the rule, but some entrepreneurs find it convenient. The point, after all, is not just to have a certificate on the wall, but a quality system that efficiently operates and supports the management, one that will influence the firm's economic results.

Check the body

Every entrepreneur, having made the decision to start implementing a quality system, has the right to report in person to a certifying body to learn about its advantages and disadvantages. It is important to become acquainted with several certifying firms. You can start with the Internet to obtain preliminary, sometimes complete, information, including the range of certification, accreditation, branches in Poland, organization membership, for example of the International Independent Organization for Certification (IIOC) and the International Network of Quality System Certification Firms (IQNet), as well as to review the list of certified firms and become acquainted with their record. The register of certifying bodies and the lists of certified firms with pertinent certifying bodies are also available at the website of the Orgmasz Institute (www.orgmasz.waw.pl), running since 1992 the National Register of Certificates, Ceritifying Bodies and Certified Firms.

Every certifying body has a functioning quality system. Judging from the service, you will be able to predict what you can expect in the future, should you obtain the certificate. These are usually granted for three years. Over this period, you are obliged to perfect the system, including adjustments and improvements. For this reason, the system is supervised and examined by the certifying body. It should also be remembered that there are certain charges to be covered by the company, so it is worth asking about them at the start.

The period for which the certificate was issued is followed by re-certification, or renewal of the certificate's validity. At this point, the decision can be made to change the certifying body if it does not meet your requirements, or when you are forced to do so by the requirements of the market or strategic customers.

Companies working according to a certified quality system should also remember that, in the case of customer complaints, the certifying body can conduct an intervention audit in order to establish the reliability of accusations, which can include taking away the earlier granted certificate. At the moment this rarely occurs in Poland.

Prof. Engineer Stanisław Tkaczyk
Eng. Bogdan Malinowski
Orgmasz- The Institute of Organization and Management in Industry