Sedex has created a remote audit program called Sedex Virtual Assessment (SVA).
DQS CFS staff were involved in the working group.
Sedex Virtual Evaluation is a due diligence tool that the auditor uses to remotely evaluate performance through video conferencing. This provides a practical alternative when a SMETA audit cannot take place.
The Sedex virtual appraisal is coordinated with SMETA, with the aim of giving as much idea as possible about the working conditions at the appraisal site. After a stage of careful planning, the auditors conduct a virtual tour of the assessment site using video technology, as well as check management systems and documentation.

On the Sedex Virtual Assessment (SVA) website, you can learn how SVA works, how you can use SVA, and information about the fee for entering information.

Important information:

• SVA is not a SMETA audit. While SVA is consistent with SMETA, it is a tool of due diligence to ensure maximum remote information about the conditions of the assessment site.
• SVA may not be suitable for every site. DQS determines whether the place of assessment meets the established criteria, such as a good WiFi connection, type of work, available room for interviews, etc.
• Customers should ensure that their customers accept SVA instead of SMETA audit due to the COVID-19 situation.
• The remote audit report is uploaded to Sedex Advance and must follow SMETA processes. Database fees apply.
• Auditors for the use of SVA undergo distance training in auditing – this is part of the DQS SVA program for Sedex.

Do you have questions about remote audit?

What should be clarified in preparation for a remote audit? What security aspects need to be considered? Is it possible to conduct a remote audit only during a Covid-19 pandemic or not? Finally, how does DQS prepare its auditors for remote audits?

Get answers at the DQS webinar: “Remote audit – areas of application, opportunities and challenges”

The remote audit, ie the audit without the personal presence of auditors at the audit site, activated by the current pandemic, is becoming increasingly important, it has been allowed before, but not enough attention has been paid.

Based on the many remote audits conducted during this time, we will be happy to share our knowledge and experience with you and help you find this audit method realistic and effective for your company.

This webinar is moderated by Frank Greichen, DQS Auditor and current Director of Audit Management and Competence at DQS GmbH. He will explain how remote audits work and how they differ from “classic audits” in his webinar.

Here’s the contents of our free webinar:

• Results of our customer and auditor survey on the readiness for use and quality of remote audits.
• What distinguishes a remote audit from “classic” audit methods.
• Which software tools are used and how these have proven themselves.
• Which preparations are necessary to implement this audit method effectively and efficiently.
• For which subject areas and process groups remote audits can be usefully applied, but also for which areas this is not the case.
• Which limitations, errors and obstacles are revealed in the practical application? What experiences have been made and what recommendations are available?

Як можна брати участь в цьому вебінарі?

Все, що потрібно для участі, це доступ до Інтернет і телефон. Презентація вебінару триває близько 45 хвилин. Після презентації буде достатньо часу для відповідей на питання. По закінченню вебінару учасники отримають презентацію в форматі PDF.

Sign up here for one of these free DQS webinar sessions:

3 June 2020 at 15:30 hrs. CEST

4 June 2020 at 10:00 hrs. CEST

The language of the webinar is English.

In the difficult times of the global Covid-19 pandemic, the hotel business will lose almost the most. The pandemic changed everything. In order to survive in difficult times, adapt quickly and recover, hotels must offer new standards of gaining and maintaining customer trust. When choosing hotels, guests will have one priority above all: hygiene and safety. In addition to the unconditional importance of preventive measures, there is the task of convincing communication with customers who need to know and trust the hotel they choose. Through independent auditing and certification, hotels can confirm compliance with their care responsibilities, demonstrate transparency and gain the trust of their esteemed guests.

DQS-CFS GmbH within the voluntary certification of GC-MARK HELLO HYGIENE! an audit protocol was developed to provide independent confirmation to hotels and restaurants that they had taken the necessary preventive measures during the pandemic.

In the event of disputes or lawsuits, the question of what level of care can reasonably be expected is often crucial. Due diligence audit by DQS helps businesses assess due diligence on international standards and benchmarks, confirms the level of care, reduces liability risks, protects reputation, and generally helps to gain and maintain customer trust.

We recommend reading the information brochure, sample certificate.

If you are aware of the competitive advantages of DQS certification as part of the GC-MARK HELLO HYGIENE! voluntary certification, contact DQS Ukraine for further action.

Building on DQS REMOTE’s remote audit and service delivery initiative, DQS-CFS GmbH has developed the i-Assessment product to assess business continuity management.
The i-Assessment of ISO 22301 is a simple tool for assessing the compliance of your business continuity management (BCM) system. Based on an online questionnaire containing about 60 questions, you will receive a report outlining your strengths and weaknesses, as well as a certificate with a total score.
Depending on how familiar you are with your business continuity management system, it takes about an hour to evaluate.
The tool can be used as a stand-alone tool, or as the first step in a complete remote audit.

Epidemics and pandemics can stop businesses. Although COVID-19 is a prime example, it is not the first and will not be the last pandemic to seriously affect business continuity. Even local epidemics can bring business to its knees – especially when unprepared. The self-assessment procedure developed by DQS-CFS GmbH allows you to evaluate your due diligence measures and discover your level of preparedness.
Assessing due diligence in a pandemic is a new online tool that allows you to obtain independent confirmation that your company is fulfilling its duty of care properly.

Over the past month, Google’s search for “remote audit” has been searched twice as often as usual.

The situation in the management certification system has changed dramatically. Events that are happening now can change the audit business forever. As the scale of the pandemic unfolded, DQS began working to bring its services into line with the new reality.
Following the new trends caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, DQS has launched a new DQS Remote initiative. This is a site that provides information on all DQS remote experience, including remote auditing of quality systems, vendors, distance learning, and more.
To get acquainted with the site, go to https://remote-audits.com/.

DQS CFG posted on its website COVID-19 Coronavirus information page:

We are on a mission to provide value-adding assessments in order to guide organizations toward sustainable success.

We are 2500 auditors from 85 offices performing 125 000 audit days per year at 65 000 sites in 130 countries around the world.

And we are on a journey since February 1985 when DIN (German Institute for Standardization) and DGQ (German Society for Quality) founded DQS as the first Certification Body in Germany. Operations commenced under the first Managing Director Dr. Wolfgang Hansen just five months before the first draft of what would become ISO 9001 was published.

Join us as we explore our history, and make plans for our future:

Published by Dieter Stadler and the DQS Corporate Marketing Team

Validated Assessment Program (VAP) is the social audit program of a Responsible Business Alliance (RBA). This alliance is made up of leading global brands that have agreed on a common Code of conduct and social audit process to ensure social responsibility in their supply chains.
Today, it is a global alliance of more than 150 companies with a combined annual revenue of $ 5 trillion. Not only are these companies obliged to comply with the Code of conduct, but they also keep their first-level suppliers up to the same standard. The RBA has developed an audit protocol to ensure compliance with the Code of Conduct.
DQS is one of the few audit firms that is allowed to evaluate compliance with the Code of conduct. As an approved VAP audit firm, DQS will be pleased to have you in the supply chain social responsibility audit. With the help of a global network of offices and auditors, the DQS Group is pleased to assist you worldwide.

See additional material here.

Starting in 2019 DQS Holding, based on the competence of DQS GmbH in this field, has begun to promote GDP (Good Distribution Practice) – EU Guidelines for Good Distribution Practice of medicinal products for human use (2013/C343/01) globally.

DQS Holding offered training sessions and defined the international process of work audits in this field. Currently, 14 auditors from eight countries are properly qualified.

The first outcome of GDPR competence development has occurred in Africa. DQS South Africa has awarded its customer the first GDP World Flight Services certification for their sites at Johannesburg and Cape Town.

A press release published by WFS: WFS Press Release 22-10-19

Management systems have a reputation of being too paper based on the need to document information. Many organizations therefore choose a software solution to convert paper stacks into digital data. However, digital data is subject to information security and legislation of information security.
After a careful study of this situation actually reveals:
– ISO 9001 has never required paper documents to create, maintain, and improve management systems;
– Software solutions can only support management systems if the business processes themselves support digitization. Otherwise, the problems will only be transferred to another medium, which can make the situation worse as digitization creates its own problems.
– The protection and security of information and personal data has always been problematic for stakeholders such as customers, partners and employees.
So how can an organization benefit from digitalization and still meet all the relevant requirements of the standard? A deeper look at ISO 9001 shows that this standard has a lot to do. Not only is ISO 9001 compatible with the advancement of digitization, it can be easily used to facilitate and support digital development.

Andreas Altena and Angelika Müller

Original article: Customer journal no.86- III/2019 p. 6

Food safety culture is the new buzzword in the industry; starting with BRCGS Food Version 8 coming up in February 2020, we expect to see more demand for the “shared values, beliefs and norms that affect mindset and behaviour toward food safety in, across and throughout an organization”, as the Global Food Safety Initiative*s (GFSI) technical working group defines it. To help organizations identify and develop their own food safety culture, GFSI has published a position paper regarding food safety culture that deals with three main topics:

Welcome to the latest edition of DQS Compact, DQS Group’s digital customer magazine. This issue features expert articles and contributions by our global customers on a variety of revised and new standards and related subjects, such as ISO 45001, ISO 50001, GDPR, ISO 22000, and ISO 55001.

Since the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect in May this year, companies all over the globe have been updating their data privacy policies and looking for confirmation of compliance. Read here about its significance and some of the questions and answers we can provide on this subject. Moving forward into certification territory, there are news here on the incipient transition of ISO 45001 and what this new ISO standard, based on BS OH 18001, will mean for workers and organizations alike. ISO 22000 for Food Safety is also undergoing revision, as well as ISO 50001 for Energy Management. Last, but certainly not least, we are particularly proud to showcase some of our first customers to the new ISO 45001 from around the globe. Read here what E.ON from Germany, CCAB AGRO from Brazil, and MACE from the United Arab Emirates have to say about their transition experience with our local DQS office.

We hope you will enjoy reading our magazine

DQS Compact Editorial Staff

Опубліковано перший міжнародний стандарт в сфері охорони праці та безпекиAfter many years of discussions on the standard for occupational safety and health management systems, an international standard on this topic was published. The final version of the new ISO 45001 standard was submitted on March 12, 2018.
A completely new standard ISO 45001: 2018, which replaced OHSAS 18001: 2007 was prepared by the ISO / PC283 committee and became the first standard in the history of standardization to be recognized internationally for OSH management systems. The new ISO 45001 standard has a high-level structure. The application SL is similar to other new or recently reissued ISO standards for management systems.

Standard ISO 45001: 2018 is the key for any organization in the field of occupational safety and safety in the workplace. It is a tool for maintaining staff health and improving the level of safety in organizations. Much attention is paid to the opinion of internal and external stakeholders, which is an important part of the risk-based approach to OSH management.
The requirements for migration from OHSAS 18001 to ISO 45001: 2018 were established in the mandatory document IAF MD 21: 2018. In accordance with this document, a three-year transitional period was established, which starts from the date of publication of ISO 45001.

This year’s first issue of DQS Group’s customer journal DQS Compact is just in time to announce the schedu

led publication date of the new ISO 45001, which is going to replace BS OHSAS 18001 within the next three years, after having been under development for the last five! Read here about the contents, background and changes coming up for all those looking to implement an occupational health and safety management system in accordance with this brand-new international standard.

ISO 19011, the standard for certification bodies, is also under revision – always good to know what is happening in this field. Other articles include a look at ISO 50003, an update on IFS 6.1 – and who knew there was a standard for plastic surgeons, and DQS can offer it? We are proud to showcase two of our excellent customers, from the US and Serbia.

If you like to stay up-to-date on standard developments and DQS inside news, simply suscribe to our news channel by clicking here.

The FDIS ballot achieved 62 votes of approval, 4 votes of disapproval and 9 abstentions, si is now approved for publication as an International Standard.

ISO/FDIS 45001 has met the requirements of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1, clause 2.7.3 for approval, so can now be taken forward for publication.

We estimate that the publication process will take 2 to 3 weeks to complete (we cannot be more precise, as some factors are outside of ISO’s control e.g. designation of the ISBN number).

by Pärsch Matthias  in DQS Products & Standards

Published in 2011, ISO 50001 is a proven framework, helping industrial facilities, commercial facilities, or entire organizations to manage energy – including all aspects of energy use.

Like all International Standards, ISO 50001 has come under periodic review to ensure that it continues to meet the rapidly changing needs of the energy sector. This work is being carried out by the ISO technical committee responsible for energy management and energy savings (ISO/TC 301). The most important change for the 2018 version is the incorporation of the high-level structure, which provides for improved compatibility with other management system standards. The growth of ISO 50001 is expected to accelerate as an increasing number of companies integrate ISO 50001 into their corporate sustainability strategies and supplier requirements.

The Draft International Standard ISO/DIS 50001 was approved in November 2017, and the new version of ISO 50001 is expected to be published at the end of 2018. You can find out more about ISO 50001 on ISO.org.

By Li Rayanna in DQS Products & Standards 

This year’s annual meeting of DQS group’s managing directors from 47 countries emphasized the importance of the most critical success factor for any service providing organization: people. For an international certification body, that means people in the global offices, both junior managers and young office staff, as well as auditors. How to be an attractive employer for such a wide variety of people and their different expectations?

To provide some insights on this topic the group invited a well-known expert from the ranks of their own customers: Prof. Dr. Gunther Olesch is chief human resources officer at Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co KG, as well as lecturer at the Ostwestfalen-Lippe University, among other things. Under his leadership, Phoenix Contact has been listed among “International TOP employers” for the last 16 years running by the “Great Place to Work® initiative. In his presentation, Prof. Olesch shared leadership principles and attitudes for international collaborations, based on respect and acceptance of different values. He predicts that the future will see a competition for good employees, helped along by social media, and shows how to be prepared for this by knowing and meeting the needs of your employees and meeting them. However, good employee relations need to be embedded in an overall company culture, which allows for competence development and personal growth.

Of course the two-day meeting, which was held at the Lindner Congress hotel in Hoechst, a suburb of Frankfurt, also addressed a variety of topics specific to certification business, from its history to its future, and how to apply project management principles to change processes in order to develop business further. Participants discussed how to build awareness and understanding for management’s responsibility for business development, to apply the concept to a current development project or development target, and to build self-confidence in their own ability to manage change and development.

Next year’s meeting will be held in Berlin for the first time, where the DQS shareholder DIN (German Institute for Standardization) has their head office.

This, the latest issue of the DQS Group’s DQS Compact newsletter, includes a special feature on TAPA and quality management in the logistics sector, as well as an expert article on Energy Management, some very time-critical news on SMETA 6.0 and the success story of our customer Engineering Plastics in South Africa.

If you are worried about valuable cargo disappearing during storage or shipment, the TAPA Security Standards FSR (Facility Security Requirements) and TSR (Trucking Security Requirements) can help you sleep better. In addition, the Qualified Carrier (QC) standard provides freight carriers with an option to prove to their customers that they fulfil the legal, economic and social requirements of their business.

Since certifications according to ISO 50001 will soon be based on ISO 50003, this issue includes an overview of relevant changes as well as a look at the various standards that make up the 50001 family of energy management standards.

Updates on ISO 37001, FSSC 22000 and the upcoming revision of SMETA 6.0 round off this issue, followed by a customer profile that shows how an SME from South Africa overcomes the challenges of today’s climate of limited economic growth in their country by employing ISO 9001:2008 as the guideline for the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle, and to ensure customer value added in the processing, manufacturing and delivery activity.

With an estimated 230,000 audited sites, SMETA may well be the most widely used ethical audit format in the world. In order to reflect the ongoing evolution of ethical auditing techniques, Sedex has updated the format and aims to publish SMETA 6.0 in early April 2017. It will then be immediately available for use. After May 31st, 2017, SMETA 5.0 will no longer be available. We recommend to transition to the new version as soon as possible, in order to ensure that the audit results will be fully recognized by all users in the future.

What is SMETA 6.0?

Like its predecessor, SMETA 6.0 is an audit format that describes good practice in ethical auditing. As one of the most commonly used ethical audit methodologies in the world, SMETA plays an important role in the effort to ensure responsible sourcing and transparency in supply chains. SMETA audits focus on labor standards, health & safety in the workplace, and optionally also on environmental aspects and ethical business practices.

Because the SMETA methodology is recognized by an ever increasing number of companies and the audit results can be shared in the Sedex Advance Database, the unified methodology reduces audit duplication and lightens the burden for suppliers.

What’s new in SMETA 6.0?

Although SMETA 6.0 provides a number of improvements, it preserves the structure and underlying principles of its predecessors. There are few new requirements and suppliers that are already in conformity with SMETA 5.0 should not have significant problems with the update. This is hardly a surprise, given the fact that SMETA is based upon the ETI Base Code, which has not seen major changes in the last couple of years.

Still, the new version introduces a number of improvements and changes:

• Sedex has created a Supplement for Private Employment agencies, to assess the working conditions of workers who are supplied by private employment agencies to work temporarily at user enterprise sites.

• Section 0.A on Human Rights: A new section has been dedicated to the management of human rights. The section focuses on assessing the extent to which businesses and their respective sites understand and manage their human rights impacts. Information will be gathered as observations rather than non-compliances, as specific non-compliances are captured in the other relevant sections of the audit report. The section does not only concern the human rights of workers at the site, but also those of local communities and other stakeholders. SMETA 6.0 is not a full Human Rights Assessment, but instead a check on the site’s implementation of processes to meet their human rights responsibilities.
• Each section now contains measurement criteria for good examples, which gives greater visibility to good practices that go beyond the requirements of the code or the law.

• Section 8 – Regular Employment contains a new set of measurement criteria related to recruitment practices. The purpose of these new criteria is to provide greater transparency on the situation of agency workers and contracted workers.

• The Pillar ‘Business Ethics’ has been overhauled. Whereas in version 5.0 all potential for improvement in this area was reported as observations rather than non-compliances, from version 6.0 onwards it is possible to note non-compliances for business ethics. The section focuses on compliance with the applicable laws and regulations as well as the prevention of fraud, bribery and corruption.

Where can I find the relevant documents?

SMETA guidance consists of 2 parts, with one part describing the audit methodology (called “Best Practice Guidance” – BPG) and the second part details Measurement Criteria. Both documents will be available on the Sedex website for free and without registration as soon as they have been published. Also available for download are a template for the SMETA audit report and a template for the corrective action plan.

Does DQS provide ethical audits according to SMETA 6.0?

Yes, we do. DQS is a member of the Sedex Associate Auditor Group. All of our ethical auditors have received extensive training on the SMETA methodology. We have auditors all over the globe and use local auditors whenever possible. Visit the website of www.dqs-cfs.com or contact our local offices to learn more!

Article by Dr. Thijs Willaert, CSR & Responsible Sourcing, DQS CFS GmbH

For many expediters and logistics service providers, quality is the decisive selling point. Their customers expect reliable and damage-free handling of goods, which is why many logistics companies have a certified quality management. The latest revision of ISO 9001, released in 2015, now requires organizations to systematically consider risks and opportunities related to their business activities – the so-called risk-based approach.