113 ISO CERTIFICATIONS ISO certifications are credentials that validate a company s compliance with international standards of quality, safety and efficiency set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ISO certifications have different codes according to which type of business activity is being assessed. For example, ISO 9001 assesses quality management, ISO 14001 validates environmental management, and ISO 27001 information security. Why is an ISO certification important? An ISO certification brings a few benefits to a company. First of all, it provides a globally recognised credential, which assures customers of the company s commitment to quality. Moreover, working to improve ISO standards helps improve the efficiency of the company s production processes. Finally, an ISO certification What ISO standards do for you posted by ISO 8 can be a requirement to start commercial relationships, helping companies compete in the market with other businesses. How does the process work? While the ISO develops the standards, external certification bodies issue the certificates. After deciding to get an ISO certification, the company has to choose the most relevant standard for its type of activity; then, it is necessary to find an accredited certification body. The certification body performs the audit, a process which includes inspections and documentation review, and which leads to a final assessment. If the audit is successful, the ISO certification is issued. An ISO certification needs to be renewed every year; for this reason, surveillance audits are performed annually to ensure continuous compliance with the standard. Watch the video and complete the sentences with no more than four words. 1. The world can be an overwhelming and ................................................................................................................. 2. ISO standards apply to fields of activity such as food safety, computers, ............................... 3. ISO s strengths are its large collection of international .............................................................................. 4. ISO standards help create ...................................................................................................................................................... 5. ISO standards also make trade fairer even ............................................................................................................. 6. ISO standards are concerned with .................................................................. such as climate change. 7. They involve ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 8. There are over ........................................................ in ........................................................ around the world. 9 PAIR WORK The video presents some ISO certification codes. Which sector of activity do the following refer to? Try to guess from the images. audit: verifica commitment: impegno compliance: conformit 264 EXTRA 1. ISO 8124 ............................................................................. 5. ISO 12853 ......................................................................... 2. ISO 15270 ......................................................................... 6. ISO/IEC/MPEG .............................................................. 3. ISO 22005 ......................................................................... 7. ISO/IEC 27001 ............................................................... 4. ISO/TS 21547 ................................................................. 8. ISO 7998 ............................................................................