INTRODUCTION
This Rulebook is applied together with the PR 9-1 Rulebook on certification and supervision of management systems.
ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS
Multi-branch organization – a headquartered organization where activities are planned, supervised and managed and the entire network of local offices or branches where such activities are carried out in part or in full. The multi-subsidiary organization is not a single legal entity, but all subsidiaries are legally or contractually linked to the headquarters and belong to a common management system, introduced and overseen by the headquarters.
CERTIFICATION AND SUPERVISION OF MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN ORGANIZATION WITH MULTIPLE
The multi-branch organization must meet the following requirements:
- The products / services provided in the subsidiaries must be of the same type and produced / supplied by the same methods and in accordance with the same procedures
- An organization that applies combined processes to different locations should complement the other processes completely. If the processes in individual locations are not the same, but there is a connection with each other, the check should be performed on all of them individually.
- The management system of the organization should be managed centrally with a central plan and the check is performed centrally (at the headquarters). All affiliates should be included in the internal verification program and should be internally verified in accordance with that program prior to commencement of certification.
- The headquarters establishes the system according to the requirements of the standard and the whole organization must meet those requirements. Relevant legislation is also respected
- The organization should demonstrate the ability to collect and analyze data (including the aforementioned) from subsidiaries, as well as the ability to initiate change if necessary. It refers to:
- system documentation and system changes
- the re-examination of the leadership
- complaints
- corrective measures
- planning of internal checks and application of results
- changes in the environment and the environment that affect the work of the organization
- changes in the legislation
In case of discrepancies (during internal or external audits) the organization should investigate whether they affect the entire system, in part or only the subsidiary. If they affect the whole system, it is recommended that corrective action be taken at the headquarters and all other subsidiaries.
If non-conformities are detected in a subsidiary, the certification is suspended over the entire system of the organization until corrective measures are implemented to eliminate the non-conformities and bring the functioning of the system to an effective state.
It is not possible for an organization to exclude “problematic” locations from the scope of certification during the certification process in order to remove obstacles to non-compliance by any of the subsidiaries.
The certificate is suspended or revoked if the headquarters or a subsidiary does not meet the criteria required to maintain certification.
It is necessary for the organization to inform about the possible closure of one of the branches. Failure to provide this information in a timely manner will be considered a breach of certification.
All subsidiaries of the organization should be checked in the three-year certification validity cycle.
All other provisions of PR 9-1 Rulebook on certification and supervision of management systems apply to the process of certification and supervision of management systems of an organization with several branches.
