There is no licensing scheme for ISO consultants in the UK, so quality varies widely. The right consultant leaves you with a system your people actually use. The wrong one leaves you with a folder of documents that fails at the certification audit. These are the points worth checking before you commit.
1. Relevant health and safety competence
ISO 45001 is a health and safety standard, so your consultant should understand health and safety in practice, not only the structure of the standard. Look for recognised health and safety qualifications and experience of work similar to yours. Auditor certification, such as schemes run through the Chartered Quality Institute’s IRCA register, is a useful extra but not a substitute for practical health and safety knowledge.
2. Their approach to your organisation
Ask how they will learn how your organisation works before writing anything. A good consultant builds on what already works and spends time on site with the people doing the work. Be cautious of anyone who arrives with a finished document pack.
3. A clear scope and price
You should receive a written proposal setting out the scope, deliverables, number of site days, your responsibilities and the price, and stating that certification body fees are separate. Fixed fees are easier to budget than open-ended day rates. See what drives ISO 45001 costs.
4. Independence from certification
Your consultant should not be your certification body, and should be open about any relationship with one. Accredited certification bodies are not allowed to provide consultancy to the organisations they certify. Why the two roles are separate.
5. Knowledge transfer
The system has to run after the consultant leaves. Ask how they will train your internal owner, managers and internal auditors, and what support is available between surveillance audits.
6. Evidence of their work
Ask for case studies or references from comparable organisations, and for an example of the kind of report they produce.
Warning signs
- A guarantee that you will be certified
- Very short timescales with no time for the system to operate
- A fixed template pack presented as a finished system
- An offer to provide both the consultancy and the certificate
- No written scope, or a price that only appears after you have committed
Questions to ask before you appoint
- How will you learn how our organisation actually works?
- What will we receive, and what will we need to do ourselves?
- How much time will you spend on site, and doing what?
- How will internal audit and management review be handled before certification?
- What happens if the certification body raises nonconformities?
If you would like to put these questions to us, see our ISO 45001 consultancy or start with a gap assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Do ISO consultants need to be accredited?
No. UKAS accredits certification bodies, not consultants, and there is no licensing scheme for ISO consultants in the UK. Look instead at their health and safety qualifications, experience and approach.
Should our consultant also do our certification?
No. Accredited certification bodies cannot provide consultancy to organisations they certify, so a single provider offering both is a warning sign.
Is a cheaper consultant a false economy?
It can be, if the work is template-based and has to be redone. Compare proposals on scope, site time, deliverables and how the system will be embedded, not on price alone.