The complaint filed against Smithers Quality Assessment has been escalated to ANAB, after Smithers failed to conduct any corrective action.
The complaint alleges that Smithers broke ISO 17021 rules governing conflicts of interest when it held (and continues to hold) training sessions on ISO 9001 and SN9001 co-branded and co-marketed alongside consultant John Allin.
The response by Smithers was particularly curious, as it came in the form of an attachment, sent through an anonymous, generic Smithers email account. The email was unsigned, as was the response document. You may view Smithers’ anonymous response here.
The response claims the allegations by Oxebridge were “unfounded” and therefore no corrective action was necessary.
Despite the complaint, Smithers has continued to hold training events with the Allin consulting group.
This marks the third simultaneous, major complaint issued by Oxebridge against accredited registrars. A complaint filed with UKAS alleges that registrar BSI is violating rules against co-marketing its consulting and certification services. A second complaint also filed with UKAS alleges that LRQA issued an ISO 9001 certificate to an organization it knew had been counterfeiting their certificates only weeks prior.
Oxebridge is currently working with registrar Intertek to resolve another concern over that company’s marketing of consulting and certification services. It is doing so “offline” in the hopes that a formal complaint will not be necessary.
Following ANAB’s activity regarding the complaint should be interesting, as ANAB had partnered with Smithers and John Allin’s group ASCA to help develop the SN9001 standard and resulting certification scheme. Oxebridge has insisted that any ANAB staff that had worked with Smithers on the SN9001 project recuse themselves from the investigation.
The full text of Oxebridge’s complaint to ANAB about Smithers may be read here.
Christopher Paris is the founder and VP Operations of Oxebridge. He has over 35 years’ experience implementing ISO 9001 and AS9100 systems, and helps establish certification and accreditation bodies with the ISO 17000 series. He is a vocal advocate for the development and use of standards from the point of view of actual users. He is the writer and artist of THE AUDITOR comic strip, and is currently writing the DR. CUBA pulp novel series. Visit www.drcuba.world
