Interested in obtaining the COVID-19 quality mark? These are the requirements!

With Kiwa’s COVID-19 preventive measures quality mark you can show your customers and employees that the preventive measures you have taken against the coronavirus COVID-19 comply with (inter)national guidelines. During testing, your measures are determined and checked for implementation, operation and effectiveness. The emphasis is on putting the guidelines into practice. But what does your organisation have to comply with in order to obtain the certificate? Read on to find out.

In order to achieve certification, the guidelines must be properly laid down, communicated and enforced in the organisation, including by means of protocols and action plans. An example of this is the one-and-a-half meter rule. The organisation follows this rule by, on the one hand, applying stickers and placing furniture at an appropriate distance and, on the other hand, instructing employees to address customers who do not comply with this rule.

Two parts

The Kiwa COVID-19 preventive measures quality mark consists of two parts. Together, these form the requirements on which the audit is carried out and guarantee an assessment tailored to your organisation:

• High Level Structure (HLS):
  All ISO standards are set up according to the HLS, which makes it easier for organisations to integrate their systems for quality (ISO 9001), environment (ISO 14001, ISO 50001) and health & safety (ISO 45001).
  
  The quality mark follows the HLS. Kiwa has developed a so-called framework standard based on the guidelines drawn up by the WHO (World Health Organization) and the RIVM (Dutch Institute for Public Health and the Environment). This sets out the requirements that every organisation must meet.
• Sector specific:
  If an organisation wants to be tested, we first determine which sector it concerns. The framework standard is then supplemented with the sector-related guidelines.
  
  Because new measures can be taken on the basis of new information about the spread of the coronavirus, the exact interpretation of the requirements that an organisation must meet is subject to change. At the start of the audit process, the current situation will be discussed with you during an exploratory meeting. You can read more about the audit process in the article ‘The Kiwa COVID-19 preventive measures quality mark in 5 steps’.

Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle

The COVID-19 preventive measures quality mark has a similar design to certifications in the field of client/patient safety and is characterised by the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle. This forms the basis for the four sections in which the requirements for preventive measures are formulated. The classification under these headings ensures that the preventive measures are not static. There is a constant need to respond to current events and each section has different parts that are tested.