WCS17: Quality group calls in the auditors
16 / 03 / 2017
The IATA quality standards group, Cargo iQ has appointed SGS to run its member Audit and Certification Scheme.
It will be the first time that Cargo iQ has worked with external auditors. Members have previously been audited internally, by the Cargo iQ’s own management team.
Members will be audited to demonstrate, through certification, that their processes and services comply with quality standards for the worldwide air cargo industry, as created and implemented by the Cargo iQ membership.
Over 30 SGS offices will be involved in the process, which starts in June, with each audit including a desk review and a two-day on-site visit. Cargo iQ expects all members to be audited under the new scheme within three years.
External validation will allow the group “to be more objective in regards to the criteria,” said executive director, Ariaen Zimmerman. “We had to re-evaluate all criteria to ensure there was no room for misinterpretation. The criteria will have to be met in an objective manner that satisfies an external auditing company.”
SGS is an inspection, verification, testing, and certification company, with over 2,000 offices and laboratories worldwide.
SGS will advise Cargo iQ members on how to comply with the audit scheme and take samples of their process steps to ensure that they comply with the scheme rules, said SGS global head of international sales and accounts, Jeff Dowson.
