With the growing awareness of risk associated with biological agents and toxins, formal certification will provide an assurance that the biorisk management system is effectively implemented and regulatory requirements are fulfilled. It is also a public declaration of organisation’s commitment to protect the staff, the community and the wider environment.

Purpose

This is the first internationally recognised management standard to specifically address hazards associated with microbiological laboratories at all containment levels. Adopting the risk based approach and concept of continual improvement, this performance based standard also provides a structured approach for an organisation to effectively and efficiently address issues relating to biosafety and biosecurity while providing opportunities for operational improvements and cost optimisation.

The standard is also designed to be compatible with ISO 9001 (quality), ISO 14001 (environmental) and OHSAS 18001 (occupational health and safety) standards, to facilitate the integration of these management systems within an organisation.

Benefits

Obtaining certification is a means of communicating and demonstrating your commitments to:-
• Protecting the people, property and the environment through effective implementation of your biorisk management system
• Alignment with international guidelines, industry best practices and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements
• Proactively managing biorisk and seeking continual improvement
• Instilling confidence in employees, funding agencies, the community and other stakeholders that risks associated with the laboratory biorisk has been addressed

Features

The certification process consists of three phases:-
• Document review
• Initial visit
• Initial certification audit

The certificate will be issued to an organisation which can demonstrate a satisfactory level of implementation for a biorisk management system in line with CWA 15793 requirements. The certificate is valid for three years and a recertification audit is carried out every three years to extend the validity of certificate. To ensure effective maintenance of the biorisk management system, a periodic audit is required to be carried out at least once a year.

Our experience

DNV is a world leader in providing certification, verification and assessment services.
We believe in value added auditing and that the certification process should be a constructive and motivating experience. The risk based approach used for audits will help enhance the continual improvement of your management system.

Our auditors go through stringent training and qualification regimes to ensure that the certification services are delivered consistently with top quality.