CONFIDENTIALITY / COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS

Confidentiality and impartiality for system certification:

The requirements of confidentiality, impartiality, objectivity and ethical guidelines for Dovre Certification AS,
as an accredited certification body, is defined in the Dovre Certification AS quality policy and management system and are available on request.

The company’s management will in this context clarify that confidentiality, impartiality, objectivity and
ethics are absolute rules that should always be followed by Dovre Certification AS and our auditors and lead auditor.

Dealing with complaints

Upon receipt of written complaints to Dovre Certification AS a confirmation of receipt of the complaint as well as confirmation whether the complaint is related to a certification task carried out by Dovre Certification AS or complain about the management system at a customer site that Dovre AS has certified will be sent to the customer. “The petitioner” will be kept updated about the measures that Dovre Certification AS is conducting.

Measures can be visit/audit at the customer site to ensure that the control system satisfies the relevant requirements from the current standard (ISO 9001/ISO 14001/OHSAS 18001) or clarifications with the lead auditor that was responsible for the certification task carried out by Dovre Certification AS.

Decisions taken by the Administration of Dovre Certification AS in connection with the complaint should always be approved by a member of the Administration that has not participated in the complaint proceedings. In cases where the whole management has been involved the Chair of the Board has to approve the decision before the decision is communicated to customer or whoever has complained.

The extent to which the results of complaint proceedings should be made publicly should clarified and agreed with the customer and whoever has complained.

The customer may appeal decisions that are taken. In the cases referred to the procedure for the appeal.

Handling of appeals

The administration in Dovre certification AS receives appeal from the customer. The appeal should then be forwarded to the Chair of the Board for processing. The administration in Dovre Certification should inform the customer that the appeal is sent to the Board for processing.

The appeal is handled fully and completely by the Board, and decision is sent to the administration in Dovre Certification AS with a copy to the customer. The administration in Dovre certification AS has the duty to carry out the measures that the Board, where appropriate, imposes on the administration to ensure that appropriate corrective action is taken.

The administration in Dovre Certification AS will establish a list of complaints, with copies of all correspondence between the customer and the Board, as well as the Board and the administration in Dovre Certification AS in connection with the appeal proceedings.

Appeals are to be processed by management within 30 working days.

If consensus is not achieved the customer has the opportunity to bring the case in arbitration.

Confidentiality and impartiality for the control body:

According to the law for technical control bodies Dovre Certification AS is subject to the law 10. February 1967 on administrative matters concerning chapter II-WE when it performs compliance reviews. Other rules in the administrative law will also apply in cases where individual decisions are made, cf. administrative law section 1.

Some of the most important rules are presented below.

2.1. Impartiality

It is a prerequisite that the individual “officer” in Dovre Certification AS does not address cases in which this person is regarded as not being impartial according to administrative law section 6. The individual himself shall take a stand with regard to his own impartiality.

2.2. Transparency and confidentiality

By law 19. May 2006 no. 16 the right to transparency into documents in the public area, documents associated with individual decisions are public, even if the decision is made by another legal entity other than a public authority, ref. § 2 the first paragraph, letter b. Staff still have a duty to prevent others from knowledge of what they know about the confidential information, including technical devices and procedures, in connection with the work. Confidentiality shall not, however, preclude that information be made known to other relevant parties, including the appointed authority. See Management section 13 or the law.

2.3. Guided duty

After the administrative law section 11, the control body has an obligatory duty to guide the manufacturer.
For example, the body shall through his guidance point out any errors and defects in the product/procedure so that the manufacturer can bring product/procedure in accordance with the requirements of the regulations. However, it is the manufacturer that has the responsibility to find the concrete technical solutions.

2.4. The basis of rejection

If the control body has found deficiencies in the product/procedure and these are not rectified in a satisfactory manner, the control body shall reject the application for compliance certificate. The manufacturer shall be informed about the rejection. At the same time the manufacturer shall get a written explanation for the decision, information on his right to complain and how he can get access to the documents in the case. Information should also be given to the manufacturer that he cannot apply for a certificate of compliance to another technical control body unless the product/procedure has been changed in the meantime.

2.5. Complaint about rejection, if any

Any complaint about the decision of the control body must be sent to the control body no later than 3 weeks after the notification of the decision has been received by the manufacturer. The control body shall perform necessary surveys based on the information in the complaint and can thereafter cancel or change and the decision. The control body can reject the complaint if the terms of compliance are not met. If the decision is not changed, the documents concerning the complaint shall be submitted to Norwegian Accreditation (NA)/Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB) for further proceedings. Any complaints will finally be decided by NA/DSB. Otherwise, see chapter VI in administrative law/regulation.

2.6. Costs

According to the law for technical control bodies, section 5, the technical control body can take the usual payment for their services. This means that the control body can take payment for their compliance reviews according to normal business practice.

With wide knowledge and familiarity to business requirements, we stand supportive with solid cooperation.