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Stay updated on the latest developments in the areas of fire safety and security certification.
Version: 2020-01-16
1. Generally
The applicable Swedish standard is SS-EN 50518, which is based on the European standard EN 50518:2019. SBSC offers independent and neutral certification of alarm receiving centres in accordance with EN 50518.
As a guarantee of independence and neutrality, SBSC is accredited by SWEDAC in accordance with the SS-EN ISO/IEC 17065 requirements. The scope of accreditation is set forth on www.swedac.se.
This document provides a description of the manner in which the certification process pursuant to this standard is carried out and which undertakings are made by the applicant. Applying for certification and being a certificate holder entails both an undertaking to perform certain activities as well as a financial undertaking.
2. Application for certification
The customer shall apply for certification via the client portal on SBSC’s website or in another manner instructed by SBSC.
An application entails that the company, as applicant, accepts the conditions applicable to certification and, during the terms in which the certificate is valid, to at all times comply with the undertakings in such requirements and SBSC’s General Terms and Conditions. The customer must be a legal person.
3. Administration
Receipt of the application will be confirmed, and the confirmation shall state which documents are needed to supplement the application in order for SBSC to be able to conduct a first assessment that all requirements are fulfilled.
SBSC carries out a review of the application for the purpose of confirming that there are no misunderstandings with respect to the scope of the certification. The documents necessary to assess conformity are checked against the requirements in the respective standard. Where necessary, supplemental documents will be requested. When SBSC is of the opinion that sufficient supporting documentation has been received in order to conduct an on-site audit, the date of a first audit can be agreed upon.
4. Audits
As part of the work of examining whether the requirements of the standards are fulfilled, SBSC conducts on-site audits. These are carried out before a certificate may be issued, during the term of validity of the certificate, and prior to renewal of a certificate. The customer undertakes to cooperate to ensure that the audits may be carried out at the relevant premises, that the requested material from the systems or supplier is available for review and that relevant personnel may be interviewed. The number of participating persons from SBSC may vary. Since the certification is carried out during accreditation, SWEDAC may also participate as an observer.
4.1 Certification audit
A certification audit is conducted on site in accordance with SS-EN 50518 and is divided into one or more audits.
4.2 Review of premises and physical conditions
In conjunction with this audit, the reasonableness of the organisation’s risk assessment is examined. Drawings and verifications are compared with actual installations.
4.3 Review of technical systems
In conjunction with this audit, verifications and descriptions which were submitted are compared with actual execution
and functionality.
Normally, the following are checked:
4.4 Review of routines and processes
In conjunction with this audit, verifications and routine descriptions are compared with actual work methods.
Normally, the following are checked:
4.5 Surveillance audits
During the term of validity of the certificate, monitoring activities will be conducted. These activities entail on-site surveillance audits at the certificate holder and any special review in conjunction with major changes. Surveillance audits are carried out at least once per year. The scope of the surveillance audits is determined in advance in accordance with a predetermined programme. The programme shall be adapted where necessary. In the event the premises have not been converted, these parts normally need not be specifically reviewed. The surveillance audit is deemed concluded when any nonconformities have been addressed and approved by SBSC. This means that the certificate is considered to continue to be valid until the last date of validity.
4.6 Re-certification audit
In the event the certificate holder so desires, SBSC can conduct a re-certification audit during the last year of validity in order to examine whether an extension of the term of validity of the certificate may be granted. This is only possible if the standard pursuant to which the applicable certificate is issued is also the standard pursuant to which the re-certification audit is to be conducted. In conjunction with the assessment, consideration is given, among other things, to the audits conducted during the term of validity of the certificate. In the event of major changes to the operations of the certificate holder, a complete certification audit may need to be carried out.
In the event the re-certification audit is not concluded or if corrective actions for nonconformities could not be confirmed prior to the expiry of the term of validity of the certification, an extension of the term of validity of the certificate cannot be granted. However, the certificate may be reinstated within 6 months in the event the remaining activities pertaining to re-certification are concluded. In other cases, at least one on-site audit must be carried out in order to confirm conformity.
The renewed certificate may not be dated prior to the date of the decision regarding re-certification. The term of validity is based on the preceding certification cycle.
4.7 Extra audits
In the event the terms and conditions and undertakings accepted in conjunction with the application for certification are not fulfilled during the term of validity, SBSC may examine the conditions at the certificate holder subject to minimum or no notice. This is to verify that conformity with the standards is maintained in a satisfactory manner and that the terms and conditions for certification are fulfilled.
Extra audits may also be carried out as a result of complaints against the certificate holder, when it is unclear whether corrective actions regarding documented nonconformities were carried out and/or had effect or in order to
follow-up on certificates which have been temporarily revoked.
The certificate holder shall notify SBSC in respect of major changes to the certified alarm receiving centre. This may give rise to an extra audit of the section in the respective standard relevant to the change.
4.8 Nonconformities
Nonconformities identified during an audit or document review shall be documented in nonconformity reports. Nonconformities shall be addressed with root cause analyses and corrective actions within the period of time set forth in the nonconformity report.
The certificate holder shall be informed regarding the manner in which the holder is expected to present evidence of effective corrective actions. This information may be apparent from the documented nonconformity or orally presented at a closing meeting following the audit.
Once information regarding corrective actions is received, SBSC can inform the certificate holder of additional necessary activities in order to confirm that the corrective actions have been effective, e.g. by means of an extra audit or whether the submitted documentation is deemed sufficient.
In conjunction with a certification audit, nonconformities shall be addressed and accepted within 6 months of the last day of the certification audit. In the event this time limit is exceeded, a new supplemental certification audit will be carried out before the certification process is reinstated.
5. Assessment of conformity
An assessment and evaluation of conformity with relevant regulations is conducted. When all requirements have been approved, the decision regarding the issuance of a certificate may be prepared following a certification or recertification audit. Following surveillance audits, the certificate holder is notified that the annual audit has been concluded.
In the event conformity cannot be confirmed, the issued certificate may be temporarily or permanently withdrawn. In conjunction with temporary withdrawal, the certificate holder shall be informed of the steps necessary in order to reinstate the certificate.
6. Review and decision
Reviews are conducted and decisions are taken by SBSC personnel who did not participate in the administration of the certification matter. In the event the certificate is not issued, the customer will be notified of the reason therefor and shall be afforded the opportunity to correct identified deficiencies.
7. Certificates and term of validity
The term of validity for certificates is three years from the date of the decision. The certificate constitutes the certification document. An assortment of the information is presented in lists, including www.sbsc.se and www.sakerhetsleverantorer.se.
8. Information undertaking
During the period of time in which the application is being processed and when the certificate is issued, the certificate holder shall register any complaints from its customers and stakeholders, including corrective actions. At the request of SBSC, proof thereof shall be presented.
During the period of time in which the certificate is issued, the certificate holder shall, without delay, notify SBSC of changes in the ownership, function, method of operation, major changes to its management system or otherwise in the alarm receiving centre which may affect certification, e.g. building conversion, reorganisation, changes in contact information or persons in management positions.
Stay updated on the latest developments in the areas of fire safety and security certification.