GCC Lab Conformity Assessment (GCA)

Complaints & Appeals

1.   PURPOSE:

To define GCA’s system for resolution of complaints and appeals from clients and other parties.

2.   SCOPE:

This procedure applies to all complaints and appeals received by GCA.

3.   REFERENCES:

  • ISO/IEC 17065 – clause 13: Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services – Complaints and appeals
  • Quality Manual: 13 Complaints and appeals

4.   DEFINITIONS & ABBREVIATION:

  • Definition Customer Voice

Feedback, comments, and expressions of interest in the certification activities and/or service or the complaints-handling process. This feedback can be categorized as complaint, appeal.

  • Customer

Organizations or a person who received a product and/or service.

  • Complaint

Expression of dissatisfaction, other than appeal, by any person or organization to a conformity assessment body relating to the activities of that body, where a response is expected.

  • Appeal

Written request by the provider of the object of conformity assessment to the conformity assessment body for reconsideration by that body of a decision it has made relating to that object. The same procedure may be also used by a complainant who is not satisfied with the resolution of a complaint handled already.

  • Customer voice receiver

GCA personnel who received the complaint.

5.   PROCEDURE:

  • Certification personnel that handle customer voices are obliged to ensure confidentiality of any non- public information acquired during the handling process. They shall maintain objectivity and impartiality throughout the process.
  • To maintain the impartiality of investigation, certification personnel who investigate and make decision to any complaint/appeal shall not be involved in the activity against which the customer voice is
  • Information concerning the process handling of complaints/appeals are available upon request for complainant, appellant or any other interested parties.
  • Upon receiving a customer voice certification personnel are obliged to inform their superiors
  • The customer voice receiver shall provide the complainant or appellant the complaint report using F/7.13/01.01 and the appeal report using F/7.13/01.02 respectively. Unlike the appeal, the complaint can be addressed on its report by the customer voice receiver in case the customer voice is received by phone or email. The customer voice receiver shall inform Quality supervisor immediately and consequently the process responsibility and correspondence will move to him.
  • A complaint or appeal will only be accepted if it is accompanied by or based on clear and credible information in accordance with below reasons.
  • Reasons may include, but are not limited to:
    • A complaint is about conformity assessment and the way that the conformity assessment system
    • Level of service quality or
    • Details about the complaints about the conformity assessment activities
    • Dissatisfaction, whether it is from person in GCA, or the certification activities, or administrative

processes, finances processes, etc.….

  • Decisions made based on immaterial grounds;
  • Decisions based on immaterial information, or information for which there is no credible
  • Unreasonable delay in the decision-making process;
  • Appeal for certification decision to a specific
  • In case request does not contain a convincing reason, Quality supervisor will contact the complainant/appellant for more clarification on convincing reason for complaining or
  • Quality supervisor checks if the customer voice relates to certification activities for which GCA is responsible or not.
  • Quality supervisor shall immediately acknowledge the complainant/appellant immediately giving him customer voice ID.
  • Codification system:

The customer voice is codified as: CV (YY-XXXX)

Where: YY refers to the number of ordering from the beginning of the year. XXXX refers to the current year.

  • Upon receiving the customer voice, Quality supervisor shall initially gather all needed information and assess it and if it is high risk (e.g. significant financial risk or loss of image for the company) it shall be forwarded to the certification director.
  • During the assessment, Quality supervisor identify solutions and recommend a decision to the customer voice using F/7.13/01.01 for complain and F/7.13/01.02 for appeal. In this assessment process the Quality supervisor may request a participation from other personnel, if their knowledge and experience is required, provided that they are not participated in the activity against which the customer voice was
  • For the complaint, the Quality supervisor will review the investigation carried out and take the decision. Thereafter the Quality supervisor will inform the complainant
  • For the appeal, the impartiality committee will review the investigation carried out and take the decision. Thereafter the Quality supervisor will inform the appellant
  • Quality supervisor initiate corrective/preventive actions, if any, as per the relevant
  • Quality supervisor shall record all relevant information of the customer voice including root cause analysis, corrective action and/or preventive action in the customer voice register F/7.13/01.03.
  • An up-to-date status shall be made available, upon request, to the concerned complainant/appellant.
  • The customer voices and their resolutions shall be reviewed during the management review
  • Quality supervisor shall inform complainant/appellant within 10 working days, starting from the day within which GCA received the customer voice, the outcome and decision
  • The certification director is responsible for monitoring the implementation of outcome and actions taken after complain/appeal.
  • For the appeal:
  • The appeal shall be made within one month after the original decision (or notification of complaint resolution) and shall be made in writing using F/7.13/01.02. This is for the protection of both the appellants and GCA.