There are many types of assessments that can be conducted within an organization, each of a different nature and objective. DAGMA Inc. specializes in gap-analysis assessments, risk assessments, legal requirements compliance assessments, SR&ED technical assessments and third-party audits, as described below. Our audits and assessments are performed by certified, experienced auditors to bring best-practices and highest added-value to your business.

Gap-analysis Assessments

Gap-analysis assessments are most frequently conducted prior to an organization implementing and/or registering its management system. A gap assessment is simply an evaluation of an organization’s compliance to the desired standard or set of requirements. Such an assessment gives many insights into implementation work that is required in order for the organization to establish a completely compliant management system.

Many consultants heavily rely on employee count and size of an organization to establish their implementation fees. Unfortunately this alone does not always provide a fair indication of the amount of work that is needed to establish a fully compliant management system. Many organizations have already established various elements of a quality management system, just by the nature of seeking profitability in their industry. Assessing the degree of fulfillment of the management system requirements can significantly decrease the cost of implementation of such a system in the first place. DAGMA Inc. is committed to always conducting a basic assessment for each organization prior to issuing a proposal.

Risk Assessments

Risk assessments are an essential element in managing any business. There are various ways these may be conducted, one of the most common being through completing a FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis). This methodology may be applied to any process/step or any element of an organization’s system. With the new version of ISO9001:2015, it will be even more critical to conduct risk management assessments to ensure sustainability of the organization and ensure its positive growth. DAGMA Inc. provides consulting services for guiding an organization in conducting its own risk assessment, in a way suitable for the size of the organization. Contact us today for more information.

Legal Requirements Compliance Assessments

DAGMA Inc. conducts legal requirements compliance assessments for organizations to determine their compliance with established laws. A report is always provided with results of the compliance assessment. Many management system standards now require a defined listing of applicable laws, such as ISO14001 and OHSAS18001, however compliance with all legal, statutory and regulatory requirements is mandatory for all organizations. It is therefore good practice to create and maintain a listing of all applicable laws for any organization, regardless of having a registered management system standard. DAGMA Inc. assists with creating listings of applicable laws for any industry, as well as completion of periodic compliance assessments. Ensuring legal compliance is also one way of reducing risk for an organization.

SR&ED Assessments

SR&ED technical assessments are evaluations and reviews conducted on SR&ED claims before they are submitted to the CRA for review. DAGMA Inc. has many years of experience with submission of technical claims with a perfect record for full claim receipts. Every year the CRA makes changes to submission requirements, both technical and financial. It is therefore a good idea to ensure that for each year the submission is made it is compliant with the latest requirements at the time. Contact DAGMA Inc. today to see how we may assist you in preparation and finalizing of your SR&ED claims.

Letters of Compliance

For very small organizations it may not always be practical to become registered to a management system, however such a requirement may be posed by it’s clients. DAGMA Inc. offers compliance assessments to the desired management system standard, and upon closure of any identified gaps in the compliance report, a letter of compliance to the particular management system is issued to the organization. The organization may then use the letter for its clients as proof of compliance to the requested management system standard.

Third Party Audits

An audit is essentially an assessment of an organization’s management system’s compliance to their registered management system. Pre-assessment audits are conducted at the end of the implementation cycle, usually 4-8 weeks prior to initial registration, in order to identify any remaining weaknesses in the system.

Periodic audits are one of the requirements of every management system to ensure that it is continuously implemented, it is efficient, effective and helping achieve set goals for an organization. There are three types of audits:

First Party Audit – when an organization conducts an audit of itself, also known as an internal audit;

Second Party Audit – when an organization audits its suppliers, and

Third Party Audit – when an external party conducts an audit for the organization or on the organization’s behalf.

The organization is responsible for conducting its own “internal audits”, while “external audits” are conducted by a registrar body that independently assesses compliance to the selected management system standard. DAGMA Inc. conducts many Third Party internal and external audits and takes great pride in the quality of our audits conducted on behalf of an organization. We have many references and testimonials available upon request. Contact us today to find out how we can add value to your audit program!

What are the benefits of a DAGMA Inc. Third Party Audit?

An outsourced audit provides a third-party, independent view of the organization. Outsourcing audits with DAGMA Inc. offers significant advantages:

Specialized expertise – DAGMA Inc. has a highly qualified group of specialists in many industry-specific standards and relevant regulations. Each auditor has a minimum of 15+ years of industry-specific and audit experience.

Professionalism – Our auditors are trained, externally certified and held to the highest professional standards. Our approach to preparation, conduct, reporting, and audit follow-up is always consistent. Audit reports are always completed in a timely manner and submitted as per agreed upon due date – that’s our promise.

Objective assessments – DAGMA Inc.external auditors offer a new, independent view of your organization’s management system, processes and their interactions.

High value-added audit findings – DAGMA Inc. auditors provide a highly detailed assessment of your organization’s management system, identifying strengths and weaknesses during the audit process. Since DAGMA Inc. serves a vast amount of different industries, our auditors share best practices and methodologies gathered from each, adding truly expert knowledge to your organization’s assessments. If any non-conformances are observed, our auditors will help your organization complete appropriate root-cause analysis and assist in developing effective corrective actions.

Auditing