Final answer:
Surveillance audits focus on maintaining compliance with certification standards and are conducted regularly, typically annually or semi-annually. They involve reviewing documentation, on-site observation, interviewing employees, and checking records to ensure continual adherence to the standards.
Step-by-step explanation:
The focus of surveillance audits is to monitor an organization's compliance with the standards for which it has been certified. This could be for a variety of management systems, such as quality (ISO 9001), environment (ISO 14001), or information security (ISO 27001). Surveillance audits are conducted at regular intervals to ensure ongoing adherence to these standards and to identify opportunities for improvements.
The frequency of surveillance audits typically occurs once a year or once every six months, depending on the certification body's regulations and the organization's performance and needs. During these audits, a certified body will visit the organization to assess and verify that the management systems in place continue to meet the criteria set out by the relevant standards.
The conduction of surveillance audits involves several steps. It starts with a review of the company's documentation, followed by an on-site audit where auditors will observe processes, interview employees, and review records to ensure that the processes comply with the documented standards. If non-conformities are found, the organization is usually given a set amount of time to correct them before a follow-up audit.