The questions everyone asks before they call.

There are two separate costs. Certification body fees are paid directly to the accredited body that audits you, and are driven by headcount, number of sites and risk category. Consultancy fees are paid to whoever builds the system. Anyone quoting a single all-in figure before understanding your scope is guessing. We publish a full breakdown, including the surcharges most consultants omit, in our UAE certification cost guide.

Fixed fee against a defined scope, agreed after the gap analysis. We do not bill hourly for implementation work, because hourly billing rewards the wrong things. If the scope genuinely changes (a new site, an added standard) we agree the variation before doing the work, not after.

No. We have no financial relationship with any certification body, which is why we can advise on which one suits you without a conflict. If a consultant is unusually insistent that you use one particular body, it is fair to ask why.

Yes, a genuine thirty-minute conversation with no obligation. A fair number end with us saying you do not need a consultant, or that the standard you are chasing is not the one the tender actually requires. We would rather lose the sale than take on work that should not exist.

Eight to sixteen weeks for a single-site SME; sixteen to twenty-four weeks for larger or multi-site organisations. The hard floor is the implementation period: the certification body must see the system operating and producing records, which cannot realistically be compressed below four to six weeks regardless of budget.

Almost certainly not, and we will say so rather than take your money. What we can often do is help you respond credibly. Many tenders accept documented evidence that certification is in progress with a named certification body and a scheduled audit date. Send us the tender requirement and we will tell you what is realistically achievable.

Stage 1 is a readiness and documentation review: the certification body checks that your system exists, covers the standard and is ready to be assessed. Stage 2 is the full assessment of whether the system is actually implemented and effective, usually including site visits and staff interviews. Findings at Stage 1 are normally documentary and fixable; findings at Stage 2 are the ones that delay your certificate.

The certificate runs three years, with surveillance audits in years one and two and a full recertification in year three. Systems decay quietly between audits, which is why most clients retain us for an annual internal audit and management review. See embedded QHSE support.

Yes. Embedded QHSE support can mobilise quickly, part-time or full-time, to cover a resource gap, a tender requirement or an urgent compliance issue. Tell us the date that matters and we will tell you honestly whether we can meet it.

Usually whichever one your client or tender specifies, and it is worth reading that requirement carefully, because organisations regularly certify to the wrong standard. Broadly: ISO 9001 for quality and general pre-qualification, ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety, ISO 14001 for environmental management. If more than one is required, build them together as an integrated system.

It is the Abu Dhabi Occupational Safety and Health System Framework, the Emirate-wide regulatory system for workplace health and safety, administered through sector regulatory authorities. If you operate in Abu Dhabi you are subject to it. It is not optional and there is no certificate to buy. See ADOSH-SF v4.0 compliance.

Not automatically. They are separate obligations with substantial overlap. A system built only against ISO 45001 typically misses framework-specific requirements an inspector will ask for. We build one system that discharges both.

No. OHSAS 18001 was withdrawn and the migration window to ISO 45001 closed in September 2021. Any remaining certificate is expired and will be rejected in pre-qualification. Much of an 18001-era system is reusable, but it needs restructuring for context, leadership, worker participation and the hierarchy of controls.

Technically yes, and it can be legitimate, but be careful. Clients read scope statements, and a certificate that excludes your main activity impresses nobody and may fail a pre-qualification check. We help you define a scope that is defensible to an auditor and useful commercially.

ISO 14001:2026 was published on 15 April 2026 and is available to certify against now. ISO 9001:2026 was published in September 2026 and is also available to certify against. ISO 45001:2018 is not part of this revision round. Full detail in our transition guide.

No. A new edition starts a transition period rather than voiding certificates. ISO 14001:2015 certificates transition by approximately April 2029, and ISO 9001:2015 certificates have a similar three-year window, to approximately September 2029. Your certification body confirms your exact date: get it in writing rather than relying on any published article.

For ISO 14001, go straight to the 2026 edition: certifying to a superseded version means paying for the same work twice within three years. For ISO 9001, it depends on your deadline: if a tender needs a certificate imminently, certify to 2015 but build the system to the 2026 requirements so the later transition is a formality. If you have any flexibility, wait for publication.

Neither revision is a rewrite. Most of the change sits in the informative Annex A rather than in new mandatory requirements. For a well-maintained system, expect two to six weeks: separating risks from opportunities, aligning policy with strategy, adding quality culture and ethics to awareness material, and evidencing it through one internal audit and management review cycle.

Usually, yes, by folding the transition into a surveillance or recertification audit you are already paying for, rather than booking a standalone visit with its own mobilisation and minimum duration. Work backwards from your certificate expiry and talk to your certification body early, while their transition calendar still has space.

No, and treat any consultant who does with caution. The certification body decides independently, and a guaranteed outcome usually implies either an unaccredited body or an undisclosed relationship. What we commit to is that you will be genuinely ready and that we will be in the room to manage findings.

Independently. We build and strengthen your management system; an accredited certification body assesses it. That separation is required by the accreditation rules certification bodies operate under, and it is what makes your certificate worth holding.

Built for you, in working sessions with your team. Auditors recognise template packs immediately, and a system that does not describe your business is a Stage 2 failure waiting to happen. You receive editable documents branded to your company, which you own outright.

Mubaraq, personally. Jumbat is deliberately small. The person who runs your free consultation is the person who runs your gap analysis, writes your system, chairs your management review and sits with you at Stage 2. There is no handover to a junior after the sale.

Yes, across the UAE and the wider GCC. Dubai and the Northern Emirates are routine. Document development, audit planning and review preparation happen remotely regardless of location; on-site work is scheduled around you, with travel agreed in advance for engagements outside the UAE.

Yes, and it is a significant part of what we do. Send us the non-conformity reports. We will work through the findings, address the underlying causes rather than papering over them, and prepare you for the follow-up audit. Failed audits are usually a symptom of a system built to satisfy a document checklist rather than to run a business.