Lenient Testing Companies

Sonntag, 6. August 2017 - 22:40

Germany was famous for its correctness. Forget about it. The “diesel scandal” killed that dream. (Forget about serious ISO 26262 audits in Germany.)

Finding “defeat devices” (deception implemented in the software which runs the motor control) is much easier than auditing the protection of mental health in OH&S management systems. No surprise that German employers easily pass OHSAS 18001 audits even though the management of mental workload issues is not included in their OH&S management system if the CAB doesn’t really care about that.

Don’t trust in audits whether it is about environmental protection or credit ratings: http://comment-news.com/source/www.nytimes.com/2015/09/25/business/international/volkswagen-emissions-pollution-regulations.html/:

“[...] Carmakers ‘shop’ for the best deal from agencies across Europe and directly pay for their services,” he [Greg Archer, a former director at Britain's renewable-fuels regulator] said in a recent [2015] statement on the Volkswagen scandal. “The job of the engineer overseeing the test is ultimately dependent on the next contract from the carmaker.”

The company did not have an immediate comment.

Automakers have the same incentive to shop around for lenient testing companies that bond issuers have long had to shop around for the credit rating agency that would give them the highest credit rating. Overgenerous ratings of complex financial instruments based on mortgage prices were widely blamed as helping to set the global financial crisis. [...]

Also OHSAS 18001 certifiers easily might get corrupted by their customers who won’t appreciate an honest audit. Too thoroughly audited employers just would move to a more lenient CAB. That is why I kow of a company in Europe where the management of mental workload issues is not included in their OH&S management system. They got their OHSAS 18001 certificate nevertheless. The CAB also had tolerated that that company moved much too late from OHSAS 18001:1999 to OHSAS 18001:2007 in the year 2013. The accreditation authority – lenient as well – did not consider that to be a deviation.

Certification mills have good working conditions in Europe. That ugly make-believe business makes employees sick. The “diesel scandal” confirmed my impression that audits can be an ugly farce.


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