1) Which are the certification bodies?
A producer or supplier wishing to obtain the NTMB-certificate for his organisation should contact one of the accredited certification bodies. The certification body evaluates the producer/supplier’s file, carries out audits and takes a decision on the granting of the NTMB certificate in accordance with the certification regulations of the NTMB management system. The granted NTMB certificate is valid for 3 years and allows the certified company to use the official logo for NTMB management system.
The Belgian accreditation body BELAC is responsible for the accreditation of the NTMB management system. This means that interested certification bodies can submit their application to BELAC for accreditation according to the NTMB management system certification scheme.
COPRO is currently the only BELAC-accredited certification body for the NTMB management system for producers and suppliers:
2) The requirements of the NTMB management system
A deliberate choice in favour of a quality assurance system adapted to the production and supply of living natural materials and other ecological and technical-natural building materials is intended to build confidence in these materials. This quality assurance system has been defined in the Voorschriften_5.0_NTMB-zorgsysteem , (only available in Dutch) which deals with both organisational aspects and technical criteria associated with the materials. The greatest attention is paid to the self-monitoring of the producer/supplier and the principles of sustainable entrepreneurship.
3) Certification regulations
The NTMB certificate is not a product certificate for materials, but a system certificate for the producer’s or supplier’s organisation. The procedure for obtaining this certificate is described in Certificatiereglement_5.0_NTMB-zorgsysteem (only available in Dutch).
Standard forms
The applicant can use the standard forms to apply a membership of the NTMB management system: Procesbegeleidings documenten NTMB-zorgsysteem (496 kB) (only available in Dutch).
The applicant is not obliged to use these documents because an audit focuses on substance rather than form.