Before and during the course FAQs

The Lean approach can be used to make improvements around an organisation to quality, costs, customer satisfaction and employee morale by:

• Reducing defects and variability
• Eliminating waste and improving efficiency
• Providing products and services that meet or exceed their expectations.
• Enabling employees to contribute to process improvement

The CQI does offer what it calls ‘reasonable adjustment’ in certain circumstances. You will need to tell us as soon as possible and well in advance of your exam if you feel you need extra support or time to take the exam due to a physical or learning disability, or if you require a female CQI and IRCA member of staff to review your proctoring video recording for religious reasons.

If English is not your first language but you are taking the exam in English, you may be eligible for an extra 30 minutes to complete the questions. Contact us to discuss.

Yes, we are delighted that professional bodies such as RSS, IEMA, IOSH and CQI & IRCA have approved all our existing certified courses for Virtual Classroom delivery.

You will receive a certificate after you complete your course.

• Take notes. The instructor will cover a lot of material during the course, so it's important to take notes. This will help you remember the information and refer back to it later.
• Review the material. After each class, review the material that was covered. This will help you solidify your understanding of the concepts.
• Practise what you learn. The best way to learn is by doing. Try to practise what you learn in the course in your own work. This will help you understand how the concepts apply to your organisation.
• Get help if you need it. If you're struggling with any of the material, don't be afraid to ask for help from the tutor or other participants in the course.
• Avoid being distracted. Arrive on time to the class and turn off your mobile phone if possible so that you can concentrate fully on the work in hand.

Yes, if you wish to gain an executive-level awareness of the requirements of ISO 9001 and quality management systems.

If you are looking for a more in-depth course, you may like to consider our 1-day Introduction to ISO 9001:2015 training course. This is available as a public course at our venues across the UK, offering you the opportunity to meet with peers at other organisations and share knowledge and experiences.

Visit the ISEP website for all the information on how to join and grades of membership.

You have a number of options to enhance your career prospects with further training.

If you wish to focus on ISO 17025, you can extend your auditing expertise to auditing supplier systems by attending our ISO 17025 Lead Auditor training course. You can also learn more about applying ISO 17025 on our ISO 17025 Implementation training course.

You may like to develop further specialist knowledge around auditing for laboratories. We run courses on:

• Understanding ISO 17025 Requirements for Forensic Laboratories
• Introduction to ISO 15189 for Medical Laboratories
• ISO 15189 Internal Auditor

You can also enhance your skills set, with courses such as:

• Measurement Uncertainty
• Calibration and Control of Measuring Systems

Alternatively, you may like to build on the internal auditor skills you have learned here to work with quality systems across your organisation. We offer a comprehensive range of training courses in internal auditing for quality management, environmental management, health and safety management, information security management, business continuity management, energy management, inspection bodies, medical devices, automotive, food safety, and aviation, space and defence.

As an individual you can become certified through your organisation if it is certified by the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), or directly through the RSS. This is available to delegates that successfully complete either a Six Sigma Green Belt or Six Sigma Black Belt training course. The process will involve submitting a portfolio of evidence demonstrating successful practice. Delegates will also have to attend a half-day assessment centre at RSS in London. For groups this can be arranged on site. Bywater does offer a bespoke training package to guide delegates through this process with one-to-one tutoring from Lean and Six Sigma experts.

A business can be become certified through the RSS 18404 scheme. This will be an assessment of the system the organisation has in place for managing the competence of its key personnel under the standard.  A full description of the process can be found here.

CQI and IRCA will provide full details of the technical requirements to give you an effective exam experience, including desktop or laptop computer, camera and microphone and internet connection. You will be able to access tools on the portal to test your technology.

A stable internet connection is important to keep you online during the course. We recommend that you test your connection as far as you can before the course starts.

If you know you have problems with connectivity, please contact our team who will do their utmost to help. If you are working from home but regularly experience connectivity issues, you may like to consider joining the course from an alternative location.