Pre-assessment

A pre-assessment is similar to a full certification assessment, but is limited in scope and costs. The main purpose of the pre-assessment is to clarify the needs for adjusting the management before the ull certification assessment. 

Typically, a pre-assessment will identify major weaknesses in compliance. This enables the operation to prepare more efficiently for the full assessment by improving its performance in the identified areas.

NEPCon provides pre-assessments for operations preparing for FSC and/or PEFC certification. Pre-assessments are a formal part of the FSC system and in some cases a pre-assessment is mandatory for operations applying for FSC certification.

An FSC forest management pre-assessment may often be combined with FSC controlled wood certification at a relatively small additional cost.

The pre-assessment process

The typical steps in a pre-assessment proces are outlined below.
 
1. NEPCon's assessment team visits the operation. Initially, the assessors will provide a detailed briefing about the pre-assessment process.

2. During the pre-assessment visit, interviews with key staff are conducted, and key documents are reviewed. A few sites in the forest are selected and visited by the team.

3. Based on the findings of the visit, the team prepares a draft pre-assessment report describig the team's fidings, including major weaknessess in compliance.

4. The draft report is sent to the operation. 

5. Based on the comments made by the operation, NEPCon prepares a final pre-assessment report.