ISO 37001 for machine builders
ISO 37001 for mechanical engineering: certificate online
Machine builders sell expensive, customised equipment through agents and distributors, and buyers want proof that bribery is under control. ISO 37001 is the standard that provides it. With Zertify you answer a self-assessment online and receive a verifiable certificate within 4 hours of passing and payment.
01: Demand
Why do customers and tenders ask machine builders for ISO 37001?
A machine is rarely a standard product. It is quoted individually, shipped across borders and commissioned at the customer's site. The order often arrives through an agent in a market you do not know well. Purchasing departments at larger groups are aware of this, and their supplier questionnaires ask three things: whether you have an anti-bribery policy, who vets your agents, and where employees can report misconduct.
A certificate answers these questions once. Instead of completing a different questionnaire for every customer, you send one certificate with a number and a QR code. Tenders for infrastructure and public-sector projects may also request proof of anti-bribery measures. Read the tender documents for the exact wording.
The standard does not promise that no bribery will ever occur. It shows that your company has taken reasonable organisational precautions and that they are documented.
02: Risks
Where does bribery risk sit in a machine-building business?
The risks follow the order process from the first quote to the last service call. These are the points an assessment looks at first.
- Sales agents and distributors
- A commission paid to an intermediary in an export market can be passed on to someone at the customer who decides on the order.
- Acceptance and commissioning
- The customer's engineer signs the acceptance protocol. A payment or gift can speed up the signature or make defects disappear from the report.
- Customs and permits
- Machine shipments need import clearance and site permits. Small payments to officials to move things along are facilitation payments and fall within the standard's scope.
- Service and spare parts contracts
- Framework agreements with the customer's maintenance staff create room for gifts in return for preferred-supplier status or discounts.
- Trade fairs and factory visits
- Customer delegations are invited to the plant, with travel, hotel and dinner. The line between hospitality and influence needs a written threshold.
- Installation partners and subcontractors
- Local firms working on site act in your name. Their conduct is attributed to you.
03: Practice
How does a machine builder meet the key requirements?
The requirements are written for any organisation, so the work is to translate them into your own order process. Risk assessment belongs to clause 6 Planning, the compliance function to clause 5 Leadership, due diligence and controls to clause 8 Operation.
| Requirement | Example in a machine builder |
|---|---|
| Bribery risk assessment | A list of markets, sales channels and project types, each rated for risk and reviewed whenever a new country or agent is added. |
| Anti-bribery policy | A short policy signed by management and handed to sales, service and project staff and to every agent. |
| Independent compliance function | A named person outside sales, for example the head of quality or legal counsel, who can go directly to the managing director. |
| Due diligence | Before an agent is appointed: ownership, references, commission compared with market level, and a written contract with an anti-bribery clause. |
| Financial and non-financial controls | Two signatures on commissions above a set limit, no cash payments, payment only to the account named in the contract, a register for gifts above a threshold. |
| Reporting channel | A mailbox or external hotline that service technicians on customer sites can use, with a written rule against retaliation. |
Most mid-sized machine builders already have parts of this, such as signature rules and contract templates. The gap is usually the written policy and a documented check of agents.
04: Preparation
What should you prepare before the self-assessment?
The self-assessment has 38 yes/no questions. 14 of them are must-meet questions and all must be answered yes. Of the other 24, at least 16 must be yes. The questions cover the core of the assessment, not every requirement of the standard. Answer them honestly, because SICE reviews every assessment.
Have these items at hand:
Agent and distributor list
Name, country, contract date and commission terms for each intermediary.
Signed anti-bribery policy
Dated, approved by management and communicated to staff.
Named compliance contact
One person with a direct line to management.
Gift and hospitality rule
A threshold, an approval step and a register.
Reporting channel
Address or number, and the rule that protects people who report.
05: Zertify
How do you get ISO 37001 with Zertify?
You complete the self-assessment online. SICE, the Swiss Institute of Certification and Education, reviews the assessment. Zertify issues the certificate under licence from SICE within 4 hours of passing and payment. The PDF carries a certificate number and a QR code. Your customer's purchasing department scans the code and lands on a public verification page.
The price is CHF 749 (€749) in the first year, then CHF 499 (€499) per year including the yearly online re-audit. The certificate is valid for 3 years. It is an automatic yearly subscription that you can cancel at any time to the end of the current year in your customer account. If you cancel, the certificate ends with the paid year. You do not need an account to buy. Customers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein pay prices including 8.1% VAT.
A company that also needs ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 receives 20% off for two standards and 30% off for three or more, also on the yearly fee.
06: Routes
How does this differ from the classic route with an on-site audit?
The Zertify certificate rests on an online self-assessment. There is no on-site audit. Every year a short online re-audit confirms that the certificate still applies, and every certificate can be verified publicly by number and QR code.
The classic route is an on-site audit by a certification body. It means scheduling auditors, hosting them at the plant and waiting for the report. If a tender document prescribes a specific route, read the wording before you decide. The guide below compares both.
07: FAQ
Questions about ISO 37001 for mechanical engineering
The standard is voluntary. Whether you need it depends on your customers. If supplier questionnaires or tenders already ask for anti-bribery measures, a certificate saves you from answering the same questions repeatedly.
The standard asks for a function that is independent and has direct access to leadership. In a firm with 40 employees this can be the head of quality or an external lawyer. It should not be the head of sales.
No. Due diligence is risk-based. An agent in a high-risk market with a large commission needs more checking than a long-standing distributor in a neighbouring country with a small margin. Document why you chose the depth you did.
Every certificate can be checked on a public verification page by number and QR code. Send the verification link to your customer's purchasing department and ask whether it meets their requirement. If a tender names a specific route, check the wording first.
The certificate arrives within 4 hours of passing the self-assessment and paying. It costs CHF 749 (€749) in the first year, then CHF 499 (€499) per year including the yearly online re-audit.
Yes. You can cancel at any time in your customer account, effective at the end of the current year. The certificate then ends with the paid year.
08: Guide
Related pages
Check where your company stands
Answer 38 yes/no questions and see whether your anti-bribery measures meet the bar for ISO 37001.
Free and without registration.