05 September 2017 IAF has seen significant membership growth over the past three months, gaining three new Accreditation Body (AB) Members and two new Association Members. These additions bring the total number of IAF Members to 107, representing 12.6% growth over the past five years. There are currently 81 AB Members, 20 Association Members, and 6 Regional Accreditation Group Members....
A copy of the joint statement is available from the IAF website or ISO website. If your business or organisation is still to get your certificates to the new standards, the first step is to contact your certification body to make the appropriate arrangements and start realising the benefits of the world's two leading management system standards. Further...
Following a seminar to explore the role of standards and accreditation in managing risk for the insurance industry, hosted by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and supported by IAF, work is now underway with industry associations to identify areas where insurers can recognise the value of standards and accreditation in supporting risk management, evaluating premiums and coverage, and using...
The company "certifies" that its organization conforms to the requirements of ISO 9001. It sounds pretty good until you start to ask what this self-certification actually means. For a quality management system (QMS) to be considered certified, the certificate must be received from an independent, accredited certification body upon completion of an assessment against specific documented criteria. It's possible...
Milwaukee - The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) has acquired Accreditation Services Bureau, doing business as Laboratory Accreditation Bureau (L-A-B). Like ANAB, L-A-B provides accreditation based on international standards for testing and calibration laboratories. The acquisition will allow ANAB to better serve a broader base of customers and meet growing market demand for accreditation services, while providing uninterrupted service...
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published its 2016 Survey of Management System Standard Certifications, an annual survey that counts certificates issued by certification bodies accredited by IAF Accreditation Body Members. Overall trends were positive, with 1,644,357 valid certificates reported in 2016 as opposed to 1,520,368 in 2015, marking an 8% increase. This number includes: 1,106,356 certificates reported...
The report includes information about the structure of the IAF MLA, numbers of IAF and Regional Group signatories and accredited certification bodies, peer evaluation activities, training, and new developments. 2016 saw the extension of the IAF MLA to the level 4 sub-scope of ISO/TS 50003:2014 Energy management systems -Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of energy management systems...
At the 2016 IAF/ILAC Annual Meetings in New Delhi, India, the IAF Task Force on Assessor Competence held a workshop to highlight best practices related to IAF Document MD 20: Generic Competence for AB Assessors: Application to ISO/IEC 17011. Accreditation Bodies (ABs) were asked to present activities they have established to verify the competence of their Assessors in compliance...
By Sheronda Jeffries and Carmine Reda Originally published in The Auditor Companies purchase lots of things. They purchase tangible goods, such as raw materials and equipment; or intangible services, such as calibration and transportation. Most companies have basic criteria that they use to qualify and select suppliers. Many companies require their suppliers to obtain and maintain certifications to...
The database presents a unique opportunity for organisations with accredited certificates, to be able to have their certificates in the database, presenting to the outside world the fact that they are certified to some of the world's leading standards such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. IAF Chair Xiao Jianhua said, "I am delighted IAF is developing the database....
Which states that as of 15 March 2018, conformity assessment bodies must conduct all ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 initial, surveillance and recertification audits to the new versions - ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015. This resolution continues the efforts of IAF, its accreditation body members, stakeholder members and accredited conformity assessment bodies to encourage those who need to upgrade...
International Personnel Certification Association's 'IPC Management System Auditors certification scheme' received endorsement as a sub-scope of the International Accreditation Forum Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (IAF MLA) during the thirty-first IAF General Assembly held on 28 and 30 October 2017 in Vancouver, Canada. The IPC Management System Auditors certification scheme is the first personnel certification scheme ever to have achieved official...
IAF has renewed its tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) at a signing ceremony held on 24 November in Vienna, Austria. The renewal extends the commitment between IAF, ILAC and UNIDO to cooperate in the field of accreditation and conformity assessment to facilitate the integration of developing...
An article entitled 'The effects of cooperation in accreditation on international trade: Empirical evidence on ISO 9000 certifications', recently published in the International Journal of Production Economics, highlights the benefits of the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) for increasing the credibility of certification bodies and enhancing the trade benefits of certification for developing countries, which face particular challenges in accessing...
Key outcomes of the meeting included agreement to: Develop a Joint IAF-OIML Assessment Procedure in the field of legal metrology; Develop IAF documents to support the proposed ICAO CORSIA program; Further expand measures to encourage the transition for ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015; and Establish an Ad-hoc Task Force to study fraudulent behavior by certified organizations. The meeting also...
The Global Innovation Index (GII) provides detailed metrics about the innovation performance of 127 countries and economies around the world. The index is the result of a collaboration between Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The GII has gained international recognition, establishing itself as both a leading reference on innovation and a âtool for actionâ for...
AIRMIC, the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers in Industry and Commerce, has published a white paper on the value that standards and accredited conformity assessment can play in the management of risk. The report states that there is plenty of evidence that organisations perform better when they adopt voluntary quality standards, yet for the most part, insurers ignore these...
Whilst any organization certified to the previous versions of these two standards no longer has a valid certificate, IAF does allow for a certificate to be reinstated within six months of the 15 September 2018 deadline, provided all the appropriate requirements and processes have been adhered to. This includes the (transition) audit process having had to be initiated before 15...
The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) is the first accreditation body to gain recognition by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the FDA's voluntary Accredited Third-Party Certification Program, which was established by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) to expand FDA's oversight of imported foods. As an FDA recognized accreditation body, ANAB has the authority to accredit...
The 2018 IAF/ILAC Mid-Term Meetings provided Accreditation and Certification bodies with the opportunity to assess the situation of the transition to the 2015 ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 quality and environmental management system standards. Progress is now accelerating as the last five months of the transition period approaches. This has been aided by the IAF rule that no work...
This half-day forum will bring businesses and regulators together in lively panel discussions, supported by audience engagement, to: Share best practices Promote the benefits of accredited certification Address challenges, gaps and opportunities for improvement We will also have a retrospective on the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 transitions. The forum, which will be in conjunction with the...
The International Accreditation Forum (IAF), International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) renewed their tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in a signing ceremony held on 10 October 2018 in Hamburg, Germany. The MoU was first signed on 28 October 2007. The MoU solidifies the three organizations' intent for cooperation in areas of common interest...
The International Accreditation Forum (IAF), the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and the International Halal Accreditation Forum (IHAF) signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in a signing ceremony held on 30 October during the 2018 Joint IAF-ILAC Annual Meetings in Singapore. The MoU acknowledges IAF, ILAC and IHAFâs intent to cooperate and consult with each other on technical...
The International Accreditation Forum (IAF), the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and the World Bank signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at a signing ceremony held on 30 October during the 2018 Joint IAF-ILAC Annual Meetings in Singapore. With the MoU, IAF, ILAC and the World Bank have committed to share knowledge and experience on quality infrastructure (QI)...
GENEVA 30 November 2018 â Responding to the challenges of globalization and sustainable development, international organizations involved with quality infrastructure, trade, and international development attended an International Network on Quality Infrastructure (INetQI) meeting in Geneva on 30th November, to discuss cooperation in promoting the understanding, value and acceptance of the quality infrastructure and providing guidance and support for its effective...
Standards Malaysia assisted the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC) to organize a three day workshop on the Quality Management Systems (QMS) Standard for Medical Devices, ISO 13485, from 30 October - 01 November 2018. The workshop was part of an effort to assist PAC members in understanding and implementing IAF MD8:2017 Application of ISO/IEC 17011:2004 in the Field of Medical Device...
ISO have recently published two new revisions of significant management system standards â ISO 22000 (food safety) and ISO 50001 (energy management). The introduction of both of these standards are subject to IAF General Assembly 2017 resolutions to help manage the smooth transition of both of these important standards for accreditation bodies, conformity assessment bodies and certified entities who...
The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), part of The Consumer Goods Forum, has launched two new video projects that bring together the expertise and dedication of GFSI's stakeholders, including voices from IAF. The first, a campaign to promote the first World Food Safety Day on 07 June 2019, illustrates the international momentum around the mission to provide safe food. The...
The report presents the lessons learnt and good practices in applying Market Surveillance methodology to monitor the effectiveness of ISO 9001 certification in manufacturing enterprises and to evaluate the performance of respective accredited certification bodies. The report concludes that the proper use of ISO 9001âbased quality management systems assists developing countries in promoting sustainable trade, thereby helping them achieve inclusive...
The intent is to promote a common focus throughout the entire conformity assessment chain in order to achieve these expected outcomes and thereby enhance the value and relevance of accredited certification. The document sets out a high-level overview into what an organisation should expect from the certification process, but also what it should not. Certification bodies are encouraged to...
Standards and accreditation are referenced in the WTO TBT Agreement and play an important role in trade facilitation. However, according to "Improving Regulatory Governance: International Standards and the WTO TBT Agreement", (Issue 5 - October 2013) by Erik Wikström and Devin McDaniels, 30% of trade concerns related to ISO, 12% to the IEC, and 10% to ILAC. The appropriate application...
As a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak and the increasing restrictions on travel and mandatory quarantine periods following travel, IAF and ILAC have released a statement providing guidelines regarding the evaluation activities required to ensure all accreditation bodies will be able to achieve this transition in the remaining 7 months. The statement is available from both the...
You can find the updated list here. We will continue to add to the list as the situation evolves. IAF is committed to ensuring consistent and appropriate action to ensure the validity of accredited certificates are correctly maintained during this challenging period. Supporting IAF member Accreditation Bodies, the Certification Bodies they accredit and most importantly those who hold accredited...
The document âRemote Auditing Activities for Accredited Food Safety Certificationâ brings together information on the existing processes and procedures used in accredited certification for food safety. IAF Chair Xiao Jianhua states, âThis invaluable information demonstrates that accreditation and certification bodies, supported by groups like ISO/CASCO, have had capabilities in place for a while to deal with an extraordinary event...
The paper "Remote Audits" has been added under "Auditing General" at ISO/TC176 - ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group. This new paper will assist those trying to conduct remote audits during the COVID-19 pandemic. It gives recommendations for the audit programme, audit planning, audit realization and audit conclusions, and includes an annex describing risks and opportunities for remote auditing. ...
The International Accreditation Forum has officially launched the world's exclusive global database for accredited management system certifications, providing businesses and governments the ability to digitally validate an organizationâs certification(s) to determine if a certificate is valid and if the Certification Body issuing the certificate is accredited to issue certifications to that standard. https://www.iafcertsearch.org IAF CertSearch, the largest global database...
To combat the spread of COVID-19 and bolster health care during the pandemic, ISO has made a number of standards freely available in read-only format. These include a variety of standards for personal protective equipment, ventilators and other medical supplies, management system standards, laboratory standards, and other standards to support businesses and individuals who depend on the safety of their...
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has published 'Quality and Standards and Their Role in Responding to COVID-19', a document examining the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on trade and the role that quality infrastructure can play in mitigating negative impacts and supporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). https://youtu.be/5-7uoxrb-eg Under the purview of the IAF Multilateral Recognition...
10 June 2020 IAF Members continue to make strides in their recognition under the IAF Multilateral Recognition Agreement (MLA). Since the last IAF General Assembly on 28 and 30 October 2019, one Accreditation Body (AB) Member has joined the IAF MLA, while 43 pre-existing signatories have achieved scope extensions. Most of the extensions were in the occupational health and...
On 27 July 2020, IAF Members approved a resolution on the Transitional Arrangement for ISO/IEC 27006:2015 AMD 1:2020 by letter-ballot. The full text of the approved resolution can be found below: Transitional Arrangement for ISO/IEC 27006:2015 AMD 1:2020 - The General Assembly, acting on the recommendation of the Technical Committee, resolved that the Transitional Arrangement associated with ISO/IEC...
The ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group (APG) paper on "Processes" has been revised to follow the audit process and auditors' point of view, as well as for conciseness and clarity. The references in the "Internal Audit" and "Internal Communication" papers have been updated. All three papers can be found on the APG website, in the section on "Auditing to ISO...
The ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group (APG) has published a new paper, "Auditing Digital Processes". It has also revised and expanded the paper on "Effective use of ISO 19011" to provide an overview of ISO 19011:2018. Both papers can be found in the "Auditing General" section of the ISO 9001 APG website. The APG has also withdrawn one paper,...
The ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group (APG) has published a new paper, 'Auditing ISO 9001:2015 in the Context of a Disruptive Event', in the Auditing General section of the ISO 9001 APG website. This paper examines ISO 9001:2015 with a focus on requirements that address risk-based thinking. Enquiries or requests are welcome at the following email address: charles.corrie@bsigroup.com.
WAD 2021 Poster Contest Rules Eligibility. Anyone over 18 years old can enter the contest, except for directors, executives, secretariat staff and officers of the organizers, and their respective spouses, parents, siblings, and children. IAF and ILAC member organizations and their staff are eligible to participate if they are not from those excluded above. Submissions from both individuals...
The February 2021 issue of IAF Outlook is now available at http://iaf.news. This issue contains a diversity of news from around the world, from the virtual meetings in the Americas, to the innovative tools being used in Europe, to the Asia Pacific region shift to the virtual world. It also features articles from stakeholders about ethical trade, reliability of...
IAF Members have endorsed the non-profit Foundation FSSC 22000's Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) 22000 scheme as a sub-scope of the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA). An MLA Agreement between IAF and Foundation FSSC 22000 was signed by Xiao Jianhua, IAF Chair, and Aldin Hilbrands, Foundation FSSC 22000's Director General, on 12 March 2021. The FSSC 22000 scheme outlines...
The ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group (APG) has revised its paper on âStatutory and Regulatory requirements" to provide guidance on auditing the capability of a quality management system to address applicable statutory and regulatory (S&R) requirements. The revised version illustrates the diversity of S&R requirements, the relation with the elements of the standard, visual aids to show the scope of...
COVID-19 restrictions have resulted in a significant increase in the use of remote techniques for auditing, assessment and evaluation. IAF, ILAC and ISO have produced a survey to collect the views of the conformity assessment community and those that rely on conformity assessment results, such as regulators, on the use of these remote techniques. The survey results will be...
New IAF MLA Signatories Since the last IAF General Assembly on 05 November 2020, one new body has become a signatory to the IAF MLA: Gulf Cooperation Council Accreditation Center (GAC (GCC)), recognized for the Main Scope of Product Certification - ISO/IEC 17065 on 11 August 2021. Congratulations to the Gulf Cooperation Council Accreditation Center for their...
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published the results of its 2020 Survey of Management System Standard Certifications, an annual survey that counts certificates issued by certification bodies accredited by IAF Accreditation Body Members. The 2020 results reflect certifications as of 31 December 2020 and include 12 standards in total, including seven standards covered by the IAF MLA (ISO...
