Certificate of accreditation

Accreditation Accreditation body Accreditation standard Certificate of accreditation Certification Certification body Compliance... 

For ISO 9000 approval there are several certification bodies who register and certify companies meeting the requirements. In the UK such certification bodies must themselves be accredited by UKAS as competent to carry out certifications. For GLP. the GLP Monitoring Authority of the Medicines Control Agency issues a letter of compliance to an approved laboratory. This is restricted to laboratories carrying out safety studies as described above. However, any laboratory may state they work within the GLP guidelines. In the case of accreditation by UKAS, a Certificate of Accreditation is issued which relates to specific tests or calibrations. Laboratories will be included in UKAS s list of accredited laboratories, i.c. UKAS Directory of Accredited Labora-... 

Every item in the report that requires a response must be addressed. Information must be provided for action items to describe the outcome of the action taken. All responses should be filed with the audit plan, together with resulting documents such as certificates of accreditation or notification that all outstanding items have been resolved. 

The regulator will then review the data file and conduct an audit to verify that the SMS meets requirements. Once reviewed and approved, the regulator would issue a certificate of accreditation. Figure 12.8 illustrates the accreditation approval process. 

ISO 9000 is not a statutory requirement and neither is certification, hence certification is voluntary. However, suppliers may be under pressure to obtain registration to ISO 9001, ISO 9002, or ISO 9003 in order to tender for contracts. Within the ISO 9000 certification scheme, the certification industry is regulated by accreditation bodies. An International Accreditation Forum (lAF) attempts to harmonize accreditation practices world-wide through ISO Guide 61. The accreditation bodies authorize certification bodies to conduct certification to prescribed standards - a process that is called accreditation. The accreditation body performs witness audits and desk audits of the certification body to ensure compliance with the conditions of accreditation. 

To receive ISO 9000 accreditation, a certification body must meet the requirements of ISO Guide 62 and EN 45012, which invokes ISO 10011. There is normally a mark of accreditation (a Grown and Tick in the case of UKAS accreditation) that certification bodies use to signify their credibility. Once accredited, a certification body may perform audits on suppliers offering products and services within the scope of accreditation. In theory, accreditation is granted only if the certification body has expertise (i.e. competent auditors) for the particular industry sectors (EAG codes) requested. 

A remarkable level of activity can be seen in China. The National Research Center for CRM (NRCCRM) was founded in 1980 and the certification and accreditation program for CBW RMs started in 1983 by co-operation with many Chinese Institutions. In 1993 around 60 RMs and CRMs were available (Chai Chifang 1993) and in 1999 the availability of about 1000 CRMs was reported, around 30 of them clinical, 100 environmental, 200 geological, and 300 metallic matrix materials (Rong and Min 1999). 

Darnhofer I and Vogl CR (2002), Certification and accreditation of organics in Austria implementation, strengths and weaknesses , in Ecolabels and the Greening of the Food Market, Tufts University Boston. 

Is there a difference between the processes of certification and accreditation ... 

The financial cost of accreditation is undoubtedly substantial. It has been estimated that the additional cost of being a fully accredited laboratory might add around 30% to the cost of an analysis. Some laboratories state that they work to ISO standards, but without submitting themselves for accreditation, thus avoiding the substantial cost of the external assessment procedure necessary for obtaining certification. It is self-evident that a laboratory which adheres to ISO standards (whether certificated or not) ought to routinely... 

This presentation is focused on explaining the significance of accreditation and certification for laboratories and illustrates the usefulness of both procedures. The implementation of these procedures in laboratories is described, pointing out their similarities and differences. Reference is made to some publications. The discussion reflects the existing practice. 

The role of laboratories is manifold. The main components are testing and calibration which require measurements and comparisons. This is the area to focus on in the discussion of accreditation vs. certification . Other services provided, e.g. development of new methods, consultancy etc., may lead to different conclusions with regard to the relative importance of accreditation and certification. 

The first documents dealing with the competence of laboratories were ISO/IEC Guide 25 and EN 45001 standard. They were issued to provide the necessary basis to be used by laboratories and by the bodies that assess their technical performance. In parallel, accreditation bodies nnder-took additional tasks with regard to the assessment of other activities (certification of products and systems) as specified in other EN 45000 series standards. The ISO/IEC 17025 has replaced EN 45001 (see slide 40), while other standards within EN 45000 series have been replaced by the ones in ISO/IEC 17000 series. 

Harmonization of certification and accreditation documents with regard to management issues... 

Why should a laboratory participate in PT schemes First there is the possibility to uncover errors that couldn t be found with other quality control measures and second a successful participation can be used as a certificate of competence for clients, authorities and accreditation bodies. 

Any type of accreditation or license that directly applies to the job for which you re applying definitely should be added to your resume. This section can be used to showcase professional licenses you ve earned in addition to, or in lieu of, a college degree. If you are currently in the process of earning a certificate or professional license, this should also be listed within this section of your resume, along with the expected completion date. 

A specification agreed with a supplier is not a guarantee that all deliveries will fully comply with it and arrive in full and on time. A Certificate of Analysis adds confidence and if the supplier is accredited to the ISO 9000 series or a national equivalent it shows that the quality systems have been independently audited and found to be acceptable. However, there is no substitute for regular performance reviews, backed up as appropriate by audits of the manufacturing facilities and quality systems (including incoming raw materials). This is a very onerous and time-consuming exercise, well beyond the resources of most soft drink manufacturers. 

Most environmental laboratories have a Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) document that establishes the laboratory s qualifications through descriptions of project experience, a list of accreditations, and resumes of laboratory staff. A review of the SOQ together with the Laboratory QA Manual will enable us to establish the technical capabilities and the capacity of each laboratory (Step 6). Applicable accreditations should be verified as part of laboratory qualifications, such as the state and DOD certifications or approvals. 

The WRMs are binary mixtures of C02 in nitrogen for each one the concentration with its uncertainty are certified by the supplier. The comparison of WRMs with PRMs was carried out in the range 300 500 mol/mol. PRMs used were supplied by a COFRAC accredited laboratory and were gravimetrically prepared mixtures of C02 in nitrogen. Each cylinder is accompanied by a certificate of analysis which reports the concentration and its uncertainty as provided by the analytical verification of the mixture. 

Present-day analytical laboratories are increasingly under pressure to supply objective evidence of their technical competence, of the reliability of their results and performance, and to seek formal certification or accreditation. This pressure may come from the laboratory s customers (e.g., industry and national bodies) but may also be due to scientific considerations. A QM system in place, validation of methods, uncertainty evaluation, the use of primary standards and CRMs, participation in ILCs, and PT, all serve to assure and demonstrate the quality of measurements. Compared to, say, 30 years ago, the stability of the equipment now available is much improved, and a greater range of RMs for method validation and calibration is accessible. Nevertheless, to achieve mutual (international) acceptance of various bodies of evidence for QA activities, a number of protocols have been developed. The most widely recognized protocols used in chemical measurements and testing are the ISO Guide 9000 2000, ISO/IEC 17025 2005, and OECD Guidelines for GLP, as well as its national and sector equivalents. 

Encompass principles of organic production for crops, livestock, processing, handling, and labelling, and establish certification and accreditation criteria. 

Establish a set of standards and certification and accreditation guidelines supported by the United States organic industry and community, including existing public and private certification agencies. 

Provide a set of certification and accreditation guidelines usefiil for the establishment and administration of an accreditation program for organic certification agencies. 

Provide a baseline standard that will result in reciprocity between certification agencies accredited according to these standards and provide the basis for the negotiation of additional standards recognition agreements between accredited certification agencies. 

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