Certification bodies

Edcfy-cufrent NDT inspections using spatial data (sampled scans) ha >e many benefits. They separate the two conflicting aspects of an inspection scanning and signal interpretation. An instrument/display (client/server) based NDT inspection based on sampled scan data aides in the training and certification of inspectors. It can be used over the Internet or in-house Intranet networks to train or examine inspectors at multiple or remote sites. This saves travel time and resources as defects, instrumentation and teaching can all be consolidated Samples can be maintained and distributed from a central certification body providing more control andflexibility. 

General criteria for certification bodies operating quality system certification... 

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. 

Auditors working for certification bodies should meet the requirements of ISO 10011 and in many countries there is an auditor registration scheme, which is designed so as to ensure that auditors failing to meet prescribed standards are removed from the register. 

In many countries, there is no law prohibiting an organization setting up as either an accreditation body or a certification body. 

In many countries, both accreditation and certification bodies are commercial organizations that operate without government funding and therefore they are governed by supply and demand. 

Certifications bodies are not compelled to deploy only those auditors qualified as meeting ISO 10011. 

There are gross differences in interpretation of requirements between certification bodies. 

There are differences in interpretation of requirements between different offices of the same certification body, especially those operating in different countries. 

The supplier is deemed to be the client of the certification body, not the International Organization of Standardization (ISO). 

Demand that the suppliers be registered by an accredited certification body. 

Recognize certain certification bodies as providing services that meet industry requirements. 

Complain to the certification body whenever the auditor performance does not meet expectations. 

Applying defined criteria to the selection of certification bodies that can award ISO/TS 16949 certificates... 

Permitting only lATF qualified third party auditors who are sponsored by certification bodies contracted to perform ISO/TS 16949 audits... 

Certification body notification. However, this could still be imposed as a customer-specific requirement. 

The certification business has grown enormously in the last ten years. The International Accreditation Forum (lAF) recorded 616 accredited certification bodies in January 1999. The experience of the vehicle manufacturers with ISO 9000 certification led them to question the wisdom of so many certification bodies chasing the same business in a competitive market. The results seemed to indicate that cost reductions by the certification bodies led to a decline in the quality of auditing and that was the opposite of what the vehicle manufacturers wanted. The vehicle manufacturers had not seen a significant rise in product quality as a result of ISO 9000 and they believed this was partially due to the quality of the accreditation and certification schemes being operated as well as inadequacies in the quality system standard. When the four national automotive schemes were launched, great emphasis was placed on regulating more closely the accreditation and certification schemes. From a customer perspective, the ISO 10011 scheme had some particular problems ... 

The certification bodies adhere to EN 45012, which is a general standard that does not provide for specific industry sectors to tailor the requirements to their needs. 

The accreditation body rather than the industry determines which certification bodies are qualified to issue certificates. 

The certificates issued by the certification body are not subject to independent verification by the industry. 

Although the schemes exist to satisfy the needs of industry, industry has no power to verify that the standards are being maintained by the accreditation and certification bodies. 

In brief, the auditor has to be qualified by lATF to perform the audits and, to be eligible for qualification, the auditor has to be sponsored by an lATF-approved certification body that is subject to witness audits performed by qualified auditors from vehicle manufacturers. Such measures will inevitably improve the quality of certification offered by certification bodies and will be good for the global automotive industry. 

The trade associations that are members of lATF perform an assurance function and have set up a panel to administer certification activities in their country. This involves witness audits of certification bodies to verify that they are adhering to the lATF agreement. They will monitor the scheme on behalf of the vehicle manufacturers in ensuring that certificates are only awarded to organizations that are 100% compliant with the requirements. These activities should provide added confidence that the certification bodies are fulfilling their obligations. 

Most certification body auditors who are currently performing audits against one or more of the national automotive quality system requirements (QS-9000, VDA 6, AVSQ, or EAQF) will qualify. To qualify, auditors need to ... 

These requirements are binding on certification bodies approved by lATE If the auditor does not adhere to the rules such conduct may result in the CB being disqualified. 

After certification, when a nonconformity is identified by the certification body, then the de-certification process shall be initiated. 

The certification body shall regularly evaluate auditor performance in determining effective implementation of ISO/TS 16949. Auditors should expect their performance to be regularly evaluated by their CB and that the person performing the evaluation is a qualified auditor. 

Certification body shall notify the lATF of all scheduled audits including witness audits and shall allow lATF members or their designates to attend. Auditor should expect to be informed that an lATF member may attend. If the date of the audit has to be changed it cannot be extended by more than three months from the date of document review (see Annex 1 of the Rules). 

Upgrading of a current automotive certificate by one of the lATF contacted certification bodies will be taken into account. . . The auditor needs to establish whether the supplier intends the ISO/TS 16949 audit to be an upgrade of current certificate and if so to advise them that unless it is performed by the same CB there can be no reduction in the audit man-days. 

If your organization is registered to one or more of the existing automotive quality system requirements and the scope is unchanged, the required man-days for the initial audit may be reduced by 50%, but if you decide to change certification body or have changed the scope, there will be no reduction. 

Customer complaints can warrant de-certification action by the certification body if the complaint was as a result of a system nonconformity. 

The industry regulates the certification bodies, in addition to them being regulated by accreditation. 

External audits carried out by personnel who are neither employees of the customer nor the supplier and are usually employees of certification bodies or registrars. 

The 1982 White Paper on Standards, Quality and International Competitiveness was concurrent with increasing interest in the techniques of quality assurance and the need for international harmonization of standards and the reciprocal recognition of certification. It is worth noting that the ISO 9000 series of standards on Quality Systems 1987 followed the layout of BS 5750 1979 almost clause by clause. ISO Guide 39 covers the general requirements for inspection bodies. Auditing on behalf of certification bodies is part of the inspecting authorities role. 

How can this situation arise It is because most certification bodies are not in a position to consider other uncertainty components than those associated with the certification process. 

The reasons for such vagueness may lie in a combination of factors, the lamentable level of proper understanding of statistics amongst many analysts and, as mentioned above, the inconsistent and complex manner in which many certification bodies use statistics to produce their certified values and the willingness of journals to accept papers that lack proper validation of restdts and do not describe the proper use of CRMs. 

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