International Standard
Accreditation
Conformity Assessment
IACAB Provides Accreditation Services to Internationally Recognized Third Party Management System Standard Certification Organizations
IACAB through its accreditation procedure carries out their duties in accordance with applicable requirements and in a competent manner as per the requirements, criteria, rules and regulations that warrant transparency, reliability, objectivity and impartiality and ensures the following:
- Fulfils the requirements of the applicable EN ISO/IEC 17011 standard and other applicable documents with regard to the structure, the balanced involvement of interested parties, objectivity of the persons involved in the accreditation procedure, freedom from financial, business or other obligations of the persons involved in the accreditation procedure, competence for accreditation;
- Endeavours to operate in a manner relevant to its status as a Global Accreditation Body in compliance with the relevant International, National and European Standards, Regulations, Guidelines and Requirements;
- Build and uphold an open exchange of information with other accreditation bodies, certification bodies and the general public on the offered accreditation services;
- Equal access for international recognition of its accreditation schemes through international and regional forums and through bilateral and multilateral mutual recognition arrangements;
- Interfacing and exercising productive liaison with various regional authorities promoting compliance to legal and contractual obligations to ensure acceptance of accredited certifying bodies and their institutional activities.
IACAB Accreditation is voluntary in nature. Accreditation by an independent authority means that when you choose a certification body to review your activities you are choosing someone who has been reviewed against defined standards. The consumer will know that their Certifying Body has their own documented operating system and procedures for looking after their interests.
The Steering Committee of Governing Board has overall authority and responsibilities for policies and procedures for the operations of IACAB. Accreditation Approval Committees make decisions concerning the granting, suspending, withdrawn and continuation of accreditation. An independent Impartiality Committee representing the broad range of stakeholders’ reviews and adjudicates on possible conflicts of interest.
In most countries, accreditation is a choice, not an obligation and the fact that a certification body is not accredited does not, by itself, mean that it is not a reputable organization. For example, a certification body operating nationally in a highly specific sector might enjoy such a good reputation that it does feel there is any advantage for it to go to the expense of being accredited. That said, many certification bodies choose to seek accreditation, even when it is not compulsory, in order to demonstrate an independent confirmation of their competence.
Management System Certification Bodies
The IACAB program for assessing and accrediting IACAB certification/registration bodies is based on relevant guides established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). IACAB monitors activities of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) to ensure international consistency in the application of these internationally established guidelines.
IACAB Accredits Certifying Bodies to Perform Certifications in the Following Areas
- ISO 9001 (Quality Management System)
- ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System)
- OH&S 45001 (Occupational Health & Safety Management System)
- ISO 13485 (Medical Devices)
- ISO 20000 (Information Technology Service Management)
- ISO 27001 (Information Security Management System)
- ISO/IEC 27018 (Cloud Security Management System)
- ISO 22301 (Business Continuity Management System)
- FSSC 22000 (Food Safety Management System)
- HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)
- ISO 41001 (Facility Management System)
- ISO 50001 (Energy Management System)
- Unit Certification (Entire Unit Process & Product Certification)
- Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)
- ISO 17025/15189 (Testing and Calibration Laboratories-Board Accreditation-IACAB)