Last Updated on
January 20, 2023
By
Excedr
Did you know that the inspection bodies that assess the quality and reliability of companies’ products and services need a regulatory certification themselves to perform the inspection?
This comes under the ISO/IEC 17020:2012 standard, which ensures the competence of the inspection bodies and the impartiality and consistency of their inspection activities.
ISO/IEC 17020 is a conformity assessment that includes requirements for various types of bodies that conduct inspections, surveys, and risk assessments. Depending on the services, the standard has divided the accreditation/examination bodies into Type A, Type B, and Type C classes.
The international standard covers a range of activities of inspection bodies which include:
Please note that the information provided in this blog is for informational purposes only. We do not offer certification or accreditation services. If you are interested in obtaining certification or accreditation, we recommend contacting the relevant program directly.
While similar, ISO 17020 and ISO 9001 are two different standards; because of their likeness, they are often confused or conflated with one another. ISO 17020 is an essential standard for any organization seeking to perform inspections on behalf of organizations, clients, or authorities.
Conversely, the ISO 9001 accreditation is an international standard for quality management systems that organizations use to demonstrate their ability to provide products and services that meet customers’ and regulatory requirements.
The ISO 17020 accreditation incorporates the same level of requirements as the ISO/IEC 17000 series, such as ISO/IEC 17025 (for testing and calibration laboratories), ISO/IEC 17065, and, as mentioned, ISO 9001. However, it emphasizes more on the ability of accreditation bodies to manage impartiality, conflicts of interest, technical competence of the body, and inspection services and processes.
The accreditation trains the certification bodies in making professional judgments while performing inspections, particularly when assessing conformity with general requirements.
The set of requirements to be fulfilled by the inspection agencies is categorized into five major groups:
The accreditation process is based on the latest ISO/IEC directives and is recognized by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and International Accreditation Forum (IAF). The 17020 accreditation certification is a sequential process involving several stages of inspection, which include monitoring, auditing, and approval of the QMS.
The general steps to the certification are given as follows:
The ISO 17020 compliance is an inspection body accreditation. It includes all activities performed by an inspection body, including examining products and equipment, processes, procedures, services, and determines their overall conformity and accurate reporting of results.
If you need to accelerate the accreditation process, consider procuring high-quality lab equipment with Excedr. We offer labs and organizations a flexible and custom lease program that may assist throughout any accreditation process.