Canadas Accreditation System and Conformity Assessment - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

Canada’s Accreditation System and Conformity Assessment Infrastructure

Sylvie Lafontaine VP Standards and International Relations Standards Council of Canada

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

What is Accreditation?

Accreditation is the formal recognition by an accreditation authority to the competence of a conformity assessment body to carry out a specific service in accordance to standards and technical regulations

Standards Council of Canada (SCC) accredits:

– Standards development organizations – Conformity assessment bodies

Benefits:

• Increased credibility of certifications
• Increased international recognition and acceptance of certifications

2

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

Accreditation process

Accreditation and Certification Process in Canada

National Accreditation Body – Standards Council of Canada Certification process Certification Body (CB) Product (Organic Food; Electrical; Plumbing)

Witness Audits

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

Canada’s Strong Accreditation System = Confidence

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

More than 400 SCC-accredited clients

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

SDO Accreditation Process - Overview

Maintenance Accreditation Review Findings Resolution Onsite Assessment Planning and Review Application and Fee

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

Assessment Process - Review of customer's policies and procedures

Assessment Team

• SCC assigns a team
• f 2 trained assessors
• Lead assessor and a

technical expert

Document Review

• Requirements:

comparison table

• Lead assessor verifies

policy requirements are reflected in client’s procedures

• Generation of report

Required Changes

• Report identifies

required changes

• Client makes required

changes

• Acceptance of

changes

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

Assessment Process - Granting of accreditation

Resolution of non- conformance Quality check Accreditation

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

SCC Accreditation Program

Good laboratory Practices and Facilities Inspection bodies Greenhouse gas Validators and verifiers Calibration and Testing laboratories Standards Development Organizations

STANDARDS COUNCIL OF CANADA (SCC)

Management systems certification bodies Bodies offering certification of persons

Accredits to international standard

Bodies offering certification of products/services

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

SCC offers specialty programs in the following areas:

• Agriculture, food, animal health, and plant protection
• Calibration
• Environmental
• Test method development and non-routine testing
• Fasteners
• Forensic
• IT security evaluation and testing
• Mineral analysis

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

Example of Accreditation Program - Canadian Laboratory Management System and Procedures

• Accreditation by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) is a mark of

competence and reliability recognized throughout the world. SCC accredits:

• Testing and calibration laboratories to ISO/IEC 17025 – General

requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories

• Medical testing laboratories to ISO 15189 - Medical Laboratories – particular

requirements for quality and competence

• Proficiency testing providers to ISO/IEC 17043 - Conformity assessment -

General requirements for proficiency testing. SCC is also the only organization within Canada to offer Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) recognition - Recognition of facilities that perform pre-clinical studies of a variety of different products, including pharmaceuticals

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

Benefits of SCC accreditation for labs

• Demonstrates a laboratory’s competence to manage and perform

activities defined by its specific program scope of accreditation.

• Laboratories are able to obtain independent, third-party, credible

test results for themselves and for their customers.

• Helps laboratories deliver services with confidence and attract new

customers.

• International recognition
• Ensuring quality management

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs)

• Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA) are legally binding, negotiated

agreements between governments based on specific regulated products. They can be negotiated between governments, between accreditation bodies and between testing and certification organizations, based on specific regulated products. MRAs are important tools for expanding market access for Canadian industry

Multilateral Recognition Agreements (MLAs)

• MLAs are voluntary agreements among accreditation bodies that operate
• n the basis of the recognition of technical equivalency among signatories.

It ensures that procedures meet the requirements of a given standard. An MLA is also a confidence building mechanism as it helps to ensure the competence of CABs in economies importing into the Canadian market, and vice versa.

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

SCC Membership in IAF & ILAC

• SCC is a member of the IAF & ILAC MLA/MRAs, which

are a means to recognize the equivalence of accreditations issued by members’ accreditation bodies.

• Accreditation Bodies participate in mutual peer

evaluations based on the requirements of ISO/CASCO documents and IAF and ILAC specific application documents.

• The consequence of joining the IAF or ILAC MLA/MRA

is that accreditations issued by any one of the signatories to the MLA/MRA should be recognized by

• ther Signatories to the MLA’s/MRA’s (and by

extension accredited certificates should be recognized).

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

Benefits of MLAs/MRAs

• Reducing barriers to trade.
• Increasing Canadian exporters’ access to foreign markets.
• Providing manufacturers with an opportunity to test and certify products one

time to the requirements of multiple markets.

• Reducing costs and delays associated with duplicate testing of products.
• Ensuring that an accreditation body’s program is re-evaluated regularly

against best practices. Overall these agreements lower the costs of doing business, and reduce the burden on both industry and regulatory agencies, thereby facilitating trade. MLAs/MRAs do not require signatory countries to harmonize their standards or

• regulations. Instead, these agreements develop closer and stronger

relationships among regulatory authorities and CABs.

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

SCC & Domestic Regulatory Coordination

Federal P/T Government

P/T Certification Body P/T Certification Body P/T Certification Body

SCC

• More than 1,300

standards referenced in federal regulations;

• Over 4,000

references at the provincial/territorial level

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

Review: Regulatory Authority Advisory Bodies (RAABs):

• Consist of representatives from various Canadian governmental
• rganizations
• Resolve issues of national importance, develop aligned responses

to public safety issues, coordinate regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures between jurisdictions.

• Play an important role in approving Other Recognized Documents

(ORDs), which are documents developed by certification bodies to establish safety and performance criteria for a new product in the absence of a recognized Canadian standard.

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

SCC’s Vision – New Governance Framework

• SCC envisions a multi-phase approach, starting with agreements

between SCC and RAABs in key sectors, expanding to include those in sectors where standards are referenced in regulations.

• SCC would provide a more effective and coordinated structure to

the RAABs by providing enhanced secretariat services.

• Based on monitored data, SCC anticipates that some of those

sectors could include energy, the environment, health, finance, labour, natural resources, transportation, natural gas, municipal affairs and housing, technology, consumer services, northern development, and justice.

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

SCC Oversight/ Secretariat Strategic/Policy Committee Strategic/Policy Committee Strategic/ Policy Committee

Single Comprehensive Agreement

Advisory Council Advisory Council Advisory Council Advisory Council Advisory Council

Regulatory Authority Advisory Bodies (RAABs)

Future Consolidated Associations of Chief Inspectors

SCC’s Vision – New Governance Framework

Standards experts. Accreditation solutions.

QUESTIONS?