Page 9 - 2014 A2LA Annual Report

A2LA 2014 Annual Report
Reference Material Producer
Accreditation
The A2LA accreditation program for reference material
producers is designed for producers of reference materi-
als who wish to demonstrate their competence by formal
compliance with a set of internationally-recognized
criteria. The program provides users of reference materi-
als, such as testing and calibration laboratories, with
increased confidence that the reference materials being
relied upon are being produced in accordance with
specified technical and management system require-
ments and are of appropriate quality.
The requirements for this program are based on those
contained in ISO Guide 34, General requirements for
the competence of reference material producers. A
description of the accreditation process is maintained
in A2LA’s document titled R304 - General Requirements
- Accreditation of ISO Guide 34 Reference Materials
Producers. The reference material producer’s commit-
ment to A2LA in pursuing accreditation is documented in
R102 - Conditions for Accreditation. ISO Guide 34 sets out have all accredited Product Certification Bodies fully
the general requirements with which a reference material
producer must demonstrate compliance, if it is to be
recognized as competent to carry out the production of
reference materials. It is recognized that each reference
material needs to be characterized mainly to the level of
accuracy required for its intended purpose (i.e. appropri- all types of product certifiers. The following are just a
ate measurement uncertainty).
Product Certification Body
Accreditation
The certification of a product (a term used to include
a process or service) is a means of providing assur-
ance that the product, process or service complies
with specified standards or other normative docu-
ments. The value of certification is the degree of
confidence and trust that is established by an impar-
tial and competent demonstration of fulfillment of
specified requirements by a third party. A description
of the accreditation process is maintained in A2LA’s
document titled R307 - General Requirements -
Accreditation of ISO/IEC 17065 Product Certification
Bodies or R307 - General Requirements - Accreditation
of ISO/IEC Guide 65 Product Certification Bodies.
A2LA accreditation attests that a product certification
body has demonstrated that:
n It is competent to perform specific product certifi-
cations or specific types of product certifications;  Plastic piping systems and components
n Its management system is documented, is fully
operational, and addresses and conforms to all el-
ements of ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996 General require-
ments for bodies operating product certification
systems (including IAF GD-5) or ISO/IEC 17065:2012
Conformity assessment - Requirements for bodies
certifying products, processes and services;
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n It is operating in accordance with the required
management system; and
n It conforms to any additional requirements es-
tablished by A2LA and/or other specifiers which
recognize and utilize A2LA accreditations.
Accreditation is based on A2LA’s assessment of a
product certification body’s performance including
but not limited to procedures, staff competence, re-
porting and surveillance (where relevant). It is avail-
able to all product certification bodies.
A2LA’s Product Certification Accreditation Program
began transitioning accreditations to the new ISO/IEC
17065:2012 standard in March 2013. An official transi-
tion memorandum, R307 - Transition Memorandum to
ISO/IEC 17065, was published in November 2012 and
outlined the steps A2LA would be taking over the next
few years in order to bring all accredited Product
Certification Bodies into compliance with the new
standard. As an IAF MLA signatory, A2LA is required to
accredited (that is, assessment complete and Ac-
creditation Council approval obtained) no later than
September 15, 2015.
A2LA welcomes applications for the accreditation of
few examples of work for which accreditation may be
sought:
 Appliances
 Automotive lifting devices
 Bottled water and packaged ice
 Building products
 Building and institutional furnitures
 Class II biohazard cabinetry
 Drinking water additives
 Drinking water treatment units
 Electric appliances and accessories
 Electrical products
 Fenestration products
 Food service equipment
 Gas appliances and accessories
 Gas and oil products
 Lighting products
 Manufactured products and recreational
vehicle plumbing products
 Marine products
 Personal protective and safety equipment
 Plumbing products
 Recreational clothing
 Occupational health and safety/personal
protective clothing
 Sanitation products
 Sealed insulating glass
 Software
 Solar energy