Certification bodies: requirements for their creation, functions and accreditation

Certification bodies are organizations that have the right to engage in their activities through accreditation. Its scope is established in accordance with normative documents and the product nomenclature. Let's study the activities of these organizations in more detail.

general information

Organizations that claim to be engaged in this activity may be private, municipal, state or other forms of ownership.
A special requirement that future certification bodies must comply with concerns the indivisible property and the impossibility of its share allocation. Therefore, for example, economic partnerships can not be considered as applicants.

Requirements for certification bodies for obtaining accreditation

To be accredited, the organization must:

• Be a third party;
• Be competent in your field;
• Have qualified staff;
• Have a fund of standards and other necessary regulatory and legal acts;
• In addition to certification and testing, be able to ensure the implementation of inspection control.

Main tasks and functions

Certification bodies are obliged to carry out the following actions.

1. Carry out certification within the established accreditation.
2. Issue licenses.
3. Suspend or terminate the activities of certificates if necessary on the basis of inspection control results.
4. Inform the accrediting body about its work.
5. Observe the confidentiality of information.

At the same time, the functions of the organization include:

• Distribution of duties and responsibilities;
• Development of methodologies;
• Regular recruitment and renewal of the regulatory framework;
• Carrying out of certification actions;
• Registration of permits;
• Implementation of inspection control;
• Providing stakeholders with information;
• Unhindered information to the applicant.

Personnel requirements

Let us now consider what qualities and characteristics the personnel working in this organization should possess, and also what actions should be taken against it.

1. The head is appointed in agreement with the accreditation body.
2. Staff should be permanent. Pressure on him from both the manufacturer and the consumer is completely excluded.
3. Certification bodies should update information on the qualifications of specialists.
4. Each of them knows his duties, is aware of responsibility and is improving in his work.
5. Specialists should be experts in the declared field.

Documentation requirements

The fund of documents should have all necessary base and be regularly updated. For this:

• Make changes to documents;
• Specify the nomenclature for certification;
• Develop updated test methods;
• If necessary, justify new standards, if they do not exist.

The Foundation consists of the following documents:

• Regulations on the certifying body (with information on the accredited area, status, functions, responsibilities, structure, interaction with various organizations).
• The procedure for certification of the same type of products (if the organization adheres to a special order).
• Quality manual (a document describing the organization's policy regarding quality, containing information about personnel, skill levels and conditions for raising it, equipment used, and the like).

Also in the fund are stored documents that must be kept confidential.

Accreditation of certification bodies

An organization wishing to conduct certification shall submit an application to the appropriate authority. It reports on the area to be certified, the awareness of the method, its own readiness for work and subsequent inspection control.

The package of documents is subjected to expertise and constitute an expert opinion. If accreditation of certification bodies passes with a positive result, certification is conducted.

This stage is realized in the organization itself. At the same time, its condition is verified upon fact and compliance with documents. The ability to realize their duties is analyzed, and an act for the accrediting body is drawn up as a result.
Based on all the information received, a decision is made. If it is positive, then the organization receives accreditation, but for a period of not more than five years. In this case, it can be canceled if it becomes clear that the accreditation does not comply with the requirements or the certification body is liquidated.

When operating, an accredited certification body is subject to inspection control. Its terms and content are agreed upon by the contract between the parties. In this case, we check:

• Observance of duties;
• The urgency of the fund on the regulatory framework;
• Qualification of specialists;
• Compliance with the rules of applications and appeals;
• Correctness of testing;
• other information.

Upon receipt of accreditation, information about the organization is entered in the Unified Register of Certification Bodies. Currently, many procedures are carried out within the framework of the rules of the Customs Union. If the relevant activities are carried out, then, in addition to all the above, it is necessary to be included in the Unified Register of Certification Bodies.