World Accreditation Day 2018 focuses on how accreditation delivers a safer world. To support the day, a video has been created to help celebrate the day. The expectation of safe workplaces, safe products, safe transport, safe food, in fact all aspects of our lives is universally shared. Statistics however show that the expectation is not being matched by the reality.

There are a vast range of ways that accreditation helps to deliver a safer world. Completed projects, raw materials, products, processes, services, management systems, and persons can be evaluated against a standard, code of practice, or regulatory requirement by accredited testing and calibration laboratories, inspection bodies, certification bodies and validation & verification bodies.

World Accreditation Day 2018 provides an excellent opportunity to promote accreditation to businesses, government and regulators. Further information is available here.

The State Enterprise – Uzbek Centre for Accreditation of Conformity Assessment Bodies (SE-UZBEKACCREDITATION), Uzbekistan, is welcomed as an Affiliate member of ILAC.

We welcome SE-UZBEKACCREDITATION and look forward to working with our SE-UZBEKACCREDITATION colleagues.

As a result of a recent ballot, ILAC R1:03/2018 Management of ILAC Documents has been published.

This document provides the rules and procedures for the classification and publication of ILAC documents. This now includes the need to provide a table as an Annex in ILAC documents detailing the key changes in revised documents.

The latest version of R1 is available from here.

Azerbaijan Accreditation Centre (AZAK) is welcomed as an Associate Member of ILAC.  AZAK has been an Affiliate member since 5 October 2012.

We welcome AZAK as an Associate Member and look forward to continuing working with our AZAK colleagues.

On 01 January 2018, the OIML replaced their Basic OIML Certificate System and the OIML Mutual Acceptance Arrangement (MAA) with the OIML Certification System (OIML-CS). The OIML-CS is a system for issuing, registering and using OIML Certificates and their associated OIML type evaluation reports for types of measuring instruments (including families of measuring instruments, modules, or families of modules), based on the requirements of OIML Recommendations. 

Accordingly, the previous Joint ILAC-OIML Assessment Procedure in the Field of Legal Metrology, published in 2014, has been revised to include information on the new OIML-CS. 

Participation in the OIML-CS requires the OIML Issuing Authorities and their associated Test Laboratories to demonstrate compliance with ISO/IEC 17065 and ISO/IEC 17025 respectively. For participation in Scheme A, compliance of the OIML Issuing Authorities and their associated Test Laboratories shall be demonstrated by peer evaluation on the basis of accreditation or peer assessment.

The revised version of the Joint ILAC-OIML Assessment Procedure in the Field of Legal Metrology is available from here.

The ILAC MCC and Joint IAF/ILAC CMC have reviewed a number of brochures, including:

• Securing testing, measurement or calibration services – The difference between accreditation and certification
• Benefits for Laboratories Participating in Proficiency Testing Programs
• Accreditation: Supporting safe food and clean drinking water
• Recommended guide for engaging with Government & Regulators
• Accreditation: Facilitating World Trade
• Accreditation: Delivering confidence in construction and the built environment
• Accreditation: A global tool to support Public Policy

These revised brochures are available from here.

As a result of recent ballots, a number of IAF/ILAC A-series documents have been reviewed and approved for publication:

• IAF/ILAC-A1:01/2018 – IAF/ILAC Multi-Lateral Mutual Recognition Arrangements (Arrangements): Requirements and Procedures for Evaluation of a Regional Group. The implementation period for the revised IAF/ILAC A1 is for all peer evaluations that commence from the date of publication.
• IAF/ILAC-A2:01/2018 – IAF/ILAC Multi-Lateral Mutual Recognition Arrangements (Arrangements): Requirements and Procedures for Evaluation of a Single Accreditation Body. The implementation period for the revised IAF/ILAC A2 is for all peer evaluations that commence from the date of publication. In relation to the use of the cross-referenced IAF/ILAC A3 reporting template, this is mandatory for all evaluations based on ISO/IEC 17011:2017.
• IAF/ILAC-A3:01/2018 – IAF/ILAC Multi-Lateral Mutual Recognition Arrangements (Arrangements): Template report for the peer evaluation of an Accreditation Body (AB) based on ISO/IEC 17011:2017. The implementation period for this revised version of IAF/ILAC A3 is from the date of publication for all evaluations carried out to ISO/IEC 17011:2017.
• IAF/ILAC-A6:01/2018 – IAF/ILAC Approval Process for IAF/ILAC A-Series Documents. The implementation period for this revision of IAF/ILAC A6 is from the date of publication.

These documents are available from here.

We welcome Lithuanian Accreditation Bureau (LA), Lithuania, as a Full Member of ILAC.

LA joined ILAC as an Associate Member on 19 January 2018.  As LA is a signatory to the EA MLA for the accreditation of calibration and testing laboratories using ISO/IEC 17025, medical testing laboratories using ISO 15189 and inspection bodies using ISO/IEC 17020, LA has also been granted signatory status to the ILAC MRA and therefore, Full membership of ILAC. 

 We welcome LA as a Full Member and look forward to working with our LA colleagues.

  The full list of signatories to the ILAC MRA is available here.

The signatory status of Perry Johnson Laboratory Accreditation, Inc (PJLA), USA, has been extended to include inspection (ISO/IEC 17020).

The full list of signatories to the ILAC MRA is available here.

Dominican Accreditation Agency (ODAC), Dominican Republic, is welcomed as an Associate member of ILAC.

We welcome ODAC and look forward to working with our ODAC colleagues.