Each year on 09 June, IAF and ILAC celebrate World Accreditation Day (WAD) with their members, partners, stakeholders and other organisations in the field of conformity assessment. At the IAF and ILAC General Assemblies in November 2021, the Joint Working Group Communications Chairs announced the theme for WAD 2022, Accreditation: Sustainability in Economic Growth and the Environment.

With ecosystems under increasing strain from climate change, habitat destruction, and pollution, viewing economic growth through the lens of sustainability has become essential. Accreditation and standards can help regulators, companies and consumers require or engage in more environmentally friendly practices. Climate action and the transition to a circular economy, which emphasises quality, reuse, recycling, remanufacturing and waste management to conserve resources and limit waste, are two main areas that IAF and ILAC will explore in 2022.

A number of benefits that accreditation can provide are illustrated through case studies and research on the Public Sector Assurance and Business Benefits websites. Case studies can be filtered by Sustainable Development Goal.

Following the success of last year’s contest held to select an official poster for WAD 2021 celebrations, IAF and ILAC are holding another poster contest for WAD 2022. We invite all interested parties to explore our theme of Accreditation: Sustainability in Economic Growth and the Environment with up to three entries. The winner for each contest will receive 1,500 USD, while the two-runners up for each contest will receive 500 USD each.

The contest rules, including instructions for how to submit entries, are available here.

We look forward to receiving your submissions!

The Joint IAF-ILAC-ISO Communiqué on the Management system requirements of ISO 15189: Medical laboratories – Particular requirements for quality and competence was first issued in 2009 to confirm that laboratories accredited to ISO 15189 operate a recognised quality management system and has been now updated and is available here.

The virtual meeting of the 25th ILAC General Assembly was held on the 2nd of November 2021.

The adopted resolutions from the ILAC 2021 General Assembly are now available here.

The Joint Stock Company Scientific Technical Center “Industrial Safety” (STC-IS), Russian Federation, is welcomed as an Associate Member of ILAC.  STC-IS has been an Affiliate member since 27 August 2012.

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

The MLSCN Accreditation Service, Nigeria, is welcomed as an Associate Member of ILAC.  MLSCN has been an Affiliate member since 2 November 2014.

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

The JCTLM is holding its biennial meeting and associated workshop virtually from 6 – 10 December 2021. The topic for the workshop this year is: Overcoming challenges to global standardization of clinical laboratory testing: reference materials and regulations

The workshop will be held as two 2-hour discussion sessions on three separate topics and ending with a final combined session to develop workshop recommendations. The session titles are:

Session 1: What are the needs and logistical challenges for standardized results?

Session 2: What are the challenges for CRM producers?

Session 3: What are the challenges to meet regulatory requirements in different countries or regions?

The address for the workshop website is: https://www.bipm.org/en/committees/jc/jctlm/wg/jctlm/2021-12-06 and includes details on the topics within each session, the times for the sessions and the link for registration.

The comparability and reliability of results, as well as the availability of improved traceability and calibration hierarchies are key issues in the accreditation of medical testing laboratories. Accreditation body staff and associated stakeholders are welcome to register and attend this JCTLM workshop.

The signatory status of Danish Accreditation Fund, Denmark, to the ILAC MRA has been extended to include the accreditation of RMP using ISO 17034.

The full list of signatories to the ILAC MRA is available from https://ilac.org/signatory-search/ .

A joint IAF/ILAC/ISO survey on the use of remote assessment techniques has shown that a large majority prefer remote or blended audits, assessments and/or evaluations. Furthermore, respondents felt that remote activities provide as much confidence as on-site activities and would like to see continued or an increased use of remote activities in the future. A cross-section of the conformity assessment community were invited to participate and over 4000 surveys were returned!

There are many benefits to remote working including, reduced travel time and costs, efficient use of time during assessment, and a reduced carbon footprint. In addition to providing a snapshot of attitudes towards the use of remote techniques, the survey received hundreds of suggestions, ideas and proposals from users, CABs, auditors and assessors.

With this in mind ILAC will work alongside IAF and ISO and consider next steps in order to incorporate the outcomes in the relevant documents and processes as appropriate, and support our members.

For more information:

Full article

Survey Report

The signatory status of Department of Standards Malaysia, Malaysia, to the ILAC MRA has been extended to include the accreditation of PTP using ISO/IEC 17043.

The full list of signatories to the ILAC MRA is available from https://ilac.org/signatory-search/ .

Etty Feller, ILAC Chair and Xiao Jianhua, IAF Chair participated in an online launch of this IO Compendium as part of the OECD 8th Annual Meeting of International Organizations held recently.

ILAC and IAF have contributed to the development of this IO Compendium over several years along with more than 50 other IOs, including many involved in the international quality infrastructure community. The IOs represent a broad cross-section of international organisations with different mandates, memberships and international frameworks.

The objective of the IO Compendium is to learn from the experiences of these IOs to improve international rulemaking for all involved in these processes. A brochure on the compendium outlining the objectives, the process and the outcomes, as well as the compendium documents are available from https://www.oecd.org/governance/better-international-rulemaking/compendium/