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From March to May, international auditors of the Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC) evaluated the national accreditation system (NAS) of the Russian Federation in order to confirm the signatory status to the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement in the following areas:
As well as considering the application to expand the scope in recognition of the following areas:
As a result the auditors recommended to confirm the status of RusAccreditation as a signatory of APAC MRA (ILAC MRA accordingly) in the current field, as well as to expand the scope of recognition by areas declared by RusAccreditation. The final decision will be made by APAC MRA MC by the end of 2021.
June 9 marks World Accreditation Day, a global initiative co-founded by IAF and ILAC with a view to improving public awareness about the importance of accreditation. The theme of World Accreditation Day 2021 was the role of accreditation in supporting the implementation of the sustainable development goals.
Supporting the initiative of international accreditation organizations, RusAccreditation promoted the role of the accreditation institute in the modern world and participated in the development and distribution of IAF and ILAC information materials in Russian.
In this regard RusAccreditation published on its website a joint video and IAF and ILAC brochure such on Accreditation: Supporting the implementation of the sustainable development goals.
The 1st meeting of Working Sub-group on Accreditation and Testing Laboratories of China-Russia Standing Group on Standardization, Metrology, Conformity assessment and Inspection Control of the Sub-Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Commission for Arranging Regular Meetings of Heads of the Governments of Russia and China was held on July 28, 2021 in the videoconference format.
The delegations appreciated the many years of cooperation in the field of laboratory participations in proficiency testing rounds. Plans were outlined for new proficiency testing programs in the 2nd half of 2021.
Among other important issues discussed was that of conducting remote assessments of conformity assessment bodies amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar approaches were identified in the organization of the remote assessment.
The main risks of assessing conformity assessments bodies in a remote format and ways to minimize them were also reviewed.
In addition, the delegations shared experiences for improving management systems of RusAccreditation and CNAS. Also the Chinese delegation shared experiences on the implementation of the Medical laboratories standard, ISO 15189.
A new version of ISO/IEC 17025 was published in November 2017. ILAC General Assembly Resolution No. 20.15 of November 4, 2016 as well as the joint ISO and ILAC communiques, established a three-year transition period for testing and calibration laboratories to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 from its publication.
On 11 June 2020, due to the spread of COVID-19 and measures to minimize the impact of the pandemic, the joint ISO and ILAC communiques were amended and the transition period extended from November 30, 2020 to June 1, 2021.
RusAccreditation approved a plan for the transition of National Accreditation System (NSA) participants to the international standard ISO/IEC 17025:2017, including training seminars provided on the NSA unified educational platform for assessors and officials of RusAccreditation. Advanced training courses were also provided for assessors, technical experts, managers and specialists of testing and calibration laboratories to implement the requirements of interstate standard GOST ISO/IEC 17025-2019 (ISO/IEC 17025:2017, IDT).
According to the results of the transition period, all laboratories accredited in the national accreditation system meet the requirements of GOST ISO/IEC 17025-2019 (ISO/IEC 17025:2017, IDT). Accreditation of laboratories that had not switched to the new standard by June 1, 2021 was suspended or terminated.
In July 2021 the regular meeting of the Public Council under RusAccreditation was held through video-conference. The main topics for discussion were the results of the international peer-evaluation of the national accreditation system in 2021 by the APAC, the review of the Technical Committee for Standardization «Conformity Assessment» (TC 079) and the working group on the activities of accredited CABs in the field of conformity assessment of construction materials, products and structures.
The Chairman of the Public Council under RusAccreditation noted the effective cooperation among RusAccreditation and the members of the Public Council, its working groups and committees, as well as the transparency of the collective taken actions.
In June 2021, the annual meeting of the General Assembly of APAC was held in the format of a videoconference. About 200 representatives of full, associated and affiliated members of APAC took part in the meeting. Representatives of RusAccreditation took part in the meeting from the Russian side.
During the meeting the report on the implementation of the Strategy plan as well as the reports of the heads of the standing committees of APAC were presented.
The Capacity Building Committee Chair Mr. Brahim Houla presented an overview of the APAC Knowledge Centre. Among the training programs, the course on the international standards ISO/IEC 17025:2017 the translation of which was prepared by RusAccreditation in association with the National Institute for Accreditation of RusAccreditation was noted.
