New Edition of the Accreditation Program Overview

Bulletin date:
Bulletin number:
2018-03

Action required

Noting the changes described below.

 

Affected customers

All customers but with emphasis on the Management Systems Accreditation Program

 

Background

SCC’s Accreditation Services has issued an updated version of the Accreditation Program Overview. The primary purpose of this document is to outline how the accreditation services are organized and how the program operates. It is regularly reviewed and updated and this revision includes new and modified content.

 

What’s New:

  • Clarifications have been added to Annexes A (Management Systems Accreditation Program), C (Certification of Persons Accreditation Program),  E (Inspection Body Accreditation Program), and J (Standards Developing Organizations)  regarding the accreditation cycles and what types of activities are required in each year of the cycle;
  • In Annex A, we have updated the sections regarding Witness Audits to reflect that SCC is now incorporating the requirements of IAF MD17;
  • In Annex A, we have now specified in our Witness Audit policy that CBs shall promptly provide SCC with complete and updated audit schedules upon request; and

  • In Annex A, We have added a statement that outlines our policy regarding the size of assessment team SCC sends for witness audits.

     

What’s Revised:

  • The section regarding customer satisfaction surveys has been moved and revised to reflect SCC’s new process (please refer to SCC’s correspondence on 2018-01-29 for further details);
  • In Annex A, the section of IAF/NACE codes has been revised to remove references to NACE codes and to reflect the new requirements of IAF MD17;
  • In Annex B (Product, Process, and Service Certification Body Accreditation), the section on Scope Management has been revised to clarify the use of ICS Codes and Standards. As well, a clear statement has been added with regards to when a CB must submit a scope modification request;
  • Revised references of some Program Requirements;

  • And finally, several formatting and minor editorial changes have been made.

     

New requirements

None

 

Deadline

None

 

Questions?

Please contact Elias Rafoul, Vice President, Accreditation Services, at elias.rafoul@scc.ca or +1 613 238 3222 for more information.