Revised Edition of the SCC Requirements and Guidance for the Certification Body Accreditation Program

Bulletin date:
Bulletin number:
2021-18

Action required

All SCC-accredited and applicant certification bodies shall conform to the latest revised edition of the SCC Requirements and Guidance - Product, Process, and Service Certification Body Accreditation Program (RG-CBAP): revision 5.

 

Affected customers

SCC-accredited certification bodies, applicant certification bodies, assessors, and other relevant stakeholders.

 

Background

The Standards Council of Canada conducted an overall review of the Certification Body Accreditation Program stemming from feedback we received from various stakeholders, including SCC-accredited certification bodies (CBs). Consultations were undertaken to revise certain requirements to bridge gaps and eliminate inconsistencies by including requirements from the Accreditation Program Overview (POV), bulletins issued by SCC, and resolutions and other documents issued by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). The newly revised edition underwent final review and approval with the respective Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs) and Regulatory Authority Advisory Bodies (RAABs) prior to publishing.

 

The latest edition is available for use by certification bodies, technical experts, and assessors. As well, an associated Criteria Matrix is available, which you can request from your Account Manager.

 

New requirements

Version 5 of the SCC Requirements and Guidance - Product, Process, and Service Certification Body Accreditation Program Program (RG-CBAP) includes a new structure and format, including the specific annex for the Transport Canada - Electronic Logging Devices (TC-ELD) scheme.

 

Below is a summary of the changes in this revised document:

  • Sections 10, 11, 12 and 13 were removed from the Accreditation Program Overview (POV) and added to the RG-CBAP document. These are the Program Requirements, Accreditation Requirements, Witness Audit Requirements and Witness Audit Frequency Requirements.
  • All certification marks used for SCC-accredited programs are now required to be part of the SCC-published scope of accreditation. This is indicated in section 4.1.3.7.
  • A new requirement from the Canadian Advisory Council on Electrical Safety (CACES) was added in section 4.1.3.8b regarding the use of the “c” identifier which is required at the 8 o’clock position of certification marks for certified electrical safety products sold in the Canadian Market.
  • Originally indicated in the SCC Accreditation Services Bulletin 2019-11 and added to the RG-CBAP in section 6.2.1.1, two element ICS codes are not acceptable even if it is the ICS code cited in the standard, with the exception of the categories where three element codes were not available for selection.
  • New requirements were added requiring CBs to maintain a list of offered schemes (section 6.2.1.2) and a list of Other Recognized Documents (ORDs) (section 6.2.1.3), in addition to the list of current standards to which they offer certification under SCC accreditation (section 6.2.1.1).
  • New requirements resulting from the issuance of IAF Resolution 2018-13 were added in section 7.7.1.1, requiring the CB to identify certification documentations and include the accreditation symbol and/or make reference to the accreditation status of the CB, including the identification of the accreditation body, on the certification documentation.
  • A new requirement was added in section 7.7.3.2 regarding the application of the certification mark label on an evaluated product for the Type 1b certification scheme.
  • A new requirement for factory inspection reports was added in section 7.9.1.4. The CB is now required to ensure that the factory inspection report include the requirements of clause 7.4.2 of ISO/IEC 17020:2012.
  • New requirements for CBs using information and communication technology (ICT) for auditing as part of its methodology were added in section 7.9.1.6. These CBs are now required to conform to the requirements of IAF MD4 (PDF).

 

All certification bodies will be evaluated against the new version of RG-CBAP during their next assessment activity in order to complete the transition process.

 

Deadline

The dates below are important deadlines and descriptions for the transition:

 

On April 1st, 2022, the new edition of the SCC Requirements and Guidance - Product, Process, and Service Certification Body Accreditation Program (RG-CBAP) will come into effect.

 

All accredited CBs shall transition to these revised requirements on or before April 1st, 2022 or at their next scheduled assessment activity, whichever comes first. As well, all CBs are expected to have their revised policies in place and begun implementing them by July 1st, 2023. 

 

All new applicant CBs shall be assessed against the revised document beginning April 1st, 2022. 

 

Questions?

Please contact Abdel Kassou, Manager, Compliance and Assessment Services, at abdel.kassou@scc-ccn.ca or +1 613 238 3222 for more information.