SCC Clarifies Requirements Related to Transition to ISO/IEC 17021-2 and ISO/IEC 17021-3
Action required
ISO/IEC 17021-2:2016 Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems – Part 2 Competence requirements for auditing and certification of environmental management systems was published on December 1st, 2016. The transition period is two years from the date of publication; therefore SCC accredited certification bodies (CBs) shall demonstrate conformity to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17021-2:2016 no later than December 1st, 2018.
ISO/IEC 17021-3:2017 Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems – Part 3 Competence requirements for auditing and certification of quality management systems was published in March 2017. The transition period is two years from the date of publication; therefore SCC accredited CBs shall demonstrate conformity to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17021-3:2017 no later than March 30th, 2019.
SCC will assess conformity to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17021-2:2016 and ISO/IEC 17021-3:2017 as part of the regularly scheduled office assessments. The CB is expected to demonstrate that it has conducted a gap analysis and it has documented the necessary changes to meet the requirements of ISO/IEC 17021-2:2016 and ISO/IEC 17021-3:2017, respectively. At the end of the transition period, the CB shall demonstrate to SCC that it has implemented the changes necessary to meet the requirements of the ISO/IEC 17021-2:2016 and ISO/IEC 17021-3:2017, respectively.
During the transition period, SCC assessors will raise observations related to the implementation of this bulletin. After the end of the transition period, SCC assessors will raise non-conformities related to the conformity to ISO/IEC 17021-2:2016 and ISO/IEC 17021-3:2017, and to the implementation of this bulletin. At the end of the transition period and as long as these standards are in effect, the CB shall demonstrate to SCC’s satisfaction that it meets the requirements of these standards.
CBs are requested to take note of the requirements detailed above.
Affected customers
SCC accredited CBs providing audit and certification of environmental management systems and SCC accredited CBs providing audit and certification of quality management systems, as well as SCC assessors and technical experts working in SCC MSAP.
Background
SCC issues this bulletin in order to provide clarity to the certification bodies in relation to how SCC will verify conformance to ISO/IEC 17021-2:2016 and ISO/IEC 17021-3:2017, during the transition period and once the transition period has ended.
New requirements
There are no new requirements.
Deadline
This policy is in effect immediately.
Questions
Please contact Elias Rafoul, Vice President, Accreditation Services, at elias.rafoul@scc-ccn.ca or +1 613 238 3222 for more information.