IAF Decision Number 16/10/03 on Scopes of Certification states that ‘Referencing a standard/normative document/code of practice that is outside of the scope of accreditation is not allowed due to being misleading on an accredited certificate. Refer to ISO/IEC 17021-1, 8.2.2 e & f.’
What is the meaning of “that is outside the scope of accreditation”?
For example, a nonconformity was raised by an assessor against a Certification Body for issuing an ISO 9001 certificate with the following scope: –
“Furniture removals and storage in compliance with BS 8522: 2009, BS 12522: 1998, BS 14873: 2005 and BS 18477: 2010”
The quoted British Standards are Service Specification’s for furniture removals and storage, therefore it could be argued that they are inside the “management system” scope of accreditation, as they relate to the main area of furniture removal specification delivered by the “management system”.
– Does the EACC consider that standards can be included in ISO 9001 scopes if they are related to the scope of accreditation?
– Would the EACC consider the above scope example to be acceptable if the wording was clarified to show “X Company Ltd has demonstrated that the management system complies with ISO9001: 2015 for the provision of Furniture Removals and Storage, in support of industry specifications BS 8522: 2009…………….)?
[Assumption: The CB would also need to demonstrate that their relevant personnel (auditors etc.) are competent in the service requirements detailed in the related Normative requirement.]
September 2018
In ISO webpage, it is written that “A management system is the way in which an organization manages the inter-related parts of its business in order to achieve its objectives. These objectives can relate to a number of different topics, including product or service quality, operational efficiency, environmental performance, health and safety in the workplace and many more.” According to this definition, a management system does not directly focus on the product or service quality or its conformity for any specification or standard or normative document requirements.
ISO/IEC 17021-1 states that
8.2.2 The certification document(s) shall identify the following:
- e) the management system standard and/or other normative document, including indication of issue status (e.g. revision date or number) used for audit of the certified client;
- f) the scope of certification with respect to the type of activities, products and services as applicable at each site without being misleading or ambiguous;
Above questions are answered below:
What is the meaning of “that is outside the scope of accreditation”?
Does the EACC consider that standards can be included in ISO 9001 scopes if they are related to the scope of accreditation?
In the accreditation of MS certifications, the scopes are defined in different documents e.g. ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 scopes in IAF ID 1, ISO 13485 scopes in IAF MD 9, ISO 45001 scopes in IAF MD 22 and ISO 50001 scopes in ISO 50003 etc. All of these scopes there is not any reference to any other conformity assessment specifications or standards to avoid misleading.
Due to this fact, as long as not defined in the scheme requirements, the standards cannot be included in ISO 9001 scopes.
Would the EACC consider the above scope example to be acceptable if the wording was clarified to show “X Company Ltd has demonstrated that the management system complies with ISO9001: 2015 for the provision of Furniture Removals and Storage, in support of industry specifications BS 8522: 2009……..)?
An AB should focus on the main reason of these type scope definitions. The AB should be ensure that whether CB intentionally want to imply that in addition to ISO 9001 conformity, the products or services of client organization subjected to MS certification confirms relevant product or service standards at the same time or not?
To avoid misleading or creating confusion or being ambiguous, the AB should not consider the above scope example to be acceptable or applicable even if the CB claims its relevant personnel are competent in the product or service requirements in the related normative document referenced in the scope.