The expected knowledge of the decision-making committee or person includes all the criteria and procedures for certification, shall this also include the knowledge of the various industrial scopes.
Shall the person(s) or committee(s) who will take the decision have the competence:
- in accreditation scheme requirement (ISO/IEC 17021-1 & ISO/IEC 17021-3)
- the conformity assessment scheme requirements (ISO 9001)
- as well as in the industrial scope (39 fields)?
If yes what is the difference between an assessor and the decision-making person.
March 2018
According to: ISO/IEC 17011 clause 6.2.1 “6.1.2.1 The accreditation body shall have a documented process for determining and documenting the competence criteria for personnel involved in the management and performance of assessments and other accreditation activities. Competence criteria shall be determined with regard to the requirements”
Therefore, with regard to the items in the question:
– Yes, they should have competence in the conformity assessment standard
– Yes, they should have knowledge of the scheme requirements
– No, generally there would be no requirements for the m to have detailed knowledge of the industrial scope
It is not expected that the decision makers should have the same level of knowledge as an assessor, but they need to now sufficient to ensure that everything relevant has been covered by the assessment. Decision makers can call on expertise as part of their review.