ISO/IEC 17065 stipulates :
7.5.1 The certification body shall assign at least one person to review all information and results related to the evaluation. The review shall be carried out by person(s) who have not been involved in the evaluation process.
Is an observer of an audit considered as being involved in the evaluation?
In other words, if a person witnesses an audit (for example, to supervise an auditor), can he perform the review of the report of this audit witnessed, in regards with §7.5.1 of ISO/IEC 17065?
March 2019
The exact role of the observer in that particular situation needs to be clear.
Normally an observer is not involved at the evaluation (the trails, the samples, the conclusions, etc.), and so can perform the review.
If the observer takes any active role in the audit, for example offering advice or opinion to the audit team etc., then he is no longer an observer and cannot perform the review.
- a particular requirement is covered in an equivalent way by this International Standard, or is not needed to give confidence in the certification decision.