1. The Value of Accreditation
Robert H. King Jr.
President and CEO, RAB

2. History of Registrar Accreditation
RAB established in 1989 by ASQ
First QMS registrar accredited in 1991—now 67 accredited
First EMS registrar accredited in 1997—now 35 accredited
1st ANSI-RAB partnership in 1992, ANSI-RAB NAP established in 1997
Other qualifications: QS-9000, TL 9000, AS 9000/AS9100, TE Supplement, Alternative Method, Responsible Care©
RAB accredited its first QMS registrar in March 1991 and a partnership agreement with ANSI followed later that year.
The first EMS registrar was accredited in 1997, after a new ANSI-RAB partnership agreement took effect to cover the expansion of activity to include ISO
Registrars can become qualified to a number of sector-specific standards and requirements, including for QMS QS-9000, TL 9000, AS 9000 and AS 9100, the Tooling and Equipment Supplement, and the Alternative Method. On the EMS side, ISO plus Responsible Care has been introduced for the chemical industry.

3. RAB Organizational Relationships
RAB Board
of Directors
ANSI Board
Committee of CA
QMS and EMS Auditor
Certification Board
ANSI-RAB
National Accreditation Program
Joint Oversight Board
QMS
Council
EMS
Council
Certification Services
(Administered by RAB Staff)
Accreditation Services
(Administered by ANSI and RAB Staff)
Certify
QMS
Auditors
Certify
EMS
Auditors
Accredit
QMS
Registrars
Accredit
QMS Course
Providers
Accredit
EMS
Registrars
Accredit
EMS Course
Providers

4. Registrar Accreditation
Verifies and validates conformance of the certification/registration body to specified criteria:
ISO Standards
ISO/IEC Guides (Requirements for Accreditation Bodies and for Certification/Registration Bodies)
IAF Guidance
NAP Procedures and Advisories
Accreditation is the process by which the NAP verifies and validates the conformance of the CRB to specified criteria.
The criteria specified for CRBs include ISO standards, ISO Guides, and IAF Guidance to the ISO Guides. In addition, the ANSI-RAB NAP has developed specific procedures for accreditation. These are augmented by NAP Advisories, which provide additional guidance on specific topics.

5. Registrar Accreditation
Document review followed by office and witness audits
Written report and evaluation of corrective actions for EMS or QMS Council approval
Surveillance includes office and witness audits after six months and annually, and full system audit every four years
Approval of a registrar seeking accreditation begins with a document review by the lead auditor. Any significant issues must be addressed satisfactorily before office and witness audits are scheduled.
NAP auditors evaluate the registrar’s procedures, records, and practices, and witness the registrar’s audit team as it conducts a registration audit.
If requirements are met and no significant nonconformities are identified, the applicant has 45 days to respond with corrective actions to any nonconformities. If systemic issues are identified, additional activity is planned, usually including a re-audit.
A written report and evaluation of corrective actions taken by the registrar is submitted to the ANSI-RAB NAP EMS Council or QMS Council for a decision on whether to grant accreditation.
Accredited registrars undergo office and witness audits at least once a year. NAP auditors review the education, training, and experience of the registrars’ auditors, as well as audit reports and customer comments. A full system audit at least every four years is required for re-accreditation. To enhance the quality of information gathered from witness audits, a different audit team is witnessed each time.
A report or summary is submitted to the NAP’s EMS or QMS Council every four years to maintain accreditation.

6. Accreditation Audits Assure:
Registrar has effective system to evaluate conformance to standards
Registrar uses competent auditors to observe written procedures and effective implementation
Registration decisions made by experts independent of audit work
Accreditation bodies regularly assess and re-assess CRBs to ensure they conform to the relevant international standards and their management and staff have the appropriate qualifications and resources for the work they do.
Accreditation audits assure that the CRB has implemented a effective system to evaluate an organization’s conformance to all complete systems requirements of applicable standards.
NAP auditors assure that CRBs use competent, industry-trained auditors to observe the organization’s written procedures, their effective implementation throughout the management system, and in actual witnessed practice. They also assure that final registration decisions are made by experts independent of the audit work performed, and that the registrar’s independent management or advisory committee has a key role in the integrity of the registration process.

7. Value of Accreditation
Assures consistency of practice
Leads to comparable outcomes worldwide
Rigorous IAF peer evaluation process
Accreditation assures consistent practices worldwide. A reliable, credible, consistent, and transparent global accreditation system provides comparable CA outcomes wherever businesses operate.
Accreditation provides an accepted, single, worldwide recognition of an organization’s conformance through registration/certification. The accreditation process provides confidence that the CRB that issued the certificate is competent to do the work needed and to make the decisions necessary to issue a credible certificate.
Through rigorous peer evaluation, IAF MLA-signatory ABs demonstrate their strict adherence to international standards, guides and guidance, and their effectiveness to accredit only competent CRBs. The IAF MLA provides the organizational simplicity of a known standard, a known conformance infrastructure, and a known accreditation scheme worldwide.
ABs have garnered recognition by national and international government, business, and industry groups by demonstrating competence to peers through robust CA programs.

8. Value of Accreditation
Facilitates trade globally and eliminate barriers
Builds confidence and reduces risk for customers
Responsive to uniqueness of local culture
Fosters development of robust schemes in emerging economies
Accreditation helps facilitate global trade and reduce barriers to trade by building confidence between international trading partners. It provides assurance that goods and services purchased anywhere will meet requirements.
Accreditation provides confidence to the end users of products and services no matter where in the world they’re produced or where in the world they make their purchases. By reducing risk in international trade, accreditation provides a service to businesses operating globally.
The global network of local ABs recognizes and responds to the uniqueness of individual economies, language and cultural barriers, opportunities for reduced cost, and the desirability of working with local ABs.
What’s more, established and recognized accreditation bodies assist emerging economies in developing and implementing robust local schemes.

9. Value of Accreditation
Holds potential to reduce costs by enhancing acceptance of certificates across borders
Provides mechanism to address complaints
Accreditation has a largely unrealized potential to reduce costs for industry by reducing repetitive CA expenses in global trade.
Mechanisms like the IAF MLA can potentially offer services at lower cost to industry and consumers worldwide by assuring acceptance of certificates across borders. This serves to reduce the expense and redundancy of bilateral and regional arrangements between ABs.
Accreditation within the third-party conformity assessment scheme provides a valuable mechanism to address complaints, and a means to build continuous improvement into the system.
IAF MLA-signatory ABs adhere to procedures to identify and rectify unethical or inappropriate marketplace practices by CRBs. They have complaint-handling systems that encourage dissatisfied users to submit complaints, and they share complaint data with IAF, CASCO, ISO, and ILAC members, to increase the robustness of the CA system and increase user confidence.