ISO 17065 (ISO/IEC 17065) is an Accreditation Standard for Product Certification Bodies. This standard is intended for organizations that want to certify the quality of a product. The product can be an actual product, a process, or a service. Product certifications or licenses are provided to organizations by certification authorities so that they can market their products. ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation ensures that the product or service that consumers are purchasing meets international standards. To obtain an ISO 17065 accreditation, organizations must first complete the following steps:
- Fill in an Application Form: The organization pursuing ISO 17065 accreditation must fulfill an application form and pay the applicable fees. Also, before the actual accreditation process starts there are some required ISO/IEC 17065 documents and information that must be prepared initially, which are as follows:
- Application form for accreditation of certification bodies for systems and products
- Accreditation general requirements
- Also, required an accreditation requirement for multi-site conformity assessment bodies
- Usage requirements for accreditation symbol
- Perform Internal Audit: Before applying for an on-site visit by accrediting officers, organizations must conduct an internal audit. Before official assessors arrive, their expert team and personnel should check for any non-conformities in their quality management system and repair any that are found.
- On-site Visit of the Accreditation Officers: Assessors conduct on-site visits to check the applicant organization’s consistency, competence, and impartiality in operating its ISO/IEC 17065. Among their activities during the assessment are:
- Document and file assessment
- Valuation of regional, central, and all other offices
- Performance review and proficiency testing
- Measurement and validation assessments
- Some assessments, or examinations conducted by the applicant body
- Interviewing
- During the assessment procedure, the accreditation assessors study the risks associated with the actions, locations, and employees that will be evaluated.
- Non-Conformities and Corrective Actions: Once the assessment activities are complete the assessors write a report based on their on-site observations, indicating whether or not all of the requirements have been met. The report identifies any non-conformities (if any) in the organization’s quality management system’s implementation of the standards. Organizations are appreciative to take corrective actions for all significant and small non-conformities, which are reviewed by accrediting officers.
- Awarding ISO 17065 Accreditation: The organization receives ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation only if all requirements are met and there are no unresolved non-conformities or corrective measures. Any organization can take the help of online ISO 17065 awareness training to increase the knowledge and awareness of their employees about system maintenance during daily practices to get continuous benefits from the implemented system.
The accredited organization and its clients both can get benefits from ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation. The ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation can help to increase the organization’s production, efficiency, and effectiveness. It also provides information to accrediting providers regarding their skills in carrying out compliance and granting certificates. An increase in assurance in the certification body and the ability of the auditors, who are responsible for certifying management systems. The recommendations help to enhance data analysis and record-keeping competencies. Also, increases the faith and confidence of the customers because of the certification and gives a competitive edge. It enhances the certification bodies’ standing and gives them credibility and recognition on the international market. The accredited organization has a definite edge over its rivals in the marketplace.
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