Accreditation Bodies
There are strict rules laid down which detail the responsibilities of the certification body and auditors.
Accreditation bodies are the governing authorities, either government owned or under agreement with government, that establish the suitability of any participating certification body in that country to carry out BRCGS audits. This is done by assessing systems and procedures, and monitoring performance.
At BRCGS, we work closely with national accreditation bodies, sharing information we have on the performance of BRCGS-approved certification bodies. As a BRCGS certification body you must have clear quality systems in place to ensure the consistent implementation of the Global Standards and to ensure the capability of all your management, technical, and administrative teams. In particular, the competence of auditors involved in the certification process.
Accreditation bodies assess certification bodies against ISO 17065 (Conformity Assessment - Requirements for Bodies Certifying Products, Processes and Services).
Auditing the Accreditation Bodies
Accreditation bodies are in turn audited by the International Accreditation Forum to ensure consistency of the certification schemes. This is achieved by peer evaluation to ISO 17011 (Conformity Assessment - General Requirements for Accreditation Bodies Accrediting Conformity Assessment Bodies).
All BRCGS-recognised accreditation bodies must therefore be a signatory to the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA).