A presidente da Cooperação Interamericana de Acreditação (IAAC), Liliane Somma, concedeu entrevista exclusiva à Abrac para falar sobre o Dia Mundial da Acreditação, iniciativa global estabelecida pelo International Accreditation Forum (#IAF) e International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (#ILAC). Leia a entrevista na íntegra: https://bit.ly/2T4YlhR

IAAC warmly welcomes TIC Council as its most recent IAAC Stakeholder member.  TIC Council is an international association representing accredited, independent Testing Laboratories, Inspection Bodies and Certification Bodies.  TIC Council is composed of about 90 Conformity Assessment Bodies operating worldwide, many of them in the region of the Americas.  TIC Council is based in Belgium with an office in the USA, their website is www.tic-council.org.  TIC Council was accepted as a Stakeholder member, via electronic ballot, as of March 2, 2021.

IAAC Stakeholders are an important voice in the development of accreditation in the region.

IAF and ILAC added 4 new Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding the implementation of ISO/IEC 17011:2017, specifically on impartiality. You may find them in the Frequently asked questions and answers about ISO/IEC 17011 (Update) front square of the  IAAC website.

https://www.iaac.org.mx/index.php/en/?layout=edit&id=159

IAAC workshop on the ISO/IEC 17029 standard, General principles and requirements for Validation & Verification Bodies.

 

IAAC held a 2-day virtual workshop on the ISO/IEC 17029 standard, General principles and requirements for Validation & Verification Bodies, on February 22 and 24, 2021, presented by Stefanie Vehring of VBTUV. 133 participants from Accreditation Bodies and Conformity Assessment Bodies of the Americas joined the conversation.  The presentation included topics such as the CASCO Toolbox, differentiation of validation from verification, explanation of programmes, description of the process, a review of the each one of the clauses, when is consultancy allowed, common requirements for Management Systems, etc. 

A recording in English of the workshop is available for IAAC members in the Members section of the IAAC website in the Certification Bodies Subcommittee page.

This workshop is part of a series of virtual technical trainings for IAAC members, organized by the IAAC Training Subcommittee with the support of the IAAC Secretariat.

Congratulations to INACAL-DA de Perú, new IAAC signatory for the MLA subscopes of Certification Bodies of EMS, ABMS and OH&SMS.  On December 20, 2020, the MLA Group agreed via electronic ballot that the Instituto Nacional de Calidad – Dirección de Acreditación (INACAL-DA) of Peru be accepted as an MLA signatory for the sub-scopes of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) Certification Bodies (Main scope: Level 3: ISO/IEC 17021-1, Level 4: ISO/IEC 17021-2, Level 5: ISO 14001), Anti-Bribery Management Systems (ABMS) Certification Bodies (Main scope: Level 3: ISO/IEC 17021-1, Level 4: ISO/IEC 17021-9, Level 5: ISO 37001), and Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OH&SMS) Certification Bodies (Main scope: Level 3: ISO/IEC 17021-1, Level 4: ISO/IEC 17021-10, Level 5: ISO 45001).

 

IAAC held a virtual workshop on ILAC P10 “Policy on the metrological traceability of measurement results” on January 26, 2021. The keynote speaker was Giulia Suriani of ACCREDIA, Italy. Topics included the key changes in the new version, the choices for Metrological Traceability routes, internal calibration, and the competence of RMPs.

IAAC held its virtual meetings held in March 2021 and reviewed the work of the technical subcommittees and the MLA Committee during the challenging year of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Executive Committee carried out its annual management review based on the new IAAC Strategic Plan.  Additionally, during this week, IAAC performed an internal audit of its quality management system and MLA processes.

IAAC Membership

IAAC currently has a total of 58 members, 25 of which are full members, 5 are associates and 28 are stakeholders. Since last year’s General Assembly IAAC accepted 2 new members, one associate member and one Stakeholder.  5 Stakeholders withdrew their membership due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

IAAC MLA Signatories

IAAC currently has a total of 21 MLA signatory members from 18 countries.  The IAAC MLA membership continues to grow organically. ODAC the accreditation body of the Dominican Republic is the latest MLA signatory which was accepted in August 2020 for the scopes of Testing and Calibration Laboratories and Inspection Bodies. On August 2020, 5 IAAC MLA signatories extended their scopes to include Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems (OH&SMS) Certification Bodies. 3 MLA signatories extended to the subscope of Anti-Bribery Management Systems (ABMS) and 1 MLA signatory extended its MLA to include Energy Management Systems (EnMS) Certification Bodies. During the beginning of 2020, JANAAC of Jamaica extended its MLA scope to include Inspection Bodies.

IAAC MLA recognition by IAF and ILAC

IAAC is recognized by IAF and ILAC as Regional Cooperation for the main scopes of Testing (including Medical) and Calibration Laboratories; Inspection Bodies; Proficiency Testing Providers (PTP); Management Systems Certification Bodies (with subscopes QMS, EMS, FSMS, ISMS, MDMS and EnMS), and Product Certification Bodies (with sub scope Global G.A.P).

IAAC applied to extend its MLA recognition and in 2019 received an ILAC peer evaluation for the scope of Reference Materials Producers (RMP).  IAAC is in the process of an IAF peer evaluation to extend its MLA recognition for the scopes of Persons Certification Bodies and Green House Gases (GHG) Validation/Verification.

The IAAC officers

The current key IAAC officers are:

Liliane Somma of OUA, Uruguay, IAAC Chair

Andrea Melo of Cgcre, Brazil, IAAC Vice-Chair

Elias Rafoul of SCC, Canada, IAAC Treasurer

Ferney Chaparro of ONAC, Colombia, as MLA Group & MLA Committee Chair

Robert Knake of A2LA, USA, as MLA Group & MLA Committee Vice-Chair.

Alba Cabrera of ONA, Paraguay, as Management Committee Chair

Maria Miranda of ONARC, Cuba, as Management Committee Vice-Chair

Carlos Archila of OGA, Guatemala, as Technical Committee Chair

Sharonmae Shirley of JANAAC, Jamaica, as Technical Committee Vice-Chair

Training

QICA virtual workshop on “Determination of calibration intervals ILAC G24 - OIML D10" held on October 27 and 29, 2020, in Spanish.  There were 103 participants from metrology (SIM), accreditation (IAAC), and standards (COPANT) organizations and institutions.  The instructor was Claudia Santo of Uruguay.

QICA virtual workshop on “Determination of calibration intervals ILAC G24 - OIML D10" held on November 2 and 4, 2020, in English.  There were 48 participants from metrology (SIM), accreditation (IAAC), and standards (COPANT) organizations and institutions.  The instructor was Claudia Santo of Uruguay.

QICA virtual workshop on “Managing risks and opportunities in Testing and Calibration laboratories” held on November 10 and 12, 2020, in English and Spanish.  There were 111 participants from metrology (SIM), accreditation (IAAC), and standards (COPANT) organizations and institutions.  The instructor was Pedro Sismondi of Argentina.

IAAC Peer Evaluators virtual forum

IAAC launched its 1^st IAAC Peer Evaluators Virtual Forum on July 16, 2020. 118 IAAC Peer Evaluators participated in the Zoom meeting. The Forum was organized by the MLAC and PEMS with support of the IAAC Secretariat. The meeting topics included an explanation of the roles and responsibilities of the IAAC Peer Evaluator Management Subcommittee (PEMS), a presentation on the proposed changes to the MD 002 MLA procedure which included remote peer evaluations and accreditation of flexible scopes. There was a presentation on a new Guide for Remote Peer Evaluations. The Virtual Forum is a new way for IAAC to hold regular meetings with peer evaluators with the aim of harmonizing practices and keeping them updated on changes and MLA developments.

IAAC held its 2^nd Peer Evaluators Virtual Forum on October 5, 2020.  116 IAAC peer evaluators joined the Zoom meeting for a training on the Frequently Asked Questions on the implementation of ISO/IEC 17011, a review of the approved MLA procedure to carry out remote peer evaluations, and a discussion on the Guidance document to conduct remote peer evaluations.  These virtual sessions allow peer evaluators to provide feedback and ask questions on the new procedures that are being implemented by IAAC.

IAAC carried out a training workshop for new peer evaluators on ISO/IEC 17011:2017, in October 2019, in Washington DC, USA. The host body was ANAB. 14 English speaking peer evaluator applicants participated in the workshop and were qualified as trainee peer evaluators.

Technical Cooperation Project

IAAC is participating in a technical cooperation project titled "Quality Infrastructure for Circular Economy in Latin America and the Caribbean" by the 3 regional organizations for accreditation, standards and metrology: IAAC, the Panamerican Standards Commission (COPANT) and the Inter-American Metrology System (SIM). Sponsor organizations included the Physikalisch-Techniche Bundesanstalt (PTB) of Germany and the Organization of American States (OAS).

New IAAC logo and redesigned website

IAAC redesigned the IAAC logo which will be used in all documentation, promotional materials and the website. The IAAC website was redesigned and is easier to navigate.  You may visit it at www.iaac.org.mx.

 

IAAC Meetings

IAAC will hold its General Assembly virtual meetings via Zoom in August 2021.

IAAC adopted the mandatory document IAF MD 13:2020 [MD 039] Knowledge Requirements for Accreditation Body Personnel for Information Security Management Systems (ISO/IEC 27001). It is available in the Mandatory Documents page of the IAAC website.

Quality Infrastructure Council of the Americas (QICA)

The Quality Infrastructure Council of the Americas (QICA), comprises the three independent regional organizations involved in quality infrastructure in America: the Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT), the Inter-American Metrology System (SIM) and the Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC), each of which has an active and broad participation in American countries in their respective areas of expertise.

QICA is a platform to develop joint projects, information sharing, and cross-functional training and development that, by acting collaboratively, exceeds the abilities of any one-organization acting alone.

The most recent training activities were organized by QICA, with the support of PTB, Germany, and the Organization of American States (OAS). 

QICA virtual workshop on “Determination of calibration intervals ILAC G24 - OIML D10" held on October 27 and 29, 2020, in Spanish. There were 103 participants from metrology (SIM), accreditation (IAAC), and standards (COPANT) organizations and institutions. The instructor was Claudia Santo of Uruguay.

 

QICA virtual workshop on “Determination of calibration intervals ILAC G24 - OIML D10" held on November 2 and 4, 2020, in English. There were 48 participants from metrology (SIM), accreditation (IAAC), and standards (COPANT) organizations and institutions. The instructor was Claudia Santo of Uruguay.

 

 

QICA virtual workshop on “Managing risks and opportunities in Testing and Calibration laboratories” held on November 10 and 12, 2020, in English and Spanish. There were 111 participants from metrology (SIM), accreditation (IAAC), and standards (COPANT) organizations and institutions. The instructor was Pedro Sismondi of Argentina.

 

 

IAAC adopted the mandatory document IAF MD 21:2018 Requirements for the Migration to ISO 45001:2018 from OHSAS 18001:2007. It is available on the IAAC website on the mandatory documents page.

The IAAC CBSC Chair informs that the IAF MD 21:2018 Requirements for the Migration to ISO 45001:2018 from OHSAS 18001:2007 relates to the ISO 45001 transition which has an end date near the end of 2021.

This means that any IAAC peer evaluations involving ISO 45001 that occur in 2021 will need to use IAF MD 21.