ILAC recognizes the IAAC MLA for RMP

The International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) recognizes the Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC) Multi-lateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) for the scope of Reference Material Producers (RMP) using ISO 17034, as a result of the ILAC regional peer evaluation for this MLA scope extension which was carried out during 2019/2020.

Reference Material Producers that are accredited by signatories of the IAAC MLA for RMP may now receive international recognition of their accredited RMP programs.  This achievement is significant as regional development of reference materials programs that support the specific markets and the needs of the Americas, and will serve the process for improvement of testing, calibration, and proficiency testing services offered within the region.  It provides another platform for the support of regional growth, innovation and development.

The IAAC Chair would like to thank all parties that made this achievement possible including the member Accreditation Bodies, IAAC peer evaluators, the MLA Chair and Vice-Chair, the IAAC Executive Secretariat, and the Stakeholders

 

The Quality Infrastructure Council of the Americas (QICA), comprises the three independent regional organizat

ions 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.

Here is a description of the most recent virtual activities, workshops, and webinars organized by QICA, with the support of PTB, Germany, and the Organization of American States (OAS).

 

 

5th CABUREK QI4CE

The 5th CABUREK QI4CE took place from October 17th to 19th in Panama. With the support of PTB, Germany, participants from IAAC, SIM, and COPANT reviewed the progress and lessons learned to move forward and improve CABUREK as an instrument for Accreditation, Metrology, and Standardization in the region. We got new lessons and good results implementing Quality Infrastructure in initiatives for the Circular Economy.

 

 

V Congress of the Plastic Industry

Representatives of the Quality Infrastructure Council of the Americas (QICA) participated in the Quality Infrastructure Forum for Sustainable Industrial Development in Asunción, Paraguay on October 18, 2023.

 

Synergies between Metrology and Accreditation

On October 11, 2023, IAAC and the Inter-American Metrology System (SIM) held a joint workshop titled “Synergies between Metrology and Accreditation”. The virtual event was attended by representatives of Accreditation Bodies and Metrology Institutes of the Americas. The workshop included panel discussions regarding ways to achieve and maintain international recognition arrangements, the use of reference materials and compliance with ILAC policies on metrological traceability, and the challenges and opportunities to strengthen joint and coordinated work between the ABs and NMIs to strengthen the Quality Infrastructure in the region.

 

 

V Congress of the Plastic Industry

The Quality Infrastructure Council of the Americas (QICA) and PTB participated on May 23, 2023, virtually in the V Congress of Plastic Industry in Lima, Peru, with a presentation on a quality infrastructure that generates confidence in the transition towards a Circular Economy.

 

 

X Meeting of the Inter-American Committee on Science and Technology (COMCYT) and Policy Dialogue “Artificial Intelligence: Public Policy Imperatives for the Americas”

Javier Arias, a QICA representative, participated with a keynote presentation at the 10th Meeting of the Inter-American Committee on Science and Technology (X COMCYT), which was held on May 5, 2023, at the OAS headquarters in Washington D.C.

 

4º CABUREK QI4CE

From March 27 to 31, 2023 the 4th CABUREK was held within the framework of the "Quality Infrastructure for Circular Economy" (QI4CE) project, with the support of PTB, Germany. 70 participants from IAAC, SIM, and COPANT reviewed the progress of national Accreditation Standardization and Metrology projects focused on the Circularity of plastics, agribusiness, and construction.

 

Workshop: standards, Labels, and Certifications for Circular Economy in Plastics

On March 23, 2023, was held the QICA Workshop on "Standards, Seals, and Certifications for the Circular Economy in Plastics in the Latin American and Caribbean region". A successful result was obtained with the participation of 350 people who came together to listen to panelists and experts share their experiences in the region.

Watch the event recording on YouTube

 

QICA workshop on the ISO/CASCO Committee

On March 9, 2023, COPANT organized the QICA WORKSHOP ON THE ISO/CASCO COMMITTEE which was held virtually.

The objective of the workshop was to introduce and explain to QICA members the structure of the ISO/CASCO committee. The importance of participating through the national standardization bodies, how to participate in the COPANT regional Focus Group on ISO/CASCO, and its role.

During the workshop, there was participation of speakers such as Reinaldo Figueiredo (President of CASCO), Cristian Vázquez (IRAM - Coordinator of the GF COPANT on CASCO), the Experience of National Mirror Committees (ICONTEC, IRAM, TTBS, INTECO, ANSI), and during the fifth presentation, Ferney Chaparro (AAC Technical Secretary) and Claudia Santo (SIM Executive Secretary), addressed the issue of How to involve the National Accreditation Bodies and the National Institutes of Metrology.

 

QICA Virtual Meeting

On February 1, 2023, the first QICA meeting was held with the Chairs and Vice-Chairs of IAAC, COPANT, and SIM.

During the meeting, each president spoke about the needs of COPANT, IAAC, and SIM, and ideas for working together and proposing activities and events of interest to the region were discussed. Comments were made on the need to define the structure and governance of QICA and it was agreed to hold periodic meetings of the Secretaries and of QICA's management.

 

QICA web publication: Quality Infrastructure for Circular Economy in Latin America and the Caribbean

This study was published in October 2022 and is the result of the experiences and research on the interrelation between Quality Infrastructure and Circular Economy, from its fundamental concepts to its application. It also mentions some key elements such as metrology, standardization, accreditation, and conformity assessment that make up Quality Infrastructure.

Download document

 

	Kory Eguino, Executive Secretary This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
	Víctor Gandy, Executive Secretary This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
	Claudia Santo, Executive Secretary This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

IAAC held its Executive Committee meetings in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, in March 2020.  Representatives from accreditation bodies and conformity assessment organizations in the region attended IAAC’s beginning of the year meetings.

During its meeting, IAAC created a Working Group which is developing a new IAAC Strategic Plan for the 2020-2025 term to establish the goals and guidelines that the Cooperation will be aiming at for the next five years. 

The IAAC Multi-lateral Recognition Arrangement is the basis for operating equivalent accreditation systems in the countries of the region.  The MLA Committee created a Working Group to analyze the effectiveness of the MLA evaluation process indicators and suggest ways to improve them.  IAAC is carrying out efforts to improve the MLA process, to ensure that deadlines at every step of the process are met, to optimize the use of limited peer evaluator resources.

 

On March 13, 2020, IAAC members analyzed and made decisions regarding the COVID-19 outbreak and its potential impact for accreditation bodies and conformity assessment bodies in the region.  The IAAC MLA Committee agreed that IAAC shall follow the recommendations of the current and future statements issued by IAF and ILAC and posted on their websites regarding the COVID-19 outbreak.  The IAAC MLA Committee agreed that each Accreditation Body shall document how it will address the impact caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and the application of alternative assessment techniques to ensure the competence of accredited conformity assessment bodies.  The IAAC MLA Committee also decided that the accredited Conformity Assessment Bodies shall document how they will address the impact caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and the application of alternative conformity assessment techniques, in compliance with the guidelines established by the Accreditation Body.

IAAC Membership

IAAC currently has a total of 61 members, 24 of which are full members, 4 are associates and 33 are stakeholders.  Since last year, IAAC accepted 3 new Stakeholder members from Ecuador, Peru and Mexico.

IAAC MLA Signatories

IAAC has a total of 20 MLA signatory members from 17 countries.  The IAAC MLA continues to grow, 2 MLA Group members recently extended their MLA scopes. In August 2019, ONAC of Colombia was accepted as an MLA signatory for Medical Laboratories, Proficiency Testing Providers and Persons Certification. On January 20, 2020, the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation, (JANAAC), extended its MLA scope to include Inspection Bodies (ISO/IEC 17020). 

IAAC MLA recognition by IAF and ILAC

IAAC is a Recognized Regional Cooperation for the main scopes of Testing (including Medical) and Calibration Laboratories; Inspection Bodies; 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 received peer evaluations from ILAC to extend its MRA recognition for the scopes of Proficiency Testing Providers (PTP) and Reference Materials Producers (RMP) in 2018 and 2019.  IAAC is currently waiting on the ILAC AMC decision regarding these scope extensions.  IAAC also submitted an application to IAF to extend its MLA recognition for the scopes of Persons Certification Bodies and Green House Gases (GHG) Validation/Verification. The IAF evaluations for these scopes are scheduled to take place before 2021.

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 and MLA Committee Chair

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

Training

IAAC carried out a training workshop for new peer evaluators on ISO/IEC 17011:2017, in August 2019, in Mexico City, Mexico.  The Mexican Accreditation Body (ema) graciously hosted the workshop, which had 24 Spanish speaking participants from the region which were qualified as trainee peer evaluators. 

IAAC also 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.

 

The Quality Infrastructure Cooperation of the Americas, (QICA) is a partnership of regional bodies with the objective of promoting the strengths of a Quality Infrastructure in the region of the Americas.  QICA includes a representative from the regional standards body (COPANT), the regional accreditation cooperation (IAAC) and the regional metrology body (SIM).  A QICA outreach event to Mexican regulators and government officials took place in August 2019 within the framework of the IAAC General Assembly and was hosted by ema, the Mexican Accreditation Body.  The event was attended by 21 persons.  The exchange of information was lively with issues raised on various topics such as risk assessment and how new technologies impact conformity assessment services.  The participants went away with a deeper understanding of the value that standards, measurements and accreditation can provide in supporting the work of government regulators.

IAAC Meetings

You are invited to attend the next IAAC General Assembly meetings to be held in Montreal, Canada, from August 14-21, 2020.    

 

On January 20, 2020, the IAAC MLA Group agreed via electronic ballot that the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC) is accepted as an IAAC MLA signatory for the scope of Inspection Bodies (under ISO/IEC 17020).

IAAC wishes to congratulate Sharonmae Shirley, JANAAC CEO, and JANAAC’s staff on this important achievement for the Jamaican accreditation system.

 

IAF and ILAC statements and IAAC decisions on the COVID-19 pandemic

March 16th, 2020.  The IAAC MLA Committee approved three resolutions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic at its meeting on March 13, 2020, held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

 

IAF statement on the COVID-19 outbreak - March 4, 2020.

 

IAF/ILAC Statement on the transition to ISO/IEC 17011:2017 and the COVID-19 outbreak

 

ILAC statement on the COVID-19 outbreak - March 11, 2020.

 

IAF ID3: 2011 guidance document (IAF information document for the management of extraordinary events or circumstances that affect OAs, OECs and certified organizations).

 

IAF Frequently Asked Questions COVID-19 outbreak   

ILAC/IAF Video: "Accreditation in the Fight Against COVID-19"

ILAC Brochure: "Specifying Accreditation for COVID-19 Testing"

ABs and CBs can find the requirements on how to use information and communication technologies to support and maintain the integrity of the audit/assessment process in

IAF MD 4 (Mandatory Document for the Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Auditing/Assessment Purposes)

 

COVID-19 situation reports can be found on the WHO website.  

 

 

Accreditation operates across all sector supply chains ranging from healthcare and medical devices, construction, energy, clothing and textiles, toys and electronics, IT and communications, to food safety and water supply. Accreditation offers a range of services that can add value and manage the potential risks in supply chains through the assessment of certification, inspection, testing, and calibration services. By demonstrating the competence, impartiality, and capability of these organisations, it underpins the credibility of goods and services, allowing procurement and supply chain managers to better manage their risks.

 

How does accreditation help ensure the safety of medical devices? ISO 13485 is the world’s most recognised medical device standard and ensures excellence in the provision of medical devices. Its primary objective is to facilitate harmonised medical device regulatory requirements by providing an effective solution to meet the comprehensive requirements for a quality management system. ISO 13485 provides a practical foundation for manufacturers to address regulations and responsibilities, as well as demonstrating a commitment to the safety and quality of medical devices. Accredited certification is used to assess conformity of medical devices against this standard.

IAAC meetings

 

IAAC held its General Assembly meetings in Mexico City, Mexico, in August 2019.  Over 60 representatives from 20 countries in the region participated in the week long meetings.

 

Main issues that were discussed:

IAAC position on the draft IAF MD X Criteria for the evaluation of conformity assessment schemes. The General Assembly reviewed the draft IAF MD X Criteria for the evaluation of conformity assessment schemes, and upon recommendation of the IAAC Technical Committee agrees that:

1. a) IAAC expresses its concern about changing the scope and nature of the document from that which was originally envisaged;
2. b) IAAC considers the document is only appropriate for reviewing conformity assessment schemes that may be endorsed by the IAF for reference in the IAF MLA, and should not be a mandatory document that applies at the level of Accreditation Bodies;

IAAC members are encouraged to vote in IAF against the draft document in its current form.

 

New OHSMS MLA subscope

The IAAC General Assembly launched the IAAC MLA for Occupational Health Safety Management Systems (OHSMS) Certification Bodies under ISO 45001.

IAAC is inviting members to apply for MLA scope extensions for this subscope.

 

IAAC Membership

IAAC currently has a total of 58 members, 24 of which are full members, 4 are associate members and 30 are stakeholders.  The amount of members has been stable and with no recent changes.  One CAB is currently in the process of submitting its application for Stakeholder membership in IAAC.

 

IAAC MLA Signatories

IAAC has a total of 20 MLA signatory members from 17 countries.  Even though the amount of signatories has not changed, it is worthy to note that every year there has been a steady increase in MLA scope extensions approved by the IAAC MLA Group. 

 

New IAAC MLA signatories

In August 2019, one IAAC MLA signatory extended its MLA scopes: ONAC of Colombia was accepted as an MLA signatory for Persons Certification Bodies, Proficiency Testing Providers and Medical Laboratories. 

 

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

IAAC submitted an application to ILAC to extend its MRA recognition for the scopes of Proficiency Testing Providers (PTP) and Reference Materials Producers (RMP). IAAC also submitted an application to IAF to extend its MLA recognition for the scopes of Persons Certification Bodies and Green House Gases (GHG) Validation/Verification.

During 2018 and 2019, an IAF and ILAC peer evaluation team has been carrying out the re-evaluation and MLA scope extension evaluations of IAAC.

 

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 and MLA Committee Chair
Robert Knake of A2LA, USA, as MLA Group and MLA Committee Vice-Chair, who was elected this August for a 2 year term.

 

IAAC Meetings
The next IAAC General Assembly meetings will be held in Montreal, Canada, from August 14-21, 2020.

IAAC held its Executive Committee meeting in Mexico City, Mexico, on August 13, 2019.  During its meeting, the Executive Committee reviewed the progress achieved on the 2016-2020 IAAC Strategic Plan.  A Working Group presented updates on the development of a new five-year IAAC Strategic Plan and a revised IAAC vision.  The latest IAAC internal audit findings and the corrective actions plan were reviewed.  The status of the redesign of the IAAC website with the support of SAE, Ecuador was discussed.  The 2019-2020 Training Plan presented by the Training Subcommittee was approved.  The Executive Committee noted the report provided by Maria Miranda of ONARC on the status of the Energy efficiency and renewable energy, Biodiversity and climate protection and Green Economy technical cooperation projects with PTB of Germany.

ODAC of Dominican Republic will host the next Executive Committee meeting to be held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, from March 9-13, 2020.