Accreditation of an inspection body means the assessment of conformity of the established quality management system of the inspection body with all criteria of the international standard ISO/IEC 17020. The certificate of accreditation issued by CAI is a document confirming the inspection body’s credibility and ability to perform inspection to the scope specified in the annex to the certificate. Inspection bodies can be entities with a wide range of activities including inspection of materials, products, installations, equipment, processes, working procedures or services, product safety, reliability or durability and assessment of product conformity with stated requirements including the method of preparation and submission of reports on the results of these activities to the inspection body’s clients.
The scope of inspection of, for example, products, installations or equipment can include all stages of existence of the object of inspection (including proposal, operation and method of disposal); inspection of processes or services can include personnel, equipment as well as provided technology or methodology.
What is the accreditation based on?
- ČSN EN ISO/IEC 17020:2012 Conformity assessment – Requirements for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection
- ILAC-P15:07/2016 Application of ISO/IEC 17020:2012 for the Accreditation of Inspection bodies
Note: Document is available in Czech version of the website CAI
- MPA 80-01-.. Methodological instructions for the application of ČSN EN ISO/IEC 17020:2012 Conformity assessment – Requirements for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection in the accreditation system of the Czech Republic
Note: MPA – Methodological instructions for accreditation
Other documents related to the accreditation process
All documents are available on the web site of the Czech Accreditation Institute, public service company (CAI).
Time scale and cost of assessment
The cost of the assessment is paid by the applicant. The rules are set out in the document:
- MPA 00-01-.. General Rules of Accreditation Process
- MPA 80-01-.. Methodological instructions for the application of ČSN EN ISO/IEC 17020:2012 Conformity assessment – Requirements for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection in the accreditation system of the Czech Republic
What are the other requirements for the accreditation of inspection bodies?
Direct monitoring of an applicant’s activity on site and assessment of inspections performed under operation (so called “witness audits”) is an integral part of the assessment of applicants. Selection of witness audits must be representative enough, and their smallest number must follow the scope of the required accreditation (see MPA 80-01-.., Annex 1).
Is the accreditation of inspection bodies recognised abroad?
The accreditation and “outputs documents” of accreditation bodies are recognized by different authorities of EU countries provided that the relevant national accreditation body is a signatory to multilateral agreements on mutual recognition of accreditation bodies work. CAI is a full-fledged member and represents the Czech Republic in international organisations engaged in the accreditation of inspection bodies:
- European Co-operation for Accreditation – EA
- International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation – ILAC
To whom can you turn with a request for further information?
Milan Svoboda +420 272 096 208 +420 724 797 770 svobodam@cai.cz
Jaroslav Janák +420 272 096 204 +420 724 695 677 janakj@cai.cz
FOR THE LIST OF ALL VALID GUIDELINES (MPA), CAI SERVICES PRICE LIST, LIST OF ALL ACCREDITED ENTITIES AND OTHER INFORMATION, SEE www.cai.cz.
