International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC)
&
International Accreditation Forum (IAF)
13th International Legal Metrology Conference
Sydney, Australia
29 October 2008
International Laboratory
Accreditation Cooperation
• Established in 1977 to promote communication among laboratory
accreditation bodies of the world.
• Formalized as a cooperation in 1996 and on 2 November 2000, a
mutual recognition arrangement was signed, among those members
which had successfully completed a peer evaluation.
• ILAC was incorporated in the Netherlands on 20 January 2003.
• Approx. 30,000 laboratories & 5,000 inspection bodies have been
accredited by the 81 ILAC Full Members & Associates.
ILAC’s Global Role
 Principal international forum for:
• Recognition of competent test and calibration labs world-wide
through its Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA)
• Development and appropriate harmonization of laboratory
accreditation practice across the globe
• Promotion of laboratory accreditation as an effective mechanism for
providing confidence in measurement results, which is essential for:
(a)
(b)
trade facilitation
socio-economic issues
• Assisting in the development of laboratory accreditation systems
ILAC Membership
•
MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES:
– Full Members (Signatories);
– Associates;
– Affiliates;
– Stakeholders;
– Regional Cooperation Bodies;
and
– National Coordination Bodies.
•
CURRENTLY:
– 61 Full Members from 47
economies;
– 20 Associates from 19 economies;
– 20 Affiliates from 18 economies;
– 4 Regional Cooperation Bodies;
– 1 National Coordination Body; and
– 26 Stakeholders.
ILAC Membership as at 28 October 2008 totals 132
Organisations, from a total of 80 economies.
International Accreditation
Forum
• Established in 1993 to operate a program for the accreditation of bodies
dealing with conformity assessment in the fields of management
systems, products, services, personnel and other similar programmes of
conformity assessment.
• On 22 January 1998 the Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA)
for Quality Management Systems (QMS) was signed and MLAs for
Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and Product Certification
(Product) were signed on 9 October 2004.
• Accreditation Bodies that are members of the IAF MLAs (QMS, EMS
and Product) are required to recognise the certificates issued by
certification/registration bodies accredited by all of the other signatories
to that MLA.
IAF Membership
The number of IAF members now totals 78 Members,
with 54 Accreditation Body Members
15 Association Members (9 Certification/Inspection Body
Associations & 6 Industry/User Associations),
4 Regional Groups with Special Recognition being
EA (European Cooperation for Accreditation), IAAC (Inter American
Accreditation Cooperation),PAC (Pacific Accreditation Cooperation)
and SADCA (Southern African Development Community in
Accreditation),
1 Partner Member (ISO) and 4 Observer Members.
Status of ILAC MRA
• 61 Full Members representing 47 economies are signatories to the
ILAC Arrangement (MRA).
• Currently, the MRAs of 3 of the 4 Regional Cooperation Body
members in ILAC are recognised by ILAC (EA, APLAC and
IAAC).
• Recognition of a region is achieved after successful peer evaluation
by ILAC. Each recognised region undergoes a re-evaluation every 4
years.
• The MRAs of the recognised regions underpin the ILAC
Arrangement (MRA).
• Signatories to the EA, APLAC and IAAC MRAs, who are also
members of ILAC, are entitled to become signatories (Full
Members) to the ILAC Arrangement.
Status of IAF MLA
• 40 accreditation bodies are signatories to the IAF Multilateral
Recognition Arrangement (MLA) as at November 2007.
• Special Recognition of a region is achieved after successful peer
evaluation by IAF, and each recognised region undergoes a reevaluation every 4 years.
• The MLAs of the recognised regions underpin the IAF Multilateral
Recognition Arrangement (MLA).
• Signatories to the EA, PAC and IAAC MLAs, who are also
members of IAF, are entitled to become signatories to the
corresponding IAF MLA.
Cooperation between ILAC,
IAF and OIML
• Memorandum of Understanding signed between ILAC and the OIML
in November 2006 and extended to the IAF in November 2007.
• A joint ILAC/OIML Working Program has been developed for 2007
and 2008.
• Meetings between the liaison officers for ILAC, IAF and OIML are
held in March each year.
ILAC Cooperation with OIML
• The ILAC/OIML Work Program for 2007 – 2008 focuses on
• three main areas:
• Identification and training of Lead Assessors (qualified by ILAC Full
Member Accreditation Bodies) and Technical & Metrological Experts
(qualified by the OIML).
• Participation of these trained personnel in the OIML peer assessments
and in the assessments undertaken by the ILAC Full Member
Accreditation Bodies.
• Common interpretation of the relevant ISO/IEC Standard, in this case
ISO/IEC 17025 General requirements for the competence of testing
and calibration laboratories.
IAF Cooperation with OIML
• Plans are underway to develop a joint IAF/OIML Working Program as
the cooperation between the two organisations develops further.
• The IAF/OIML Cooperation will also begin by focusing on the
recognition of experts and a common interpretation of the relevant
ISO/IEC Standards.
• Currently OIML has completed a guide for the application of ISO/IEC
Guide 65 General requirements for bodies operating product
certification systems. This guide will be updated to include a common
interpretation of ISO/IEC 17065 when this document is finalised and
published.
Implementation of cooperation
between ILAC and OIML
within the MAA
• When accreditation is undertaken by an ILAC Full Member (MRA
Signatory).
• The accreditation scope for accredited testing laboratories shall cover
the type approval testing according to the relevant OIML
Recommendation.
• The accreditation assessment team shall include a Technical and
Metrological Expert in the appropriate field of type approval.
• A recent example of this cooperation - Accreditation of the NMI
undertaken by RvA in The Netherlands, where an OIML expert was part
of the assessment team.
Implementation of cooperation
between ILAC and OIML
within the MAA
• Laboratories that have not been accredited undergo a peer assessment
under the responsibility of the OIML.
• The peer assessment team shall include a Technical and Metrological
Expert validated by the appropriate CPR (Committee on Participation
Review).
• The team shall also include a Lead Assessor (qualified by an ILAC Full
Member Accreditation Body) from the list prepared as part of the
ILAC/OIML Joint Work Program.
• Recent examples of this cooperation - OIML peer assessments of NMIJ
(Japan) and METAS (Switzerland) undertaken using Lead Assessors
from ILAC Full Member Accreditation Bodies.
Future Development
• Cooperation between National Accreditation Bodies (NAB) and Legal
Metrology Bodies at the national level would serve to:
– Increase the number of lead assessors willing to participate in
OIML peer assessments
– Facilitate training of NAB lead assessors in the field of legal
metrology
– Facilitate the promotion of technical and metrological experts to be
used by NAB
Joint Committee on coordination of
technical assistance to Developing
Countries in Metrology, Accreditation
and Standardization (JCDCMAS)
• ILAC, IAF and OIML comprise 3 of the 9 partner organisations that
work together as part of the JCDCMAS.
• The other partner organisations are BIPM, ISO, UNIDO, IEC, ITC
and ITU.
• The Aim of this committee is to provide a holistic approach to issues
relating to metrology, accreditation and standardization in
developing economies.
• BIPM currently holds the secretariat for the JCDCMAS.
Liaison Officers
ILAC and IAF
Peter van de Leemput
(RvA)
OIML
Régine Gaucher
(BIML)
For more information …..
• ILAC Secretariat
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.ilac.org
• IAF Secretariat
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.iaf.nu
THANK YOU