A controlled product or service always carries the little Swedac accreditation mark with the three crowns, which shows that the inspection was carried out in a proper manner.
Few knows about the great international authority cooperation that ensures that the blood is properly analysed, fuel pump machines provide the right amount of gasoline or electric appliances are controlled.
All these services rests on accreditation, a large international regulatory framework under which goods and services are regularly checked according to international standards for both consumers and producers, so they should be confident that the quality is up to standard.
An accreditation can be described as an authorization to perform a certain task. Virtually all industrialized countries have a so-called accreditation body – in Sweden, the authority Swedac – which, after examination accredits companies that perform a particular social task, for example, car inspection, or to analyse drinking water. The company is thus part of a control system which ensures that standards are being followed. If you do not measure up the accreditation can be withdrawn, which provides security in society.
– The system is globalized so that all countries want to act on an international level are included in the same quality infrastructure. In this way we facilitate the trading of goods and services across borders, says Swedac Director General Peter Strömbäck.
Many important social functions are accredited or supervised by certified companies, which in turn are accredited. So it is thanks to the accreditation system that you can be confident that things work as they should. As a consumer, you can look for the small Swedac accreditation mark with the three crowns, which shows that everything checked and found in order.
World Accreditation Day is celebrated on June 9 at the initiative of the two international organizations for accreditation; IAF (International Accreditation Forum) and ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation) to show the importance of accreditation for quality and safety in the everyday world.
For more information please contact:
Åsa Kultje, head of Communications department, Telephone: +46 33 17 77 36