International

Accreditation is a global system based on international standards. According to an agreement between accreditation bodies, their testing, calibration, certification, inspection validation and verification that are performed by an accredited body can be approved in other countries. The cooperation is constantly developing and more and more accreditation bodies are becoming party to the agreements.

International agreements on accreditation

European Accreditation

Swedac is a signatory to the EA MLA for the following areas:

Testing – ISO/IEC 17025 (laboratories)
Testing – ISO 15189 (medical laboratories)
Calibration – ISO/IEC 17025
Inspection – ISO/IEC 17020
Certification of management system – ISO/IEC 17021-1
Certification of products – ISO/IEC 17065
Certification of personnel – ISO/IEC 17024
Proficiency testing of laboratories – ISO/IEC 17043
Validation and verification – ISO/IEC 17029

EA’s signature on the agreement means that EA has assessed that Swedac, within the mentioned accreditation areas, meets the requirements for accreditation bodies set within the EU according to EC Regulation 2008/765.

All reports and certificates bearing Swedac’s accreditation mark, and that include a reference to any of the aforementioned standards, or that contain a reference to Swedac accreditation according to STAFS 2020:1, are issued under accreditation covered by the EA MLA agreement.

More information about the EA MLA agreement can be found on the EA website.

International Accreditation Forum

Swedac is a signatory to the IAF MLA for the following main areas:

Certification of Management Systems – ISO/IEC 17021-1
Certification of Products – ISO/IEC 17065
Certification of Persons – ISO/IEC 17024
Validation and Verification – ISO 17029

IAF’s signature on the agreement means that IAF has assessed that Swedac, within the mentioned areas, meets the requirements that IAF places on accreditation bodies, see IAF PL 6 on the IAF website. More information about the IAF MLA agreement can also be found on this website.

The agreement means that IAF considers certificates bearing Swedac’s accreditation mark, and that include a reference to any of the above-mentioned standards, or that contain a reference to Swedac accreditation according to STAFS 2020:1, to be as reliable as other certificates issued under accreditation from any other IAF signatories for the corresponding area.

More Areas under IAF

Swedac is also a signatory to the IAF MLA for the following sub-areas:

Certification of Quality Management Systems – ISO/IEC 17021-1 – ISO 9001 (QMS)
Certification of Environmental Management Systems – ISO/IEC 17021-1 – ISO 14001 (EMS)
Certification of Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems – ISO/IEC 17021-1 – ISO 45001 (OH&SMS)
Certification of Food Safety Management Systems – ISO/IEC 17021-1 – ISO 22000 (FSMS)
Certification of Food Safety Management Systems – ISO/IEC 17021-1 – FSSC 22000 scheme part 2
Certification of Information Security Management Systems – ISO/IEC 17021-1 – ISO 27001 (ISMS)
Certification of Medical Device Management Systems – ISO/IEC 17021-1 – ISO 13485 (MDMS)
Certification of Energy Management Systems – ISO/IEC 17021-1 – ISO 50001 (EnMS)
Certification of Products – ISO/IEC 17065 – Global G.A.P.
Validation and Verification of Greenhouse gases – ISO/IEC 17029 – ISO 14064-1, 14064-2

IAF’s signature on the agreement means that IAF has assessed that Swedac, within the mentioned areas, meets the requirements set out in IAF PL 6. The agreement means that IAF considers certificates bearing Swedac’s accreditation mark, and that include a reference to any of the above-mentioned standards, or that contain a reference to Swedac accreditation according to STAFS 2020:1, to be equivalent to other certificates issued under accreditation from any other IAF signatories for the corresponding area. This means that all certificates for the above-mentioned certification schemes bearing Swedac’s accreditation mark, and that include a reference to any of the above-mentioned standards, or that contain a reference to Swedac accreditation according to STAFS 2020:1, are issued under accreditation covered by the IAF MLA agreement. A certification body that has signed an agreement with Swedac can include the IAF MLA mark on their certificates.

International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation

Swedac is a signatory to the ILAC MRA for the following areas:

Testing – ISO/IEC 17025 (laboratories)
Testing – ISO 15189 (medical laboratories)
Calibration – ISO/IEC 17025
Inspection – ISO/IEC 17020
Proficiency Testing – ISO/IEC 17043

ILAC’s signature on the agreement means that ILAC has assessed that Swedac, within the mentioned accreditation areas, meets the requirements that ILAC places on accreditation bodies, see ILAC-P5 on the ILAC website. More information about the ILAC MRA agreement can also be found on this website.

All reports and certificates bearing Swedac’s accreditation mark, and that include a reference to any of the above-mentioned standards, or that contain a reference to Swedac accreditation according to STAFS 2020:1, are issued under accreditation covered by the ILAC MRA agreement. A laboratory or inspection body that has signed an agreement with Swedac can include the ILAC MRA mark on their reports and/or certificates.

Communiqués

The international standardization body ISO, together with the international cooperation organizations for accreditation bodies ILAC and IAF, has published several communiqués to describe the relationship between certain accreditation standards and the certification standard ISO 9001.

International agreements on accreditation

European Accreditation

International Accreditation Forum

More Areas under IAF

International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation

Communiqués

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