What is IAF? IAF Members and their roles
These day, organizations and businesses all desire to be evaluated and certified with the IAF mark. So, what is IAF? What is its role? Let's explore together with Vietnam Cleanroom Equipment in the following article.
1. IAF Introduction
IAF stands for the International Accreditation Forum, which is a global association comprising organizations/agencies involved in recognition, regional accreditation groups, industry associations, certification body associations, and other relevant entities interested in assessing conformity in areas such as management systems, processes, services, products, personnel, validation, testing, and similar conformity assessment programs.
Its primary function is to develop a globally harmonized conformity assessment program to minimize risks for businesses and their customers by ensuring that they can rely on recognized certificates and declarations of conformity and verification.
1.1. IAF Recognition Activities
Recognition is the independent assessment of conformity assessment bodies against recognized standards to ensure their fairness and competence. Governments and consumers can trust the results of testing and calibration, inspection reports, and certificates issued by such organizations by applying international or national standards.
In many different countries, recognition organizations are established to ensure that conformity assessment bodies are monitored by an authorized organization.
These recognized organizations, assessed for sufficient competence by equivalent bodies, have entered into agreements to facilitate wider acceptance of products and services in various countries. This creates an international trade support framework by eliminating technical barriers.
The agreements cover areas such as management systems, products, services, personnel, and similar conformity assessment programs, managed by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). Agreements related to inspection and laboratory recognition are managed by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). The IAF and ILAC collaborate to promote global recognition and assessment of conformity worldwide.
1.2. IAF Objectives – International Accreditation Forum
- Maintaining and developing Mutual Recognition Agreements (MLAs) among members of recognized certification organizations is crucial among signatory parties.
- To bring together recognized organizations, accrediting bodies, groups, and stakeholders for the benefit of global trade, it must function as a global forum.
- To foster the harmonious, appropriate implementation of best certification practices.
- To promote recognized certification by working collaboratively, influencing international organizations and key industry groups.
- Creating favorable conditions for trade, supporting sustainable development by using globally recognized conformity assessments to instill the necessary trust in the market's acceptance of goods and services.
- Engaging in recognition activities makes the world a better place.
2. Members of IAF
IAF - International Accreditation Forum is a global association of:
- Accreditation bodies and organizations
- Regional accreditation groups
- Industry associations/certification organizations
- Other stakeholders and program owners involved in certifying management systems, processes, services, products, and more.
All organizations that implement and manage programs for recognizing certification bodies in quality management systems, services, products, personnel, environmental management systems, and similarly certified conformity assessment programs can become members of IAF.
Organizations must declare their participation in IAF's Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MLA), recognizing the recognition of other equivalent members as equivalent to their own recognition. IAF members are organizations or associations representing similar groups of organizations worldwide, in the same field or region. These organizations collaborate with various programs, and IAF member organizations support the achievement of IAF's objectives.
3. IAF's roles
The International Accreditation Forum operates with two fundamental purposes:
- Ensure that every organization recognized as a member of the forum only acknowledges organizations with sufficient capabilities to perform the work, preventing conflicts of interest.
- Establish Multilateral Recognition Arrangements (MLA) for mutual recognition among parties, thereby ensuring reliable globally recognized certifications and minimizing risks for customers and businesses.
Through the elimination of technical barriers to trade, MLAs contribute to increasing the freedom of international commerce.
The International Accreditation Forum operates to find an efficient method to establish a unified system that allows businesses with certified conformity assessments to be recognized anywhere in the world.
The primary goal of MLAs is to encompass all recognized organizations in every country, thereby eliminating the need for certification of products and services from suppliers in each country where they operate. Certification once will be accepted anywhere.
Above are the general contents about IAF – the International Accreditation Forum that VCR has shared. It is hoped that through this article, readers will gain valuable information.
