[DT&C VINA] Mutual Recognition Agreement ILAC MRA

ILAC is the international organisation for accreditation bodies operating in accordance with ISO/IEC 17011 and involved in the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies including calibration laboratories (using ISO/IEC 17025), testing laboratories (using ISO/IEC 17025), medical testing laboratories (using ISO 15189), inspection bodies (using ISO/IEC 17020), proficiency testing providers (using ISO/IEC 17043) and reference material producers (using ISO 17034).

Accreditation is the independent evaluation of conformity assessment bodies against recognised standards to carry out specific activities to ensure their impartiality and competence. Through the application of national and international standards, government, procurers and consumers can have confidence in the calibration and test results, inspection reports and certifications provided.

Accreditation bodies are established in many economies with the primary purpose of ensuring that conformity assessment bodies are subject to oversight by an authoritative body. Accreditation bodies, that have been peer evaluated as competent, sign regional and international arrangements to demonstrate their competence. These accreditation bodies then assess and accredit conformity assessment bodies to the relevant standards.

The arrangements support the provision of local or national services, such as providing safe food and clean drinking water, providing energy, delivering health and social care or maintaining an unpolluted environment. In addition, the arrangements enhance the acceptance of products and services across national borders, thereby creating a framework to support international trade through the removal of technical barriers.

The international arrangements are managed by ILAC in the fields of calibration, testing, medical testing, inspection, proficiency testing providers and reference material producers accreditation and IAF in the fields of management systems, products, services, personnel and other similar programmes of conformity assessment. Both organisations, ILAC and IAF, work together and coordinate their efforts to enhance the accreditation and the conformity assessment worldwide.

The regional arrangements are managed by the recognised regional co-operation bodies that work in harmony with ILAC and IAF. The recognised regional co-operations are also represented on the ILAC and IAF Executive Committees. ILAC works closely with the regional co-operation bodies involved in accreditation, notably EA in Europe, APAC in the Asia-Pacific, IAAC in the Americas, AFRAC in Africa and ARAC in the Arab region.

Evaluation process

Acceptance of an accreditation body into the ILAC MRA is dependent upon being successfully evaluated by peers from other accreditation bodies in accordance with the relevant rules and procedures contained in ILAC publications. Each accreditation body that is a signatory to the ILAC MRA commits to:

Maintain conformity with the current version of ISO/IEC 17011 Conformity assessment – General requirements for bodies providing assessment and accreditation of conformity assessment bodies and supplementary requirements documents.
Ensure that all laboratories that are accredited comply with appropriate laboratory standards (currently ISO/IEC 17025 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories and ISO 15189 Medical Laboratories – Requirements for quality and competence).
Ensure that all inspection bodies that are accredited comply with appropriate inspection standards (currently ISO/IEC 17020 Conformity Assessment – Requirements for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection).
Ensure that all proficiency testing providers that are accredited comply with appropriate proficiency testing providers standards (currently ISO/IEC 17043).
Ensure that all reference material producers that are accredited comply with appropriate reference material producer standards (currently ISO 17034).

The ILAC MRA is based on the results of an intensive evaluation carried out in accordance with the relevant rules and procedures contained in several ILAC publications. The evaluation of an accreditation body to establish its qualifications to be an ILAC Full Member (ILAC MRA signatory) involves a team of peers, generally senior staff of experienced accreditation bodies.

Evaluations include time spent at the office of the applicant body to determine compliance with ISO/IEC 17011. Additionally, the evaluators witness the performance of the applicant’s assessors during actual assessments/reassessments to determine if the laboratories, inspection bodies, proficiency testing providers and reference material prodcuers are in compliance with ISO/IEC 17025 or ISO 15189 or ISO/IEC 17020 or ISO/IEC 17043 or ISO 17034 and that there is sufficient depth of examination to determine competence.