About accreditation

Accreditation is a system which purpose is to create more confidence in the services provided by an accredited company.

When the company meets the requirements in order to be accredited, other companies as well as public authorities and customers can have more confidence in getting the expected quality from the company. The company will be assessed on the requirements that apply to their particular type of business.

Accreditation is in the world legislatively based on an EU regulation, which is implemented with regulations on accreditation of enterprises (BKG 913 of September 25, 2009) and on the designation of a national accreditation body (BKG 1230 of December 11, 2009).

International standards

The general basis for accreditation work is the internationally recognized accreditation standards which are the same for the countries where they are applicable.

IAFCB issues accreditation regulations concerning the concrete application of the standards. These regulations are based on requirements from international organizations such as the EA, IAF and ILAC. In addition, IAFCB also issues accreditation messages with opinions and practical information concerning accreditation.

Accreditation is a control of the company

By accreditation IAFCB checks and verifies the company in relation to how it meets its obligations when it comes to management processes. This includes routines and procedures of the company, the employees' competence as well as impartiality in the company's work.

Accreditation also concerns technical matters: is the equipment calibrated and suitable to the task, are measuring results reliable and accurately recorded and is there a good control of traceability of measuring instruments, tested materials and measuring results?

Accreditation for 4 years

If the company meets the requirements, it will be granted accreditation for a four-year period. During this period the company will be assessed by IAFCBs team of assessors.

When a company is accredited, it has a duty to use the IAFCB accreditation mark on reports and certificates relating to the accredited services.

The accredited services which company can provide, will be described in method lists or otherwise published at the IAFCBs website.

Who benefits from it?

To a company an accreditation means both easier access to other markets, easier acceptance among authorities of its products or services, as well as assurance that the products comply with the applicable rules.

Accreditation can in certain cases replace regulatory requirements, so that other regulation and control at the company can be of smaller scale or even completely preventable.

Consumers are getting increased assurance that products or services conform to established or recognized specifications for both quality and safety. At the same time a wider competition is created, whereby consumers can compare products that meet the same quality requirements.