59th IAAC Executive Committee meetings

IAAC held virtual meetings from March 13-17, 2023. 70 representatives of accreditation bodies and conformity assessment organizations joined meetings of the Executive Committee, MLA Group, MLA Committee, and Technical Committees. 

The Executive Committee members reviewed the IAAC strategic plan’s actions, conducted the annual management review, and discussed and made decisions on key issues reported by the IAAC Committees and Subcommittees regarding the development of accreditation in the region.  

The MLA Group reviewed the peer evaluation reports of MLA signatories undergoing reevaluations or applying for MLA scope extensions and members’ transition reports to international standards.  The MLA Committee discussed improvements to the MLA process and to the process for selection, training, qualification, and monitoring of the performance of IAAC peer evaluators.  The MLA Committee created Peer Evaluator Working Groups for scheme suitability based on IAF MD 25, risk assessment, and flexible scopes of accreditation.  

The Technical Committee discussed the need for a definition of flexible scope in ISO/IEC 17011 as a harmonized and transversal definition at a regional level.  The Laboratories Subcommittee discussed the harmonization of flexible scope-related terms, the need to develop a template of examples on the use of flexible scope, and the transition to ISO/IEC 17043.  The Certification Bodies Subcommittee discussed the latest news on the IAF Certsearch database and updates on the ISO/IEC 17024 and ISO 14066:2011 under review by ISO.  The Inspection Bodies Subcommittee discussed metrological aspects of inspection, created a Working Group to discuss the GAFTA scheme, drafted a paper on the technical competence of inspectors, and discussed the revision of ISO/IEC 17020.

IAAC Membership 

IAAC currently has a total of 62 members, 28 of which are full members, 7 are associate members and 27 are stakeholders. In 2022, IAAC welcomed 5 new members in 2022, two full members, one associate member, and two stakeholder members.  The IAAC membership continues to grow and attracts Stakeholders to join IAAC, including accredited CABs.

IAAC MLA recognition by IAF and ILAC

IAAC is recognized by IAF and ILAC as a Regional Cooperation and received a peer evaluation by IAF/ILAC in 2022 to confirm that it complies with the relevant international accreditation standards and requirements.

In February 2023, the ILAC Arrangement Council approved that IAAC maintains recognition as a Regional Cooperation Body for the ILAC MRA scopes of Calibration and Testing Laboratories using ISO/IEC 17025, Medical Laboratories using ISO 15189, Inspection Bodies using ISO/IEC 17020, Proficiency Testing Providers using ISO/IEC 17043 and Reference Material Producers using ISO 17034.

Also in February 2023, the IAF MLA Management Committee approved that IAAC maintains recognition as a Regional Cooperation Body for the IAF MLA scopes of Quality Management Systems (QMS) Certification Bodies, Environmental Management Systems (EMS) Certification Bodies, Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) Certification Bodies, Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) Certification Bodies, Medical Devices Management Systems (MDMS) Certification Bodies, Energy Management Systems (EnMS) Certification Bodies, Occupational Health, and Safety Management Systems (OH&SMS) Certification Bodies using ISO/IEC 17021-1; and Product Certification Bodies (ISO/IEC 17065) including GLOBAL G.A.P.

IAAC is undergoing an IAF peer evaluation to extend MLA recognition to the scopes of Persons Certification Bodies and Green House Gases (GHG) Validation/Verification.  The evaluation is in process.

IAAC MLA Signatories

IAAC currently has a total of 20 MLA signatory members from 18 countries.  The IAAC MLA signatories continue to extend their MLAs into new scopes. 

On March 16, 2023, agreed that Coordenação Geral de Acreditação, (Cgcre), of Brazil be accepted as an IAAC MLA signatory for the scope of Persons Certification (under ISO/IEC 17024).

On January 30, 2023, the MLA Group agreed via electronic ballot that the Ente Costarricense de Acreditación (ECA) of Costa Rica, be accepted as an MLA signatory for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OH&SMS) Certification Bodies (Main Scope: ISO/IEC 17021-1; Sub-scopes: Level 4: ISO/IEC TS 17021-10; Level 5: ISO 45001) and for Energy Management Systems (EnMS) Certification Bodies (Main Scope: ISO/IEC 17021-1; Subscope: Level 4: ISO 50003. Level 5: ISO 50001).

On November 10, 2022, the MLA Group agreed via electronic ballot to accept 6 accreditation bodies as an MLA signatory for Food Safety System Certification 22000 (FSSC 22000) subscope (Main scope: Level 3: ISO/IEC 17021-1. Level 4: ISO/TS 22003 and FSSC 22000 Part 3 and 4.  Level 5: FSSC 22000 Part 2).  The 6 accreditation bodies are: The Organismo Argentino de Acreditacion (OAA) of Argentina; Standards Council of Canada (SCC), Servicio de Acreditacion Ecuatoriano (SAE) of Ecuador; ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) of the United States of America; Entidad Mexicana de Acreditacion (ema) of Mexico; and the Organismo Uruguayo de Acreditacion (OUA) of Uruguay. 

IAAC MLA withdrawals 

A2LA of USA made the decision to withdraw its status as an IAAC MLA signatory as of December 31, 2022.

New IAAC MLA scopes

In 2022, IAAC began the implementation of the Food Safety System Certification (FSSC) 22000 subscope with 6 new MLA signatories who submitted self-declarations to extend their MLAs.  IAAC submitted its self-declaration as a region to IAF for recognition of this subscope.

IAAC officers

The IAAC key officers are:

• Andrea Melo of Cgcre, Brazil, IAAC Chair
• Sharonmae Shirley of JANAAC, Jamaica, IAAC Vice-Chair
• Rhonda Banks, ANAB, USA, IAAC Treasurer
• Paola Marsico of OAA, Argentina, IAAC MLAC/MLAG Chair 
• Aldoney Costa of Cgcre, Brazil, IAAC MLAC/MLAG Vice-Chair 
• Victor Gandy, IAAC Executive Secretary
• Ferney Chaparro, IAAC Technical Secretary

Training Activities

The IAAC Training subcommittee with the support of the IAAC Executive Secretary and Technical Secretary organized a series of virtual training workshops and seminar sessions in 2022 and the beginning of 2023.

• An IAAC virtual workshop for new IAAC peer evaluators for Spanish speakers was held from April 10-20, 2023. 36 peer evaluators were qualified as trainee peer evaluators.
• An IAAC workshop for IAAC peer evaluators was held virtually on February 7, 2023.  The topic was to create consensus among peer evaluators qualified for ISO/IEC 17029 standard.  7 peer evaluators were qualified to the standard.
• An IAAC workshop for IAAC peer evaluators was held virtually on December 6, 2022.  The topics included IAAC mandatory documents and analysis of case studies to harmonize peer evaluation practices.  65 evaluators from Accreditation Bodies throughout the region participated in the workshop.
• On October 25, 2022, IAAC held a workshop for IAAC peer evaluators workshop on the interpretation of the IAF MD 25:2022 “Criteria for Evaluation of Conformity Assessment Schemes”.  The workshop also reviewed cases related to the suitability of a conformity assessment scheme, which came up during recent peer evaluations.  Over 100 IAAC peer evaluators joined this virtual training. 
• IAAC held a virtual workshop on the ISO/IEC 17029:2019 standard “Conformity assessment. General principles and requirements for validation and verification bodies".  The workshop was held from September 21-23, and October 5-6, 2022.  Participants included 30 representatives of ABs throughout the region and 1 representative from the APAC region.
• A virtual workshop for IAAC peer evaluators was held on August 2, 2022, regarding the IAAC peer evaluation process and document updates, as well as discussions of case study findings to harmonize peer evaluators’ practices.  79 peer evaluators of the region were trained in this workshop.

 

Technical Cooperation Project

IAAC is participating in a technical cooperation project titled "Quality Infrastructure for Circular Economy in Latin America and the Caribbean" by the 3 regional organizations for accreditation, standards, and metrology: the Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC), the Panamerican Standards Commission (COPANT) and the Inter-American Metrology System (SIM). Sponsor organizations include the Physikalisch-Techniche Bundesanstalt (PTB) of Germany and the Organization of American States (OAS).  Circular Economy is a topic of great relevance worldwide and IAAC members have the unique opportunity to participate in their countries’ efforts as key players, demonstrating that accreditation goes hand in hand with innovation and development of new economic paradigms.

The project focuses on three value cycles: plastics, construction, and agri-food. 

In March 2022, IAAC, SIM, and COPANT members participated in the 2nd regional workshop to develop country projects in the three areas.  Over 100 representatives of accreditation, standards, and metrology organizations participated in the interactive planning workshop under the guidance of experts in Circular Economy, using the CABUREK methodology.  16 accreditation bodies are participating in the development of national circular economy projects together with their quality infrastructure partner organizations.

IAAC representatives participated in a CABUREK workshop, in Otavalo, Ecuador, in October 2022, to review the progress achieved on the national projects and to exchange experiences with Quality Infrastructure colleagues and Circular Economy experts from the region.

In February 2022, IAAC became a member of the Circular Economy Coalition for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Cooperation with the Regions

The Quality Infrastructure Council of the Americas (QICA), comprises the three independent regional organizations involved in quality infrastructure in America: the Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT), the Inter-American Metrology System (SIM) and the Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC), each of which has an active and broad participation in American countries in their respective areas of expertise.

QICA is a platform to develop joint projects, information sharing, and cross-functional training and development that, by acting collaboratively, exceeds the abilities of any organization acting alone.

QICA representatives participated as keynote speakers in the 2nd World Summit of Circular Economy held in Cordoba, Argentina, in June 2022 and during the Circular Economy Festival held in Lima, Peru, in September 2022. 

The first QICA meeting with IAAC, COPANT and SIM Chairs, Vice-Chairs and Secretaries was held virtually on February 1, 2023.

Cooperation with COPANT and SIM

The Chairs of IAAC, COPANT and SIM attend each other’s General Assemblies.  IAAC and SIM representatives exchange ideas and provide feedback to their committees on technical issues of mutual interest. The IAAC, SIM, and COPANT Secretariats collaborate and work together on Technical Cooperation project activities and other issues of regional interest. IAAC provides keynote speakers as requested, during COPANT and SIM General Assemblies and conferences.

Cooperation with APAC, EA, AFRAC, ARAC, and SADCA

IAAC fosters strong relationships with regional accreditation Cooperations. IAAC and the Asia-Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC) regularly carry out joint peer evaluations of their common members and regularly share peer evaluators as well as MLA practices. IAAC carried out 6 joint peer evaluations together with APAC in 2021 and 1 in 2022. The APAC MRA Chair virtually attended the IAAC MLA hybrid meetings held in Antigua, Guatemala, in August 2022.  

 IAAC regularly exchanges technical information with the African Accreditation Cooperation (AFRAC), the Southern African Development Community Accreditation (SADCA), and the Arab Accreditation Cooperation (ARAC), regarding best practices in MLA management.  Within the framework of regional cooperation, the IAAC Executive Secretary performed the internal audit of the SADCA Secretariat in 2022.  IAAC also exchanges information with the European Accreditation Cooperation (EA) on the latest developments and trends in the region.  

IAAC Promotion activities

IAAC is organizing a virtual event to celebrate World Accreditation Day #WAD 2023 with the participation of keynote speakers from international Quality Infrastructure and trade organizations, as well as Accreditation Bodies of the region, who will address this year’s theme of Accreditation: supporting the future of global trade.

IAAC is actively engaged on social media channels promoting IAAC and its activities. In December 2022, IAAC launched its new LinkedIn account with great success, in addition to its existing Twitter account and YouTube channel. 

Upcoming IAAC Meetings 

The IAAC General Assembly meetings will be held onsite in Manaus, Brazil, from August 27 to September 1, 2023.