International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation. The ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement

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1 Internationa Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation The ILAC Mutua Recognition Arrangement

2 Enhancing the acceptance of products and services across nationa borders Removing barriers to goba trade Accreditation aows you to make an informed decision when seecting an organisation to carry out your testing, caibration, or inspection activities, as it demonstrates competence, impartiaity and capabiity of that organisation. As a resut, accreditation heps to underpin the credibiity, safety and performance of goods and services. Accreditation bodies around the word, which have been evauated by peers as competent, have signed an arrangement that enhances the acceptance of products and services across nationa borders. The purpose of this arrangement, the ILAC Mutua Recognition Arrangement (MRA), (often referred to as the ILAC Arrangement) is to create an internationa framework to support internationa trade through the remova of technica barriers. Tested or inspected once, accepted everywhere In many economies there is an accreditation body recognised by government and industry to carry out the assessment and verification against internationa standards of testing, caibration, inspection and certification activities in both the private and pubic sectors. ILAC, is an organisation that counts as its members aboratory accreditation bodies, regiona organizations and stakehoders representing over 110 economies. The ILAC MRA aows you to make use of a goba network of testing and caibration aboratories and inspection bodies that have been accredited to provide accurate and reiabe resuts. The MRA supports internationa trade by promoting internationa confidence and acceptance of data generated by accredited aboratories and inspection bodies. Technica barriers to trade, such as the retesting or inspection of products each time they enter a new economy woud be reduced. For exampe, the MRA supports internationa trade by heping reguators to recognize and accept data that is driven by reguatory or pubic poicy frameworks in sectors such as heath, environment and others. goba trust Testing Caibration Inspection

3 How does the MRA benefit you? For Government The MRA provides governments with a credibe and technicay robust framework on which to further deveop and enhance government to government biatera and mutiatera internationa trade agreements. The ong-term aim is the fuy accepted use and recognition, by both pubic and private industries, of inspection bodies and accredited aboratories, incuding resuts from accredited aboratories and inspection bodies in other countries. In this way, the free-trade goa of a product tested or inspected once, accepted everywhere wi be reaised. For Reguators The MRA acts as an internationay recognised stamp of approva to demonstrate compiance against agreed standards and requirements. Consequenty, risk is minimised, as decisions wi be based on reiabe resuts. Dupication is aso minimised as test, caibration and inspection data incuded in submissions for product approvas can be evauated without re-testing and re-inspection. Many specifiers, such as government agencies, have recognised the importance of credibe accreditation programs that are deveoped against internationay recognised standards. Accreditation and the ILAC MRA hep reguators meet their own egisated responsibiities by providing a gobay recognised system to accept accredited test and inspection reports. Exampes of how the ILAC MRA benefits Reguators can be found at pubicsectorassurance.org For Industry users The MRA ensures that businesses that depend on test, caibration and inspection data have greater confidence in the accuracy of the test, caibration and inspection reports they purchase, because they have been generated by faciities assessed as being competent to carry out these specific activities. Users shoud check the current scope of the aboratory and inspection bodys accreditation when purchasing such services. For Manufacturers The MRA ensures that manufacturing businesses can derive significant savings. Rather than bearing the costs of setting up interna assessments to confirm the quaity of the testing, caibration and inspection resuts on their products, businesses can choose to defer to the assessments of internationay recognised competent accreditation bodies that are ILAC signatories, and in addition benefit from the market access the ILAC MRA provides. For Consumers The MRA provides additiona confidence to the genera pubic and consumers purchasing testing, caibration and inspection services on their sampe, instrument or product. By insisting that the caibration, test, or inspection resuts are from an accredited faciity, they can be confident the faciity has been assessed by an independent accreditation body, that itsef has been recognised as meeting internationa standards of competence. goba trust Testing Caibration Inspection

4 How does the MRA work? Acceptance of an accreditation body into the ILAC MRA is dependent upon being successfuy evauated by peers from other accreditation bodies in accordance with the reevant rues and procedures contained in ILAC pubications. Each accreditation body that is a signatory to the ILAC MRA commits to: Maintain conformity with the current version of ISO/IEC Conformity assessment Genera requirements for bodies providing assessment and accreditation of conformity assessment bodies and suppementary requirements documents. Ensure that a aboratories and inspection bodies that are accredited compy with appropriate aboratory and inspection bodies standards (currenty ISO/IEC Genera requirements for the competence of testing and caibration aboratories, ISO Medica aboratories Requirements for quaity and competence, and ISO/IEC Conformity assessment Requirements for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection). The ILAC MRA has been structured to buid on existing and deveoping regiona MRAs estabished around the word. Regiona Cooperation Bodies who are operating a regiona MRA, coordinate peer evauations and thereby maintain confidence in the accreditation bodies that are signatories to the regiona MRA. In turn, each Regiona Cooperation Body, that has been recognised by ILAC, must aso abide by ILAC s procedures and requirements and undergo routine peer evauations by the members of another Regiona Cooperation Body or ILAC. Currenty, the European cooperation for Accreditation (EA), the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) and the Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC) are recognised regiona bodies of ILAC. This means that the mutua recognition arrangements (MRAs) and evauation procedures of EA, APLAC and IAAC have been peer evauated by ILAC and demonstrated competence in maintaining and managing an MRA. Recognised Regiona Cooperations are re-evauated every 4 years. Accreditation Bodies who are Associate Members of ILAC and a signatory to the MRA of a recognised region are automaticay eigibe to become signatories to the ILAC MRA. Accreditation bodies that cannot be a member of an ILAC recognized region (for geographica reasons) may appy directy to ILAC for evauation in order to achieve signatory status to the ILAC MRA. goba trust Testing Caibration Inspection

5 How does the MRA work? continued The Southern African Deveopment Community in Accreditation (SADCA), the Arab Accreditation Cooperation (ARAC) and the African Accreditation Cooperation (AFRAC) are in the process of deveoping their respective MRAs and their associated evauation procedures before seeking recognition with ILAC. The end resut of this network of mutua recognition, is that test reports and caibration certificates as we as inspection reports issued by faciities accredited by a signatory to the ILAC MRA, wi be accepted by the other signatories to the ILAC MRA and many cases by government reguators and industry. ILAC-MRA Mark A ILAC Fu Members (MRA signatories) are abe to enter into an agreement with ILAC to use the ILAC MRA Mark in combination with their own accreditation body Symbo (otherwise known as a Combined MRA Mark). The accredited aboratories and inspection bodies of ILAC Fu Members that have signed an agreement with ILAC for the use of the ILAC MRA Mark are abe to use the Accredited CAB Combined ILAC MRA Mark. This aows these faciities to provide an instanty recognizabe ink to the ILAC MRA on their reports and certificates containing the resuts of caibration, testing and inspections carried out under the scope of their accreditation. Use of the Combined MRA Mark (used by accreditation bodies) and the Accredited CAB Combined MRA Mark (used by aboratories and inspection bodies) is however not mandatory and therefore aboratory and inspection reports and certificates, from accredited aboratories and inspection bodies, may be seen with or without the Accredited CAB Combined MRA Mark. goba trust Testing Caibration Inspection

6 How does the MRA work? continued Accreditation Bodies using the Combined MRA Mark, receive the benefits of being abe to readiy promote their internationa recognition status, and of being abe to provide the same opportunity to their accredited aboratories and inspection bodies. Accredited aboratories and inspection bodies, using the Accredited CAB Combined MRA Mark on their test/caibration and inspection reports, are in turn abe to receive the benefits of promoting their accreditation as being internationay recognised. Maintaining the integrity of the MRA In order to maintain the vaue and integrity of the MRA, a signatories have agreed to notify ILAC about any significant changes incuding: the status or operation of the accreditation body changes in name or ega/corporate status the estabishment, revision, suspension or termination of any agreements changes in key senior staff or the organisationa structure. Each signatory to the MRA must aso designate a iaison officer to ensure a consistent and effective channe of communication between the accreditation bodies. Summary The MRA promotes trust and buids confidence among accreditation bodies through their abiity to determine a aboratory and inspection body s competence to carry out testing, caibrations and inspections. In turn, this confidence faciitates the acceptance of testing, caibration and inspection resuts between economies when the resuts can be demonstrated to have originated from accredited aboratories and inspection bodies. The MRA supports goba trade by removing a technica barrier to trade in the form of retesting and re-inspection every time a product enters a new market. This cuts time and cost for industry, and supports reguatory and pubic poicy frameworks. ILAC is committed to its goa of achieving the principe of products and services being tested or inspected once, accepted everywhere. goba trust Testing Caibration Inspection

7 Where can I get more information? ILAC faciitates trade and supports reguators by operating a wordwide mutua recognition arrangement the ILAC Arrangement among Accreditation Bodies (ABs) in order that the data and test resuts issued by aboratories and inspection bodies, coectivey known as Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs), accredited by ILAC Accreditation Body members are accepted gobay. Thereby, technica barriers to trade, such as the re-testing of products each time they enter a new economy is reduced, in support of reaising the free-trade goa of accredited once, accepted everywhere. In addition, accreditation reduces risk for business and its customers by assuring that accredited CABs are competent to carry out the work they undertake within their scope of accreditation. Further, the resuts from accredited faciities are used extensivey by reguators for the pubic benefit in the provision of services that promote an unpouted environment, safe food, cean water, energy, heath and socia care services. ABs that are members of ILAC and the CABs they accredit are required to compy with appropriate internationa standards and the appicabe ILAC appication documents for the consistent appication of those standards. ILAC is the goba association for the accreditation of aboratories, inspection bodies, proficiency testing providers and reference materia producers, with a membership consisting of accreditation bodies and stakehoder organisations throughout the word. It is a representative organisation that is invoved with: the deveopment of accreditation practices and procedures, the promotion of accreditation as a trade faciitation too, supporting the provision of oca and nationa services, the assistance of deveoping accreditation systems, the recognition of competent testing (incuding medica) and caibration aboratories, inspection bodies, proficiency testing providers and reference materia producers around the word. ILAC activey cooperates with other reevant internationa organisations in pursuing these aims. ABs having signed the ILAC Arrangement are subject to peer evauation via formay estabished and recognised regiona cooperation bodies using ILAC rues and procedures prior to becoming a signatory to the ILAC Arrangement. goba trust Testing Caibration Inspection

8 Internationa Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation The ILAC website provides a range of information on topics covering accreditation, conformity assessment, trade faciitation, as we as the contact detais of members. Further information to iustrate the vaue of accredited conformity assessment to reguators and the pubic sector through case studies and independent research can aso be found at: For more information contact: The ILAC Secretariat PO Box 7507 Siverwater NSW 2128 Austraia Phone: Emai: iac@nata.com.au Website: Copyright ILAC 2015 ILAC encourages the authorised reproduction of its pubications, or parts thereof, by organisations wishing to use such materia for areas reated to education, standardisation, accreditation, or other purposes reevant to ILAC s area of expertise or endeavour. The document in which the reproduced materia appears must contain a statement acknowedging ILAC s contribution to the document. goba trust Testing Caibration Inspection