Accreditation activities
The types of conformity assessment
Accreditation is a service that is used in very different areas, all of which have in common the shared work of their clients: conformity assessment. In addition to laws and directives, standards constitute the basis for the work of all conformity assessment bodies – as they do for their accreditation.
Testing and calibration laboratories Accreditation in accordance with DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025
The services of testing laboratories are important in many different sectors of the economy. The spectrum ranges from food safety, mechanical engineering and telecommunications to the testing of electromagnetic compatibility. The purpose of the work of calibration laboratories is to determine display and indication errors of instruments and measuring systems and the values of measurement samples. The aim is to ensure accurate and reliable measurement results. The accreditation of testing and calibration laboratories is carried out in accordance with DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025.
Medical laboratories Accreditation in accordance with DIN EN ISO 15189
The work of medical laboratories focuses on the analysis of biological materials. Medical laboratories often provide the basis for medical diagnoses. Medical laboratory services are therefore essential when it comes to assessing the health of patients and verifying the effectiveness of medical treatment. The accreditation of medical laboratories is in accordance with the standard DIN EN ISO 15189.
Inspection bodies Accreditation in accordance with DIN EN ISO/IEC 17020
Inspection bodies are concerned with the regular inspection of items and the documentation of their condition. This allows safety aspects to be critically examined and the risk of accidents to be reduced. Well-known examples are inspections of motor vehicles, industrial plants or fairground rides. The work of inspectors is also in demand in the construction industry and in medicine. The international standard for inspection bodies is ISO/IEC 17020.
Certification bodies for management systems Accreditation in accordance with DIN EN ISO/IEC 17021-1
The certification of management systems is an important factor in areas as diverse as occupational safety, the environment or energy. The goals in each case are comparable: ensure quality, achieve improvement. The requirements applicable to these activities are set out in ISO/IEC 17021-1, the international standard for certification bodies for management systems.
Certification bodies for persons Accreditation in accordance with DIN EN ISO/IEC 17024
The main focus of the work of certification of persons is on verifying compliance with training standards, for example for technical experts. The relevant international standard for certification bodies for persons is DIN EN ISO/IEC 17024.
Certification bodies for products, processes and services Accreditation in accordance with DIN EN ISO/IEC 17065
The certification of products, processes or services can only take place within the framework of a certification scheme, which determines the products, processes or services to be certified and the requirements they must fulfil. The certification scheme also specifies the types and combinations of conformity assessment techniques used to assess the product, process or service. The relevant international standard for product, process or service certification bodies is DIN EN ISO/IEC 17065.
Validation and verification bodies Accreditation in accordance with DIN EN ISO 14065
Verification and validation bodies carry out tests in the area of greenhouse gas emissions. Their conformity assessment relates primarily to the accuracy and conformity of the declarations made by companies concerning greenhouse gas emissions within the framework of the EU emissions trading system. The relevant standard for the work of validation and verification bodies is DIN EN ISO 14065.
Proficiency testing providers Accreditation in accordance with DIN EN ISO/IEC 17043
Participation in proficiency tests such as interlaboratory comparisons provides laboratories with valuable insights into their performance and the reliability of their analysis results. Accredited proficiency testing providers have demonstrated that they have performed the interlaboratory comparisons in accordance with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17043.
Reference material producers Accreditation in accordance with DIN EN ISO 17034
Reference materials are used as criteria and benchmarks for measurement procedures and are indispensable for testing or monitoring. The work of conformity assessment in this area takes place during the production process for the reference materials. Accreditation in this area proves that the producers comply with the requirements of the ISO 17034 standard.
Biobanks Accreditation in accordance with DIN EN ISO 20387
Biobanks collect, process and store biological materials and make these biomaterials available to the users of the biobank together with defined information on the materials. Biobanks can be divided into groups according to various criteria: for example, according to the intended use of the processed biological materials (research, industry, epidemiology, etc.) or according to the origin of the materials (human materials, veterinary materials, plant materials, microorganisms, etc.).
