Coronavirus pandemic

DAkkS continues to provide on-site assessments

Focus on adhering to the statutory mandate and protecting against infection
Press Release,

In the current situation with regard to the pandemic, Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle (DAkkS) is continuing to provide on-site assessments, provided that all necessary precautionary measures can be observed and the framework conditions allow it to do so. In order to fully comply with its obligations under its statutory mandate, DAkkS must also provide on-site assessments of the technical competence of conformity assessment bodies (CABs) during the pandemic. In many accreditation cases, these in-person appointments cannot be permanently replaced by remote assessments.

Since the beginning of October 2021, DAkkS has again been carrying out assessments mainly on site. Prior to this, DAkkS had broadly switched its assessment practice to remote assessments. From an accreditation point of view, however, the numerous assessments carried out since then using video conferencing technology are limited in terms of the information they provide. Particularly for initial accreditations and extensions of accreditations, the assessment team must be on site if it is to gain an impression of whether the relevant requirements can be met.

“The health of everyone involved in the accreditation process does of course continue to have top priority. If protection against infection during a planned on-site assessment cannot be adequately ensured, we will reschedule and consider the possibility of a remote assessment in these cases for the time being. As the national accreditation body, we are obliged to ensure the availability of accreditation, which as a key component of the quality infrastructure is associated with the trust placed in the performance of accredited bodies by business, industry and consumers. We are therefore determined to comply with all of our obligations under our statutory mandate,” says Dr.-Ing. Stephan Finke, Chief Executive Officer of DAkkS.

Decision in individual cases

DAkkS apologises for any inconvenience if on-site assessments cannot be carried out in individual cases. DAkkS will decide in each case in consultation with the CAB and the assessment team whether an on-site assessment can take place or whether it can be replaced by a remote assessment, which will then be supplemented by an on-site assessment at a later date. This also applies with immediate effect to assessments abroad, regardless of whether the on-site assessment is to be conducted on the basis of a statutory or non-statutory accreditation procedure.

The relevant case managers at DAkkS will be happy to help you with any questions you may have regarding assessment practice.

DAkkS Press Office

Contact

T: +49 (0) 30 670591-954

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