What is this standard about?
This international standard sets out the conformity assessment requirements for audit and certification bodies, relating to all management system.
Who is this standard for?
- Certification bodies
- Approval organizations
- Quality management professionals, auditors and management system consultants
Why should you use this standard?
Any organization that performs certification and auditing must demonstrate that it is competent, consistent and impartial. To help achieve that in the field of conformity assessment, ISO/IEC 17021-1 sets out requirements for audit and certification bodies. It is not specific to a particular market, applies to SMEs and large companies, both public and private sector, and covers quality, environment and other management systems.
Certification of a management system gives assurance that an organization has an effective approach to running its activities and supplying products and services – an overall system that can consistently achieve its stated policies and objectives.
What’s changed since the last update?
This standard supersedes BS EN ISO/IEC 17021:2011. Changes include:
- Classifying major and minor nonconformities
- Defining audit times from planning to reporting
- Laying out a new principle for a risk-based approach
- Setting new requirements to demonstrate control of remote offices
- Allowing the statement of certified management systems on product packaging