Conformity assessment - Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems Archives

New ISO/IEC TS 17021-2:2012 addresses Conformity assessment — Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems — Part 2: Competence requirements for auditing and certification of environmental management systems

There’s a new ISO/IEC TS 17021-2:2012, “Conformity assessment — Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems — Part 2: Competence requirements for auditing and certification of environmental management systems,” and it’s available from Document Center Inc. now. The new technical specification specifies additional competence requirements for personnel involved in the audit and certification process for Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and complements the existing requirements of ISO/IEC 17021.

In particular, the new ISO/IEC TS 17021-2 clarifies the requirements for the competence of personnel involved in the certification process set out in ISO/IEC 17021:2011, Annex A. The guiding principles in ISO/IEC 17021:2011, Clause 4, are the basis for the requirements in this Technical Specification.

Certification bodies have a responsibility to interested parties, including their clients and the customers of the organizations whose management systems are certified, to ensure that only those auditors who demonstrate the relevant competence are allowed to conduct Environmental Management System (EMS) audits.

All EMS auditors should possess the generic competencies described in ISO/IEC 17021 as well as the specific EMS knowledge described in this Technical Specification.

Certification bodies will need to identify the specific audit team competence needed for the scope of each EMS audit. The selection of an EMS audit team will depend upon various factors including the EMS technical area, the client organization, its environmental aspects and the site where these aspects occur.

ISO/IEC 17021 is a work in progress and will eventually consist of the following parts:

ISO/IEC 17021-1: Currently numbered ISO/IEC 17021:2011, the next revision will reflect the “parts numbering” and will become ISO/IEC 17021-1.

Part 2: as discussed in this blog, and

Part 3: Competence requirements for auditing and certification of quality management systems [Technical Specification] (Currently in preparation).

All ISO/IEC standard, technical reports and technical specifications are available from Document Center Inc. at our website, www.document-center.com. If you have any other questions or requirements, please contact us by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com). We are here to assist you with your standards purchases and management requirements.

ISO 19011 2011 Edition just released on Guidelines for auditing management systems

ISO 19011:2011 2nd Edition dated 11/15/2011 has just been released. Titled “Guidelines for auditing management systems,” the standard is a staple of the management system standards series from ISO. This edition reflects the need for a more generic guide for a wider range of auditing requirements, beyond covering just quality and environmental management systems standards.

ISO 19011 provides guidance on auditing management systems, including the principles of auditing, managing an audit program and conducting management system audits. It also provides guidance on the evaluation of competence of individuals involved in the audit process, including the person managing the audit program, auditors and audit teams.

It is applicable to all organizations that need to conduct internal or external audits of management systems or manage an audit program. This includes small and medium-sized organizations, for both first party auditing (auditing your own company) and second party auditing (where customers audit their suppliers). It can be used for the purposes of self declaration, and can also be used for auditor training or personnel certification.

For third party auditing, users should also consider the use of ISO/IEC 17021:2011, “Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems.”

In this edition, remote auditing methods and the concept of risk management to systems auditing are introduced. The relationship between the document and ISO/IEC 17021 has been clarified. Confidentiality has been added as a new principle of auditing. A new Annex A give illustrative examples of discipline-specific knowledge and skills. And additional information has been included in Annex B, resulting in the removal of help boxes.

The new ISO 19011:2011 replaces the previous edition ISO 19011:2002, as well as ISO 10011-1, ISO 10011-2, and ISO 10011-3. Any draft copies are now obsolete as well (ISO/DIS 19011, ISO FDIS 19011). It was prepared by ISO Technical Committee 176, Subcommittee 3.

All ISO, IEC and ISO/IEC standards can be purchased from Document Center Inc. from our website, www.document-center.com. They are available in both paper and pdf format for customers based in the United States. Contact us by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com) for more information.

EN adoption of ISO/IEC 17021:2011 on Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems is now available

The new ISO/IEC 17021:2011, Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems, was released in February and the EN adoption (sold as BS EN ISO/IEC 17021:2011 for the official English language edition) has now been released as well.

Adoption by the European Union means that the countries in Europe have participated in the process to accept the ISO/IEC standard as a European Standard (EN) per the Vienna and Dresden agreements. The process includes a public enquiry, followed by an approval by weighted vote of CEN national members and final ratification. The European Standard is then announced at national level, published or endorsed as an identical national standard and every conflicting national standard is withdrawn.

This ISO/IEC 17021 revision sets new requirements for the auditing of management systems and for auditor competence in order to increase the value of management system certification to public and private sector organizations. The changes relate to the competence of the auditors who carry out certification and to the way in which they are managed and deployed.

Certification bodies that use the new edition will be able to ensure competent audit teams, with adequate resources, following a consistent process and reporting audit results in a consistent manner.

The certification bodies that carry out management system certification are being given a two-year period to bring their operations in line with the new edition.

All ISO, IEC, and ISO/IEC standards, as well as their EN adoptions, are all available from Document Center Inc. under license agreements. You’ll find them at our website, www.document-center.com. Or contact us by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com). Your questions are welcome.