Overview

ISO/IEC 17020 ‘Conformity Assessment – Requirements for the Operation of Various Types of Bodies Performing Inspection’ specifies general requirements which are used as the basis for independent accreditation. The standard provides criteria for establishing an effective Quality Management System which provides confidence in inspection results and a structured basis for ongoing performance improvement.

This course comprises a series of interactive tutorials and workshops which describes the context and content of ISO/IEC 17020, giving an understanding of the requirements and how they may be applied.

Who should attend

Anyone whose role requires them to have an understanding of ISO/IEC 17020, including:

• Senior managers of organisations providing inspection services.
• Managers with direct responsibility for co-ordinating Quality Management System development and implementation.
• Inspection staff and associated personnel working, or planning to work in an accredited or ISO/IEC 17020 compliant organisation.
• Quality practitioners who need to understand the ISO/IEC 17020 requirements.
• Internal and external QMS auditors who may be required to audit against ISO/IEC 17020.
• The content is relevant to organisations which have ISO/IEC accreditation and to those which are in the process of seeking accreditation.

Benefits

• Participants will be able to understand the requirements of the standard as relating to their own organisations.
• Sponsor organisations will know what they should be doing to achieve or enhance their compliance with ISO/IEC 17020.

Key Topics

• Quality management and improvement overview
• Relationship between ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 17020
• The differences between accreditation and certification
• The requirements of ISO/IEC 17020
• Quality Management System documentation
• Steps in implementing ISO/IEC 17020
• Achieving ISO/IEC 17020 accreditation

Structure

This 1-day course comprises a series of interactive tutorials, examples and team-based exercises. Each participant will receive a set of course notes and, on successful completion, a certificate.