Letter from the editor
We are approaching our third year of publishing IRCA INform and in that time our industry has seen a wealth of change which we’ve always tried to keep you in step with. It’s also the third anniversary of the accreditation standard, ISO 17024. Aimed at certification bodies certifying persons, the standard has been the subject of much heated debate. The standard hasn’t been the cure-all that many hoped: can you really ensure absolute competence, its vociferous critics argue, with a standard that can be so variously and inconsistently interpreted?
Divided opinion over ISO 17024 has been part of a wider concern that has given certification a pretty miserable profile at the moment – a ‘lacklustre auditing environment’, as one reader put it – and it’s a theme which weaves through much of this issue of INform. The main problem, it is universally acknowledged, is the ‘commoditization’ of certification. It has become so competitive that certification bodies are reducing on-site days, sending cheaper auditors and cutting corners and costs.
So what can we do? Fraser Paterson suggests that auditors are becoming bogged down in the detail of standards’ clauses, and aren’t actually engaging personally enough with top management. The answer, he argues, is a holistic approach which reaches far beyond the strictures of ISO 9001 and other standards. Ferry Jansen from DNV puts this theory into practice with risk-based certification, which purports to rise far beyond the strictures of ISO and concentrate the audit only where it was really needed: the critical parts of the business. David Hutchins rues the rise of unaccredited certification, and sketches out a system in which accredited certification bodies should not be hired directly by the client.
Have a look at our other stories too: an insider’s view of the development of the new social responsibility standard ISO 26000 and an update on certification in Spain. And, as always, there are lots of news stories to keep you up to date with what’s going on in the industry. INform seldom fails to elicit feedback; make sure you have a look at other readers’ thoughts and let us know if you agree or disagree - or if you just want to be heard.
Amy Holgate
Editor, IRCA INform