FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2002-12-12

SCC and ANSI-RAB Establish Harmonization Committee

OTTAWA - The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) hosted the first meeting of the SCC-ANSI-RAB Harmonization Committee by teleconference November 27, 2002. The Committee was formed to enhance the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between the SCC and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-Registrar Accreditation Board (RAB) National Accreditation Program (NAP).

Under the MRA, SCC and the ANSI-RAB NAP have agreed that ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 registration certificates issued by their accredited Certification/Registration Bodies (CRBs) are equivalent. Both organizations base their decisions to accredit a CRB on the same criteria, exemplified by each being signatories to the IAF MLA.

The Harmonization Committee was created in recognition of the value of increased collaboration between the SCC and the ANSI-RAB NAP. The Committee will focus on accreditation body program operations, consistency in the application of accreditation requirements, and harmonization of accreditation body procedures. As a first action, the SCC and ANSI-RAB NAP will begin developing joint processes and procedures for sharing information and joint audit activities.

"Establishing joint procedures and processes leverages the strengths of both organizations and ensures a uniform level of competence. In addition to enhancing confidence between the SCC and ANSI-RAB NAP, this will lead to the recognition of each others audit results, thereby decreasing duplication of activities," said Pat Paladino, Director of Conformity Assessment for the Standards Council of Canada.

"The SCC ANSI-RAB Harmonization Committee is really about improving service to our customers and increasing value to the end users of conformance assessment services in the United States and Canada," said Lane Hallenbeck, Vice President of Conformity Assessment for the American National Standards Institute.

To ensure that the views of all relevant parties are represented, the Harmonization Committee includes representatives from the SCC, ANSI-RAB NAP, the International Association of Accredited Registrars (IAAR), the Canadian Conformity Assessment Conference (CCAC), and SCC and ANSI-RAB accreditation auditors.

The American National Standards Institute is a private sector, non-profit membership organization that administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system, and is the US representative at ISO. The Institute's mission is to enhance both the global competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems, and safeguarding their integrity. For additional information about ANSI, visit www.ansi.org.

The Registrar Accreditation Board operates accreditation programs for ISO 9000 and ISO 14001 registrars and auditor training course providers through the ANSI-RAB National Accreditation Program. RAB independently operates certification programs for quality and environmental management systems auditors. For more information about RAB, visit www.rabnet.com.

The Standards Council of Canada is a Crown corporation with the mandate to promote efficient and effective voluntary standardization, and is Canada's representative at ISO and an IAF-MLA Signatory. For more information on the Standards Council's accreditation programs visit www.scc.ca, or contact the Standards Council's Conformity Assessment Branch via e mail at [email protected].

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