FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2005-06-15

SCC joins JAS-ANZ, ANAB and JAB in cooperative accreditation arrangement

OTTAWA - The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) is pleased to announce that it has signed a multilateral cooperative accreditation arrangement (MCAA) with JAS-ANZ (Australia/New Zealand), ANAB (United States) and the JAB (Japan).

"The signing of this agreement will result in the elimination of duplicate assessments, thereby reducing costs for certification bodies that require multiple accreditations," noted Pat Paladino, Director of Conformity Assessment for the SCC.

The arrangement allows members to recognize the results of each party's assessments and accreditation programs for Management Systems as equivalent to their own. Signatories agree to actively work toward the increased harmonization of processes, cross training of accreditation auditors and the reduction of differences within their respective programs.

Consistent with the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) guidance on cross frontier accreditation, MCAA members are encouraged to employ the assessment services of local accreditation bodies within each of the three participating countries.

The Standards Council of Canada is a Crown corporation with the mandate to promote efficient and effective voluntary standardization, and is Canada's representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the IAF. For more information on the Standards Council's accreditation programs visit www.scc.ca, or contact the Standards Council's Conformity Assessment Branch via email at [email protected].
 

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