Noting an increasing number of complaints about accredited certification bodies issuing certificates based on accreditation standards such as ISO 17025, the International Accreditation Forum’s technical committee (TC) is currently voting on a proposal that would allow the accreditation of offenders to be revoked. The IAF TC first discussed the issue at its November 2006 meeting in Cancun, where it noted that certification bodies that issue certificates for standards that are used by accreditation bodies to accredit certification bodies (such as ISO 17025 and ISO 15189), are essentially competing with accreditation bodies. This is prohibited by ISO 17011.

According to Randy Dougherty, ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board director of accreditation, the proposal—as it is written now—would allow offenders to earn their accreditation back by taking corrective action.

After the TC’s March meeting in San Francisco, the subcommittee that is spearheading this effort drafted the following proposal, which was sent to TC members for a vote that ends on June 29. If the proposal is approved by the TC, it will be forwarded to the IAF’s General Assembly for its consideration.

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