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What are the different types of assessment that ASI conducts?

Posted on 03 August 2011 in ,

Accreditation Services International assesses the competence of certification bodies through three different types of assessment (document review, office assessment, witness assessment) during the different stages of the accreditation process (accreditation, surveillance, verification, compliance).

Assessment Types

  1. Document Review
    During a document review, the ASI assessment team examines the documented procedures and other documents submitted by the certification body on their compliance with accreditation requirements.
  2. Office Assessment
    During an office assessment, the ASI assessment team checks whether certification processes are in line with the requirements of the standard, properly implemented and whether the certification body has the resources to credibly deliver the accredited certification program.  Office assessments are conducted annually at the main office of the certification body and a sample of its branch offices.
  3. Witness Assessment
    During a witness assessment, the ASI assessment team observes and evaluates the certification body’s audit team (including subcontractors) performing audits. Between 0.5% and 5% of a certification body’s certificate holders are selected for assessment each year according to ASI’s Sampling Procedure.

All of the above assessment types can be conducted as short notice assessments, i.e. with at most two weeks notice prior to the assessment.

Stages of the Accreditation Process

  1. Accreditation
    The initial assessment of a certification body’s compliance with scheme requirements. As part of the accreditation process, at least one document review, an office assessment of the certification body’s head office and all affiliate offices and a witness assessment are conducted.
  2. Surveillance
    The regular evaluation of the competence of a certification body. Each year, the head office undergoes an office assessment; affiliate offices are assessed at least every five years. In addition, a small sample of all audits is supervised through a witness assessment.
  3. Verification
    The evaluation if a certification body has implemented corrective and preventive action to fix a major conformity detected by ASI. If the outcome of a verification assessment is not satisfactory, ASI can take steps to suspend or limit a certification body’s accreditation.
  4. Compliance
    A direct audit of a certificate holder’s compliance with scheme requirements. Compliance audits are undertaken by ASI to verify the competence of the certification body, the adequacy of the certification recommendation and the certificate holder’s conformity with specific certification requirements. Issues found during a compliance audit can lead to the direct termination of the certificate in addition to the suspension of the certification body.

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