Document No: ITS-0104

Title of the document: Qualification of test laboratory for product certification schemes

Revision of the document: 2 / 2009-03-19

Date of publication: 2009-03-19

Date of withdrawal: 2009-03-19

Document owner: CDTT

Application: Certification schemes

Remarks:

This procedure is intended for laboratories that wish to become recognised for the testing of products under the Intertek product certification schemes.

Existing qualified laboratories shall carry out the TL responsibilities as detailed on page 2 and comply with the ongoing maintenance and quality programs detailed on page 4.

Laboratories wishing to be recognised for testing of electrical products under the ASTA Diamond Mark Certification Scheme must also comply with the requirements detailed in ITS-0102.

A Test Laboratory (TL) is an independent facility that has a recognised testing capability within its scope of specific product standards, where subcontracting of certain tests are allowed according to pertinent governing documents of the certification scheme in question.

Following a successful qualification procedure the TL must enter into an agreement with the Certification Body (CB) operating the applicable certification scheme.

Note 1; The recognised standard scope of a TL is controlled by the CB in accordance with the rules of relevant certification scheme.

Note 2; A recognised TL shall only offer testing services within its recognised scope of standards aiming at Intertek regular product certification scheme(s). However, upon unsuccessful sale of such certification program the TL is allowed to carry out testing for other Verifications, such as CE-Verification for the European market, provided that the applicable product standard is within the TL recognised scope of standards and that the Verification is be based on the full testing to the relevant product standard.

REVISION SUMMARY - The following changes have been made to this document:
Revision / Date / Description of Change
1 / 2008.01.17 / Initial release
2 / 2009-03-19 / Change the address of Germany office at the footer of this document.


Responsibilities

Responsibilities of the CB

The CB is responsible for the following:

1.  Overseeing the operations of its TL on an ongoing basis.

2.  Overseeing the required training of its TL on an ongoing basis.

3.  Auditing (initially and once per year thereafter) the TL in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025, including technical scope and quality management system.

Note: According to ISO/IEC Guide 65, Sub-clause 4.7 (Internal audits and management reviews)

4.  Issuing of Certificates covering the test reports delivered from the TL.

5.  Ensuring that the TL Proficiency Testing Program (PTP) is applicable to its scope of standards.

Responsibilities of the TL

The TL is responsible for:

1.  Operating in compliance with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 and all relevant governing documents set out by the CB.

2.  Appointing an appropriate person to be responsible for the facilities and/or services provided to the CB.

3.  Maintaining technical competence for the specified scope of work (as per Annex A) within the accepted scope of the CB.

4.  Ensuring that all tests are carried out and reported to the CB in accordance with the applicable technical requirements and the instructions of the CB.

5.  Participating in applicable Proficiency Testing Programs (PTP) according to its scope of standards.


Application guidelines

Upon receipt of an application from a laboratory wishing to become recognized for testing within one or more of Intertek product certification schemes the following procedures apply

Initial recognition process

Action Item / What to do / Remark /
A candidate laboratory arrives / Identify company name, location and responsible person(s) /
Certification scheme / Identify certification scheme of interest / Obviously a TL may participate in more than one scheme /
Laboratory testing field / Identify industry sector, product categories and pertinent product standards of interest / When identifying applicable standards, note that if Part 2 standards exists for a product area at least one must be included, not only the Part 1 standard /
Laboratory accreditation status / Identify current (inter)national accreditations based on ISO/IEC 17025:2005 / Independent accreditations are not mandatory but, if such exists this will simplify the recognition procedure
Approval for participation in well established international testing and certification scheme will also facilitate the recognition /
Mutual interest in a long term cooperation / Market business research and evaluation of competition / To be considered and decided by Management group
Contact persons / Appoint a Contact person at each party to coordinate the recognition process
Initial costs / An application fee may be charged by the CB once the Contact persons have been appointed (see above) / This fee is optional and may be applied with the final invoice. This fee is not applicable for internal laboratories.
Pre-questionnaire according to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 / Send Pre-questionnaire
(IECEE Operational Document OD-CB 2017) to TL / The Pre-questionnaire is to be submitted, and returned for review, regardless of current accreditation status
List test equipment / Review for technical considerations and decision / Subcontracting is allowed under certain circumstances
CV’s for staff qualifications / Review to ascertain the relevant engineering level of competence / Staff must be able to perform tests at expert level and demonstrate understanding of the rationale for the tests and of the standard(s)
Additional training needs / At this stage, determine if any further specific training is necessary / Initiated by the Contact persons, to be confirmed by Management group and charged separately
Other technical document / Review for technical considerations and decision / An organizational chart showing site management and technical responsibilities is required
Pre-audit / If needed, plan audit and appoint an assessment team / A pre-audit may be left out depending on the status of the accreditation evidence provided
Action Item / What to do / Remark
Assessment date / Plan together with TL and Assessment team / Assessment date must be agreed in writings
Final invoice / Final invoice issued by CB / All costs for the recognition process are quoted in advance and shall be borne by the TL. Once accepted by the TL the final fee will be invoiced
Assessment according to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 / Carry out assessment / A good guide to how an assessment is run is described in IECEE OD-CB2006
Assessment report / The Lead Assessor will submit the report to the CB / The report shall contain a recommendation for recognition and corrective actions needs
Corrective actions / Shall be cleared and reported to the Lead Assessor in an agreed time period / Final decision may include minor non-conformities that will be checked upon annual re-assessment
Recognition / Both parties to sign the Agreement (Appendix 1.1/1.2) / This agreement only regulates the technical administrative aspects of the co-operation, including recognized scope of standards (Annex A)
Acknowledgement / A certificate of acceptance confirming the co-operation is issued by the CB.

Following maintenance and quality programs

Action Item / What to do / Remark
Annual training / The CB plan annual training activities together with TL / Staff must be trained periodically in order to retain competence
PTP / The laboratory participate in PTPs according to agreed schedule / This may be under the IECEE or Intertek internal programs
Standard scope extension / The laboratory contact the CB to extend their current recognized scope of standards / New standard are included in the TL scope of standards in accordance with the rules of the relevant certification scheme
Reassessment / The CB plan annual audits together with TL / Reassessment on a three years basis.

Fees

For Non-Intertek laboratories the fee for the above is based on local marketing prices.

For Intertek laboratories a cost plus price strategy shall apply (see prices in ITS-0052).

ITS-0104_Laboratory qualifications-certification schemes_Rev_2.doc Rev. 2 / 2009-03-19 page 1 of 5
Intertek Deutschland GmbH, Stangenstrasse 1, 70771 Leinfelden- Echterdingen, Germany, tel +49 (711) 273110, fax +49 (711) 27311 559
Intertek Semko AB, Torshamnsgatan 43, Box 1103, 164 22 Kista, Sweden, tel +46 8 750 00 00, fax +46 8 750 60 30
Intertek Testing Services (Singapore) Pte Ltd, 5 Pereira Road, #06-01, Asiawide Industrial Building, Singapore, Tel +65 6282 7187, Fax +65 6280 0840