Purpose of this bulletin
This bulletin provides clarification on two areas where UKAS accredited bodies have sought guidance in relation to the following:
1) Whether manufacturer‑produced declarations (certificates) attesting the compliance of welding procedures against stated criteria can be validated by an accredited conformity assessment body operating under ISO/IEC 17020
2) How EA‑8/01G:2024 Guidance on Transfers of Accredited Certification of Persons needs to be interpreted to in order to ensure compliant and fair practices
This bulletin supersedes any previous informal interpretations and aims to set clear, consistent expectations for accredited bodies.
1) Recognition of manufacturer produced weld procedure declarations (certification)
Manufacturers may from time to time choose to adapt previously approved welding procedures to demonstrate and declare uniformity in new applications. There appears to be uncertainty within industry regarding whether such a self-declaration can be marked/endorsed by an accredited conformity assessment body.
According to ISO/IEC 17020:2012, conformity assessment bodies are required to evaluate and report on the adequacy of welding procedures and, where appropriate, issue certificates over which they maintain control. Any marking or endorsement of a manufacturer’s produced weld procedure approval would not be consistent with accredited conformity assessment:
- The conformity assessment body lacks document control over the manufacturer’s certificate.
- Approval by the manufacturer of its own procedure constitutes first-party assessment, which is inconsistent with the principles of independent / impartial assurance provided by an accredited inspection body, dependent upon the independence type. Furthermore, it could be perceived as outsourcing the evaluation to the party being evaluated and further raise concerns regarding impartiality.
Although conformity assessment bodies utilise manufacturers’ records to support ISO/IEC 17020:2012 conformity assessments, it is expected, that after conducting an independent review and evaluation, the conformity assessment body will produce its own unique report and certificate attesting to its findings. Any accredited conformity assessment body that cannot demonstrate the completion of a comprehensive and independent evaluation in accordance with the guidelines above will be required to take corrective action and may be subject to sanction.
2) Certification transfer using EA-8/01
ISO/IEC 17024:2012 establishes a framework for developing and delivering certification schemes that evaluate the competence of personnel to execute tasks.
There is currently no globally acknowledged central certification scheme for permanent joining qualifications, and conformity assessment bodies are required to design their own individual scheme requirements, which, despite potentially achieving comparable outcomes, may vary slightly in methodology and implementation.
Document EA‑8/01G:2024 Guidance on Transfers of Accredited Certification of Persons has been published to establish a consistent interpretation of the circumstances under which accredited persons’ certification may be transferred between certification bodies. This guidance provides a consistent framework that enables certified individuals to transfer to an alternate certification body in a systematic manner without undue or unfair restriction.
When the transfer of a certified person’s certificate is requested, the accepting accredited certification body should implement a transfer process in accordance with the principles of EA-8/01G:2024. This ensures a consistent and effective pre-transfer review and formal decision-making, while generating the required records as stipulated by ISO/IEC 17024:2012 §7.1.1 (evidence of completion of the certification process) and §9.2.6 (acceptance of work by another body), that demonstrate equivalency with the receiving conformity assessment body’s own certification scheme.
EA-8/01 stipulates some specific conditions that conformity assessment bodies need to be aware of:
- 3.1.1 clarifies that certificate transfers are only permissible between certification equivalent schemes that address ISO/IEC 17024 §8.2 and §8.3 and contain the same requirements (e.g., ISO 9606). Welder qualification schemes based on the principles of ISO/IEC 17020 will lack the requirements of ISO/IEC 17024 and transferees from such schemes will need to be considered as new applicants.
- 3.1.1 Note 2 recognises that some schemes may restrict the transferability of certification.
Accredited conformity assessment bodies that fail to implement suitable transfer process addressing the requirements of ISO/IEC 17024 based on the guidance of EA-8/01G:2024 may be required to implement corrective actions and could be subject to sanction.
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