Criteria for Recognition of Conformity Assessment Bodies for Australia
GTRC
Gas Technical Regulators’ Committee
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA FOR THE RECOGNITION
OF CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT BODIES FOR
AUSTRALIA
Revision
date
13/08/2013
13/08/2013
Description
Initial release
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Criteria for Recognition of Conformity Assessment Bodies for Australia
GTRC
CONTENTS PAGE
1
Introduction
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2
Definitions
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3
Process for CAB Recognition
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3.1
General
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3.2
Application Requirements
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3.3
The Assessment Process
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4
Conditions to be met by a CAB
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4.1
Credible Business
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4.2
Insurance
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4.3
Competencies and Responsibilities
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4.4
Accessible, Recognisable and Transparent Process
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4.5
Consultation between the GTRC and CABS
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5
Summary
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6
Contact Person
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Appendix A– Set of Criteria for CAB Approval
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1 INTRODUCTION
This document sets out criteria applied by Technical Regulators in Australia to give recognition
to an entity known as a Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) for the purpose of certifying
certifiable gas appliances and gas components. Entities that meet the criteria can apply to a
public authority responsible for gas safety in Australia to be recognised as a CAB for the
purpose of providing certification services for certifiable gas appliances and components. When
recognition has been obtained the entity can certify products in Australia.
In summary, this document sets out the competencies required of an applicant and the criteria
for recognition as a CAB for the purpose of certifying certifiable gas appliances and
components in Australia.
The objective of the certification scheme is to appropriately allocate responsibility and accountability so that the Australian process of certifying certifiable gas appliances is robust, effective
and internationally recognised by overseas authorities.
The scheme is based on CABs assessing the certifiable gas appliances and components for
meeting the requirements of AS 3645, Essential requirements for gas equipment, and other
relevant Australian or International standards through:
•
detailed sample product inspection;
•
establishing a suitable testing program;
•
appraisal of test reports; and
•
assess and verify ongoing manufacturing compliance via a post certification surveillance
process.
The Gas Technical Regulators Committee (GTRC) is responsible for the compilation and ongoing maintenance of the Rules for Gas Appliance and Components Certification. This is later
referred to as The Rules. This document and The Rules are available on the GTRC Website.
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2 DEFINITIONS
Accredited Testing Laboratory
A NATA or IANZ-accredited test laboratory that carries out conformance testing, or a laboratory
accredited by an accreditation authority, that is a signatory to the International Laboratory
Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC).
Approving Technical Regulator (ATR)
Selected by the GTRC and carries out the assessment or engages an independent assessor to
undertake the assessment of the potential CAB. This may be more than one jurisdictional
Technical Regulator.
AS3645
Australian Standard “Essential requirements for gas equipment” as amended from time to time.
Certificate
A document issued by a CAB to the supplier indicating or confirming that the product is
compliant with the applicable nominated standards.
Certifiable Gas Appliance
(a)
A gas appliance designed to use gas as a fuel, for which a testing standard or code
applicable to Australian conditions is available, as listed in appendix A of AS3645 and
which can be tested to these standards or a combination thereof; or
(b)
A gas appliance that meets the requirements of AS3645 based upon testing to an EN or
ISO standard with variations based upon testing to gas appliance standards listed in
appendix A of AS3645 and is generally a series produced domestic or commercial
packaged product.
Component
Constituent parts of a gas appliance or gas installation or accessories for a gas appliance as
listed in clause A2 of AS3645.
Conformity Assessment Body (CAB)
A body acceptable to a Technical Regulator that provides assurance of compliance of products
with nominated standards or other accepted safety criteria
In this document the term “CAB” means Conformity Assessment Body in accordance with the
definition provided for “certification body” in the International Organisation for Standardisation
publication ISO/IEC 17065 Conformity Assessment – Requirements for bodies certifying
products, processes and services.
A CAB shall be a registered entity as defined by ASIC (Australian Security and Investment
Commission).
Gas compliance mark (GCM)
A permanent identification marking on an appliance for which a certificate has been issued to
the certificate holder by the CAB. There are 2 categories of the GCM;
(a)
an Australia/New Zealand mark;
(b)
an Australia only mark
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Gas Technical Regulators’ Committee (GTRC)
The Gas Technical Regulators Committee is an association of Government Departments
responsible for the safe use of gas. The committee includes representatives from every State
and Territory in Australia and New Zealand.
JAS-ANZ
JAS-ANZ is the government-appointed accreditation body for Australia and New Zealand
responsible for providing accreditation of conformity assessment bodies (CABs) in the fields of
certification and inspection.
National database
The national database is an on-line database administered by the GTRC which contains details
of certified gas appliances and components.
Normally used
Implies the appliance has been:
(a)
installed, operated and regularly serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s
instructions; and
(b)
used within the specified gas quality and pressure; and
(c)
used in accordance with its intended purpose and in a way that can be reasonably
foreseen
Product
A certifiable gas appliance or component
Quality Management System
A CAB shall have a Quality System complying with the requirements of AS/NZS3843.
Safe
All risks associated with the product when normally used have been identified and either
eliminated or reduced to as low a level as is reasonably practical such that the product will not
cause death or personal injury to any person or domestic animals or damage to property.
Supplier
The manufacturer in Australia or the importer of appliances in the Australian supply chain that
will be held legally responsible for the certified product (i.e. those sellers located in Australia
that are the first point of sale).
The supplier shall be a registered legal entity as defined by ASIC (Australian Security and
Investment Commission) and must apply to a CAB for use of the GCM.
Standards and/or Codes
Standards and/or Codes mean the Australian or joint Australian/New Zealand or the overseas
standards or codes acceptable to the Technical Regulators for gas product certification
purposes.
Technical Regulator
The Government appointed person, body or authority that has jurisdiction over product safety
legislation (or other entity authorized by that person, body or authority).
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Test Laboratory
A laboratory that satisfies all of the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
is appropriately equipped and resourced and has the necessary technical
competencies to carry out conformance testing for gas products for the purposes
of certification, and;
holds current accreditation to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 for the
Standards and/or Codes used in certification testing as nominated in the test
program, and;
ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation must have been issued by one of the following:
a) The National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA), or;
b) International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ), or;
c) An accreditation authority which is a signatory to the "International Laboratory
Accreditation Cooperation" (ILAC)
has satisfied the CAB it meets the requirements of (1), (2) & (3) above
Test program
A written document or documents prepared or endorsed by the CAB outlining the type testing
and assessments to be carried out on a sample gas product.
The Rules
Provides a set of minimum requirements for the operation of a “type” certification scheme to
certify certifiable products in Australia as specified in this document
Type Testing
The procedure by which a CAB checks and certifies that a product is fully compliant with the
requirements of the relevant standard/s and regulatory requirements and that it is a
representative sample of production models.
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3 PROCESS FOR CAB RECOGNITION
3.1
General
For a CAB to be acceptable to all Technical Regulators the assessment of the competence of
organisations seeking CAB status needs to be carried out. The initial application should be to
the GTRC. Further details on Technical Regulators are available from the GTRC website.
On receipt of an application, the Chair of the GTRC will discuss with the committee and select
an Approving Technical Regulator (ATR) whom will carry out the assessment or engage an
independent assessor to undertake the assessment. The ATR will approve or reject the
application in accordance with the recognition process and guidelines as set out in this
document. Note: ATR may be more than one jurisdictional Technical Regulator working
together.
CABs are independent organisations that the Technical Regulators recognise as competent to
oversee and evaluate type testing. In addition, they can carry out production monitoring and
audits under the provisions of The Rules. CABs are required to have an appropriate quality
system in accordance with the The Rules.
CABs will have varied skills and qualifications to undertake the many different aspects involved
in product type-examination and production monitoring. The Technical Regulator will audit
these abilities and provide the CAB with an accepted scope of recognition to carry out these
tasks.
3.2
Application Requirements
In applying to be recognised as a CAB, an applicant will be required to provide the ATR with
information about its accreditation status, experience, competencies, proposed operation and
certification methodology. Each CAB must apply for recognition as the law in each jurisdiction
requires.
An entity applying to become a CAB must provide details in its application on the following
items:
(a)
Confirm it is in possession of The Rules and confirm that it will perform the tasks in
accordance with The Rules;
(b)
Details of the products the entity wishes to cover along with a confirmation that these
products fit the definition of what constitutes a certifiable gas appliance or component;
(c)
The experience, skills and competencies of the organisation to undertake
certification listed above at item (b);
(d)
Evidence that the certification body is accredited with the Joint Accreditation System of
Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) as a body operating a product certification
scheme for gas related products in accordance with AS/NZS3843 (General requirements
for bodies operating product certification systems), Guide 67 (Conformity assessmentsFundamentals of product certification) and ISO 17021 (Conformity assessmentrequirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems) and
other relevant standards;
(e)
Submission of proposed scheme rules for the product certification methodology that shall
be consistent with The Rules. The scheme rules produced by the applicant will be used
when assessing the applicant’s conformity to The Rules and are thus a vital part of the
application.
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3.3
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The Assessment Process
The assessment process is intended to determine if an entity that has applied to be recognised
as a CAB meets the criteria as set out in this publication, (also refer appendix A). The
assessment is intended to provide a single process that will satisfy each jurisdiction giving
approval.
The ATR will collate the report, pass it on to the GTRC and then give consideration to
comments provided by other member Technical Regulators. This information will be
disseminated and collated to be returned to the CAB for rectification.
The ATR will arrange to undertake an assessment of the applicant against the criteria set out in
this document (refer appendix A). It should be noted that this publication may be subject to
revision and updated from time to time. The latest available version of this document at any
time will be the version published and current on the GTRC website.
The ATR may also elect to use a suitably qualified and independent assessor or assessment
team to undertake the assessment of applicants for recognition as a CAB.
Procedures will be established to handle complaints associated with its assessment activities in
accordance with the Australian Standard, – AS ISO 10002 “Guidelines for complaints handling
in organisations”. ATRs may have internal review and appeal processes in relevant legislation.
The ATR will require details of the applicant’s insurance cover in regard to potential liabilities,
prior to recognition as a CAB. This may be submitted when the organisation makes an
application or, at the latest at the ATR assessment. It will also be necessary to ensure that any
insurance arrangements are still in place at the time of recognition of a CAB. Thereafter, as one
of the conditions of recognition, the CAB must make available to the ATR, evidence of
insurance at each audit. For more details on insurance requirements see section 4.2 of this
publication.
Prior to the ATR making a decision on the recognition of a CAB, the ATR will circulate all
findings, information and a recommendation to the other Technical Regulators seeking input
within 30 days of sending the information. If any of the Technical Regulators is not satisfied,
the issues will be pursued by the ATR.
Then, once satisfied that the applicant is suitable for recognition, the ATR will issue a letter of
recognition to the applicant that it has met the requirements to operate as a CAB for the
purpose of certifying products in Australia. A copy of the letter of recognition will be provided to
all Australian and New Zealand Technical Regulators.
The precise terms and conditions for recognition will be set out in the letter, but it will be a
standard condition that the applicant agrees to the following:
(a) Annual audits by the Technical Regulators
(b) Additional audits that the GTRC may consider necessary; and
(c) Periodical audits as recommended by JASANZ;
When acceptance of the conditions of the letter of recognition has been received by an
applicant, the recognition of the applicant as a CAB will be confirmed and the ATR will notify all
other Australian and New Zealand Technical Regulators of the recognition.
Re-assessment and audit on behalf of the GTRC will normally be carried out by a qualified
assessor (selected member ATR). A report on the re-assessment or audit will be sent to the
GTRC. Such information will relate only to the CAB’s activities as a CAB and will not include
any other accredited activity, which is not relevant to the CAB’s recognition.
Where a CAB has its accreditation suspended, withdrawn or reduced in scope in relation to any
part of section 4 and, following any appeals process which confirms the decision, the GTRC
may consider if this constitutes a failure to comply, or significant potential for future noncompliance with these requirements. In these circumstances the GTRC may reserve the right
to refuse to consider an application for re-assessment for any period of time.
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Where a certification of product has been cancelled by a CAB and the certification of that
product is taken over by another CAB, the new certification may be the subject of review during
a GTRC audit of the CAB.
4
CONDITIONS TO BE MET BY A CAB
The recognition of a CAB by all Australian Technical Regulators is subject to the following
conditions being met.
4.1
Credible Business
A CAB shall be accredited with the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand
(JAS-ANZ) as a body operating a product certification scheme for gas related products in
accordance with AS/NZS3843.
A CAB must be a legal entity, registered as a corporation in Australia and must carry out its
assessment activities within the jurisdictions of Australia. If an overseas CAB wishes to certify
appliances overseas then it can do that provided they establish a legal entity in Australia or
New Zealand. The preferred option would be to ensure an alliance with an existing Australian
CAB is established that provides for a substantial presence of such legal entity.
A CAB must have adequate public and professional indemnity insurance cover.
4.2
Insurance
While it will be primarily for the CAB applicant to ensure that adequate insurance arrangements
are in place to cover its potential liability, it is considered that the cover must include both public
liability and professional indemnity insurance.
Public Liability – means liability to all persons (other than employees of the CAB and its client
manufacturers) who might be foresee-ably affected by the activities of the CAB in carrying out
its duties under the scheme.
Professional Indemnity – this covers liability to the manufacturer who engaged the CAB to
provide conformity assessment services under the relevant Regulations, whether this liability is
in contract or otherwise.
The ATR will check for the purposes of any recognition that a CAB has public liability and
professional indemnity insurance in place prior to any recognition but it is primarily the
responsibility of the CAB to determine the amount of cover it considers appropriate.
The GTRC will not, under any circumstances, cover any liability of a CAB, in any form including
in terms; of the scope, type of insurance, or amount of cover. The CAB is acting at all times as
principal, in relation to the performance of its duties and functions and not as an agent of the
GTRC and will remain solely liable in respect of its activities as a CAB.
4.3
Competencies and Responsibilities
A CAB shall employ sufficient staff with appropriate qualifications, training, experience and a
satisfactory knowledge of the conformity assessment tasks to be carried out. A CAB shall have
the ability to make professional judgements as to conformity with general requirements and to
report there-on.
A CAB must be able to demonstrate thorough technical understanding of the range of products
for which recognition is being sought including knowledge in:
(a)
Requirements of gas appliance, component and installation standards;
(b)
Gas appliance technologies (design, construction, controls, combustion, fluing, etc.);
(c)
Regulatory regime with
approval/acceptance;
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(d)
Test methods in relevant Australian/New Zealand standards;
(e)
The technology used for the manufacturing of the product; and
(f)
The way in which appliances are used or likely to be used based upon the manufacturer’s
instructions and of the defects, which may occur during use or in-service.
A CAB shall demonstrate the ability to determine whether products offered for assessment are
within their scope; satisfy the requirements of AS3645 and any applicable appliance standards
and the other relevant provisions of The Rules.
A CAB is required to have documented procedures covering all aspects of its work relating to
activities it would undertake as a CAB. The adequacy of the internal organisation and the
procedures adopted to give confidence in the quality of the applicant’s services will be
assessed by or on behalf of the GTRC through a selected ATR. Where judgements or
interpretation of a standard or requirement are implicit or explicit in a decision as to whether an
item complies with the Essential Safety Requirements, a CAB is required to have procedures
for achieving consistency. Guidance for achieving wider national agreement on interpretation
and application of the scheme will be provided by the GTRC or through any systems in place
for the exchange of views on the scheme.
A CAB must be able to ascertain whether the design of the appliances and/or components, as
limited by their scope of approval, is compliant with The Rules. A CAB will make reference to
AS3645 for guidance.
Where goods are compliant with the scheme, a CAB will issue
appropriate certification to the supplier. The certificate will state the limits of its validity and the
details required for identification of the approved goods.
A CAB shall at all times be responsible for ensuring that the conformity assessment is carried
out in accordance with the requirements of The Rules. When a CAB assesses the design of a
product as conforming to the requirements of the scheme that CAB will issue the appropriate
conformity assessment documentation as specified in The Rules.
A CAB must have the capacity and competency to provide assessment and surveillance for
ongoing conformity equivalent to ISO/IEC Guide 67 System: “Conformity assessment –
Fundamentals of product certification”.
A CAB must have the competency to assess and approve a manufacturer’s quality system in
accordance with the scheme and also carry out any tests required for audit purposes.
A CAB shall be responsible for preparation of a comprehensive set of rules governing the
product certification incorporating all the requirements of The Rules issued by the GTRC.
The CAB’s scheme shall be consistent with The Rules so that it includes but is not limited to the
following:
(a)
A defined scope;
(b)
Application process;
(c)
Testing/Certification process;
(d)
Assessment of any accredited testing laboratory used within their services;
(e)
Post certification requirements;
(f)
Marking and badging of the appliance using the Gas Compliance Mark (GCM);
(g)
Certification status (suspension/cancellation);
(h)
Audit and review process;
(i)
Supplier obligations
CABs will be responsible for providing the data consisting of certification details to the
Technical Regulators for the national database (GTRC website). These details are required for
effective enforcement by Technical Regulators, as well as industry organisations that wish to
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verify the compliance of products on the market or already installed. Data must be provided for
the web-based centralised database within 1 month of any change taking place.
The following information on each certified appliance and component is to be provided:
(a)
Details on the appliance/component certified (make, model);
(b)
Name of supplier;
(c)
Date of certification; suspension or cancellation;
(d)
Certification number;
(e)
Details of any limitations/conditions;
(f)
Certification status; i.e. certified, suspended, cancelled or expired; and
A CAB is required to maintain a current file of any certificates issued. This file shall be made
available upon request to a Technical Regulator or such other person as may be authorised by
a Technical Regulator, at no cost.
A CAB shall have a Quality System (such as ISO 9001), usually specified in a quality manual,
and associated documented operational procedures. The quality manual shall contain all the
relevant requirements of the appropriate standards and any further requirements for recognition
of a CAB.
The quality manual shall state the CAB’s policy and procedure for controlling the use of its
certificates and conformity numbers and guidelines on action to be taken in cases of misuse.
The quality manual shall also state a CAB’s policy and procedure for handling incorrect
references to the CAB or misleading use of information found in advertisements, catalogues
etc. These may be dealt with by suitable means including for example corrective action,
publication of the transgression or, if necessary, provide information for action by the relevant
jurisdictional Technical Regulator.
All GTRC members shall be advised in writing of any suspension and/or cancellation of
certifications resulting from safety related issues or non compliances with relevant product
standards. The GTRC members shall be provided with an explanation for the action taken.
A CAB will be required to inform a jurisdictional Technical Regulator immediately of any
changes, which, in any way, affect its ability to carry out the duties within the authorised scope
to the declared procedures. This includes any change in its status.
A CAB shall implement all Corrective Action Requests (CAR’s) arising from any audit made by
a Technical Regulator in regard to compliance with the Scheme.
If the CAB is satisfied and issues a certificate of conformity on an appliance, the
manufacturer/supplier must affix to the certified appliance the certification number provided by
the CAB and the GTRC endorsed GCM. The CAB may require that the appliance also carry
their proprietary label.
4.4
Accessible, Recognisable and Transparent Process
A CAB shall have demonstrated capabilities to develop procedures, process and records for
assessing applications, monitoring compliance, certifying compliance with requirements and
conformity assessment in dealing with products from all sources.
A CAB shall be fully independent of the parties involved in the supply and supply chain of
appliances. The CAB responsible for compiling reports or certificates of conformity in respect of
products shall not be the designer, manufacturer, supplier, installer or maintenance provider of
the products which they inspect, nor the authorised representative of any of those parties.
Further, a CAB shall not be the purchaser or owner of any propriety interest in such products,
or use them, to such an extent that the CAB’s independence might be called into question.
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A CAB may conduct its own tests on appliances provided the laboratory complies with the
requirements above. A CAB may guide the manufacturer on the range of tests required, or
further required at any stage. A CAB shall ensure that the testing is performed by suitable test
organisations with NATA (or equivalent technical recognition) approvals for the type of tests
performed.
A CAB shall demonstrate impartiality, integrity and maintenance of professional confidentiality.
The procedures under which a CAB operates shall be administered in a non-discriminatory
manner.
4.5
Consultation between the GTRC and CABS
All CABs are required to meet twice a year, as a group with the representatives of the GTRC at
a place of mutual convenience. This forum would usually take place prior to the next GTRC
meeting and would discuss issues that are common to the industry that should be noted for the
GTRC meeting.
In addition, the CABs can choose to meet individually with representatives of the GTRC to
discuss issues that are of particular mutual interest. These meetings would usually be twice a
year in the alternative quarterly periods or as required.
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5 SUMMARY
The development of a common set of competencies and a uniform process for the recognition
of CABs carrying out certification of products is provided to streamline the approval process in
all jurisdictions.
As such, Conformity Assessment Bodies must fulfil the following minimum conditions:
(a)
Be accredited with the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand;
(b)
Have availability of personnel and the necessary means and equipment;
(c)
Have proven technical competence and professional integrity of personnel;
(d)
Have independence and proven experience in gas products certification;
(e)
Have a proven ability in preparing reports, issuing certificates and performing the
surveillance of management and technical staff in relation to all circles, groups or persons
directly or indirectly involved in the field of the appliances;
(f)
Maintain professional confidentiality and secrecy; and
(g)
Possess adequate and appropriate insurance cover.
6 CONTACT PERSON
The contact person for further information about this document is:
Enzo Alfonsetti
Manager, Type A Gas Appliance Safety
Energy Safe Victoria
PO BOX 262, Collins St West, Vic 8007
Phone: +61 3 9271 5408
Email: ealfonsetti@esv.vic.gov.au
Further information on how to make contact with a jurisdictional Technical Regulator is
available on the GTRC website.
Gas Technical Regulators’ Committee – Australia & New Zealand
www.gtrc.gov.au
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Appendix A– Set of Criteria for CAB Approval
The following checklist is based upon the requirements of AS/NZS 3843 “Guide 65: General
requirements for bodies operating product certification systems” to determine if a third party
wishing to operate a gas product certification scheme is competent and reliable to perform the
necessary tasks
Quality system
Does the organisation have a certified quality management system
(QMS)?
Is a quality policy available and does it define the commitment to and
objectives for quality?
Is there an up to date organisational chart and has it been reviewed
and approved?
If so, does the chart indentify the individual(s) responsible for decision
making in the certification process?
Is an up to date quality manual available to all staff and does it include
the information required in clause 4.5 of AS/NZS 3843:1998?
Are internal audits of the (QMS) conducted?
Are there any outstanding non conformances related to internal and
external audits of the QMS?
Is there a corrective action/continuous improvement system in place?
Does the certification body have procedures to grant, maintain,
withdraw and suspend certification in accordance with clause 4.6 of
AS/NZS 3843:1998?
Comments and objective evidence:
Yes
No
N/A
Subcontracting
Does the organisation subcontract certification work to an external
body or person?
If so, is there a documented agreement covering the arrangement
which covers confidentiality and conflict of interest?
Comments and objective evidence:
Yes
No
N/A
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Rules governing the scheme and the certification mark
Are rules governing the use of the certification mark available?
Are the rules governing the gas certification scheme available and do
they include the following information?
• A defined scope
• Application process
• Testing/Certification process
• Post certification requirements
• Requirements for application of the certification mark
• Certification status (suspension/cancellation)
• Audit and review process
• Manufacturer/importer obligations, e.g. recalls, etc.; and
• Dispute resolution between customer and CAB.
• Are rules governing the gas certification scheme consistent with
other gas certification scheme rules and do they meet the intent
of the scheme?
• Does certification have a defined duration; e.g.5 years.
• If so, is there a process by which surveillance audit reports and
changes to standards are reviewed in order to ascertain if any
re-testing is required?
• Is there a procedure that allows for more stringent inspection or
testing of product dependent upon the length of time that the
product has been certified?
• Is there a requirement for the certificate to be held in Australia
and therefore subject to Australian law?
Comments and objective evidence:
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Yes
No
N/A
Criteria for Recognition of Conformity Assessment Bodies
Document and record control
Is there a flowchart or operations manual describing the certification
process for gas related products?
Does the organisation maintain a project log of each certification
activity?
Are key documents used in the certification process reviewed and
approved and is a revision history maintained? (e.g. test schedule, test
report review, audit report)
Are procedures in place to prevent the unintended use of obsolete
documents?
Are means provided to ensure that current standards are used only?
Are changes pertaining to amendments to standards and republications
reviewed and documented?
Is there a documented procedure for the protection, storage, retention
time and disposition of certification records?
Is there a procedure outlining the action to be taken if certified product
is subject to a recall by the regulatory authorities?
Is there a procedure for the handling of appeals, complaints and
disputes?
If so, are records of appeals, complaints and disputes maintained?
Is there a procedure, register and schedule for the calibration of
equipment that may be used by the organisation as part of its
certification activities?
Comments and objective evidence:
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Yes
No
N/A
Criteria for Recognition of Conformity Assessment Bodies
Personnel
Is documentation available (e.g. CVs, reference letters, etc) for
personnel intending to undertake gas related product certification?
Do you assess their suitability and competence and how do you go
about this task?
Does the documentation indicate the appropriate educational and
industry background in order to undertake gas certification activities
and make a sound technical judgement?
Are job descriptions available for individuals undertaking gas related
product certification?
Is there up to date, clearly documented instructions that describe the
duties and responsibilities of the personnel involved in the gas related
product certification?
Does a training matrix exist?
Are training records available including induction training?
Are the responsibilities and authorities of key personnel defined and do
they have the necessary background to hold the position? (e.g.
certification authority)
Are there any individuals that can deputise for key personnel (e.g.
certification authority) in their absence?
Are there any individuals that will be involved in certification activities
that may be involved in activities that could result in a conflict of
interest?
Does the organisation incorporate a testing laboratory?
If so is there clear separation or is there evidence of any conflict of
interest (e.g. testing and certification activities conducted by the same
individual for a given project) or breaches of confidentiality.
Comments and objective evidence:
13/08/2013
GTRC
Yes
No
N/A
Criteria for Recognition of Conformity Assessment Bodies
GTRC
Laboratories
Is there a procedure for laboratory selection and recognition? (Please
elaborate in the comments).
Is there a laboratory listing?
Do the laboratories clearly understand their role in the certification
relationship?
Are recognised laboratories accredited by NATA or equivalent?
If non-NATA have you listed their name in the comments?
Are all accredited laboratories audited by the CAB and how often?
How would you handle any non-conformance issues arising from the
Laboratory? (Discuss).
Comments and objective evidence:
Yes
No
N/A
Certified product verification scheme
Yes
No
N/A
Is a procedure covering regular product verification available? To what
level and how often (comments)?
Does the organisation have the necessary equipment and resources in
order undertake product verification via surveillance audits or through
testing?
If the organisation undertakes its own surveillance of product is the
equipment used calibrated?
Is there a procedure for changing the status of a certificate and
notifying all stakeholders?
Comments and objective evidence:
13/08/2013
Criteria for Recognition of Conformity Assessment Bodies
GTRC
Certified product listing
Is a complete listing of certified products available to the regulatory
authorities and the public?
Is the certified product listing easy to use/navigate?
Is the certified product listing updated regularly? If so, how often?
Comments and objective evidence:
Yes
No
N/A
Insurance and liability
Does the organisation have public liability and professional indemnity
insurance? (Please indicate the level of insurance cover).
Comments and objective evidence:
Yes
No
N/A
13/08/2013
Criteria for Recognition of Conformity Assessment Bodies
Accreditation
Is the organisation JASANZ accredited to operate a product
certification scheme for gas related products in accordance with
AS/NZS3843:1998?
Comments and objective evidence:
13/08/2013
GTRC
Yes
No
N/A