What this programme covers
Inspection is examination against general requirements or professional judgement — a lift, a pressure vessel, a construction stage, a shipment, an electrical installation. It differs from certification in that the inspector exercises judgement at the point of examination rather than auditing a system.
ISO/IEC 17020 sets the requirements for the competence of inspection bodies and for the impartiality and consistency of their inspection activities.
Type A, B and C — the first question we will ask
Type A bodies are third party: they provide inspection to any client and are independent of the parties involved. Type B bodies form a separate, identifiable part of an organisation and inspect only for that organisation. Type C bodies may inspect items they also design, manufacture, supply, install or maintain, subject to safeguards.
The type determines which independence requirements apply, and it is not a matter of preference — it follows from the relationships that actually exist. Applications frequently arrive claiming type A where the ownership structure permits only type C.
What is assessed
Assessment covers the whole of the standard, but these are the areas where applications most often need work before accreditation can be granted:
- Independence type — declared, evidenced and consistent with ownership, group structure and the other activities of the organisation.
- Inspector competence — criteria per field of inspection, qualification and experience records, initial and ongoing monitoring of each inspector in the field.
- Inspection methods — documented, current, and appropriate to the item; deviations authorised and recorded.
- Equipment — identified, maintained, and calibrated with traceability where measurement affects the result.
- Inspection reports — traceable to the inspector and the item, stating what was and was not examined, and not overstating what an inspection can establish.
- Subcontracting — controlled, disclosed to the client, and never used for the inspection decision itself.
- Complaints and appeals — handled independently of the people whose inspection is disputed.
Witness assessment
Inspectors are observed performing inspection in the field, in each field for which accreditation is sought. Office assessment alone cannot establish whether an inspection body is competent, because the competence in question is exercised at the item, not at the desk.
We look at whether the documented method is followed, whether the inspector records what they actually saw, and whether the report distinguishes between what was examined and what was assumed.
How the scope is expressed
Accreditation states the fields of inspection, the type of inspection body and, where applicable, the regulations or specifications inspected against. A body accredited for one field of inspection is not thereby accredited for others, however similar they appear.
