Most often, however, the terms certification and accreditation are used interchangeably, if not together. Despite the synonymous wrong use, the two should not be used as synonyms. This is a written assurance by a third party on the conformity of a service, product or process, based on certain specified requirements provided by some form of education, audit, assessment or external review.
The third party hence provides certification by indicating full satisfaction by of a service, product or process. Certification relates to all company activities in a given industry. It is important to be certified by an official certification body, which proves the achievement of a worthwhile designation.
This refers to formal recognition on the competency towards specified standards by an authoritative body. These authoritative bodies access organizations also test and supervise organizations tasked with testing, calibrating, inspecting and certifying firms against internationally set standards. Accreditation is based on specific activities and is not based on all activities in an organization. Certification refers to a written assurance by a third party on the conformity of a service, product or process, based on certain specified requirements provided by some form of education, audit, assessment or external review.
On the other hand, accreditation refers to formal recognition on the competency towards specified standards by an authoritative body. While certification relates to all company activities in a given industry, accreditation is based on specific activities and is not based on all activities in an organization. A wide range of scopes can be applied to the construction industry, including the testing and calibration of both raw materials and related products for durability, safety, characteristics and specification.
Pre-completion testing for air-leakage, noise acoustic and sound-proofing can also be accredited. Similarly, calibration laboratories deliver certainty of measurement in a number of crucial areas, from mass, density and torque hardness to electrical, pressure and humidity calculation. Similarly, several aspects of the National Highways Sector Schemes, as well as construction-related products and materials, are certified by UKAS accredited certification bodies.
Day to day construction activities such as lifting, welding and the carriage of dangerous goods are all examined by inspection bodies accredited to ISO Accredited inspection bodies are also used for the installation and operation of pressure vessels as well as utility services such as gas and electrical safety.
For building owners and duty holders, UKAS also accredits organisations providing legionella risk assessment and asbestos surveying services. Just as nearly every aspect of the construction process can be accredited, all of the key stakeholders can benefit from an accreditation-based quality infrastructure.
By providing assurance that organisations are compliant with their regulatory responsibilities, accreditation reduces the need for government and regulatory bodies to employ their own specialist assessment personnel.
In addition to providing a safe working environment for employees, accreditation also gives construction companies confidence that products and raw materials are safe and meet specifications.
For manufacturers, accreditation helps limit product failure while simultaneously reducing technical barriers to trade. Oftentimes, you see accreditation in the education sector, as colleges and universities work to become accredited by an outside agency.
This type of accreditation means that a college or university met the recognized standards of education. There are a number of higher education accreditors in the U. This designation not only appeals to potential students of accredited organizations, but it is also essential for legal processes. For example, institutions must be accredited to receive federal funds or state grants.
Students are also required to attend an accredited institution to be qualified for loans or tuition assistance. Healthcare organizations and laboratories are also often subject to accreditation in order to operate under the proper regulatory guidelines.
Accreditation for healthcare systems usually involves a comprehensive review or organization, policies, practices, and legal compliance. In a laboratory setting, labs will seek accreditation to perform certain tests.
Instead, it only verifies the methods and practices used by the lab. A business that is accredited by the BBB has met their standards, many of which are focused on resolving consumer complaints. The BBB charges a fee to conduct a third-party review of a business. There is also growing accreditation within the non-profit community, which offers a standard for non-profit best practices.
These can set benchmarks for ethics, finances, and representation within the industry. Sometimes, an accreditation will become so widespread that achieving the designation is necessary for an organization to operate.
Overall, accreditation is a signal that an organization has met the industry standards, legal or otherwise. The certification process typically involves an exam, and requires ongoing and future maintenance.
This is to say that certification is not a one-and-done process. All companies are therefore liable to call upon certification services. Let us consider an example to illustrate the complementarity of accreditation and certification. This is, moreover, why accreditation requires the involvement of both quality assessors and technical experts.
The management system of a laboratory may be certified according to standard ISO , but this certification only guarantees that this system is continuously improved. Accreditation, for its part, is aimed at recognising not only that the candidate is well-organised but also that it exercises its activity according to an ethical code and best practices that are internationally accepted. This is, moreover, why accreditation requires the involvement of both quality assessors and experts in their particular technical field.
Accreditation is only valid for a specific field of competence.
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