News from Belac

16.08.2023 Provisions for the transition from EN ISO/IEC 17043:2010 to EN ISO/IEC 17043:2023

EN ISO/IEC 17043:2023 was published on May 9, 2023. This new version will replace the current standard EN ISO/IEC 17043:2010.

ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation) and EA (European co-operation for Accreditation) have both approved a three-year transition period.

At the end of this transition period, all accredited proficiency test providers must have been assessed and accredited according to ISO/IEC 17043:2023, i.e. by May 31, 2026 at the latest. After this date, accreditation according to EN ISO/IEC 17043:2010 will no longer be valid.

In order to facilitate the transition to the new version of the standard, BELAC has taken the following decisions concerning the transition period:

• From March 15, 2024, all new applications for accreditation must be submitted in accordance with EN ISO/IEC 17043:2023. In other words, all initial applications for accreditation received after March 14, 2024 will be made in accordance with EN ISO/IEC 17043:2023.
• From June 1^st, 2024, all pre-assessments and initial assessments will be carried out in accordance with standard EN ISO/IEC 17043:2023. Organisations that are already accredited may, if they wish, be assessed to the new standard from this date.
• From October 1^st, 2024, all assessments will be carried out in accordance with EN ISO/IEC 17043:2023. Already accredited bodies must submit a transition plan no later than one month before the first assessment day, and no later than 1^er June 2025. This plan must list the changes required (in sufficient detail) and the corresponding timetable for their implementation. To facilitate the transfer of this information and its evaluation (by assessment teams), BELAC will make a template available to proficiency test providers. 
• From February 1^st, 2025, BELAC will no longer issue initial accreditations according to the EN ISO/IEC 17043:2010 standard.
• June 1^st, 2025: deadline for submitting a transition plan to BELAC. If the assessment (according to EN ISO 17043:2023) takes place before this date, the deadline to submit this transition plan is 1 month before the first assessment day (see above).

For non-conformities related to different or new requirements in the new version of the standard, proficiency testing providers will have more time to carry out corrections and corrective actions. However, the implementation of these actions must be completed in order to make the transition to the new version of the standard. In any case, to make this transition on time, the corrections and corrective actions undertaken must be submitted before February 1^st, 2026. The finalisation of non-conformities is defined in accordance with the provisions of document BELAC 3-11 :

• For type A non-conformities: acceptance of the cause, impact and extent analysis, the corrections and corrective actions taken, and proof of implementation;
• For type B non-conformities: acceptance of the cause, impact and extent analysis, the proposed corrections and corrective actions and the accompanying implementation schedule.

By May 31, 2026, all certificates (and scopes) that refer to conformity with standard EN ISO/IEC 17043:2010 must be converted to accreditation certificates that refer to conformity with standard EN ISO/IEC 17043:2023.

For proficiency testing providers who have not switched to the new standard before the end of the transition period, accreditations issued on the basis of EN ISO/IEC 17043:2010 will no longer be valid from June 1^st, 2026.

Every effort will be made to combine the assessment of compliance with the new standard with the regular assessments provided for in the normal schedule of surveillance assessments and reassessments. In specific cases where the assessment cannot be combined with regular assessments, a case-by-case assessment will be carried out.

09.06.2023 World Accreditation Day

June 9th 2023 marks World Accreditation Day: a global initiative established by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) to promote the value of accreditation.

This year’s theme is Accreditation: Supporting the Future of Global Trade.

Discover the World Accreditation Day 2023

• video,
• the ILAC and IAF joint statement and
• the brochure.

2022.06.09 World Accreditation Day

2022.06.07 Transition of ISO 14065:2013 towards ISO/IEC 17029:2019 + ISO 14065:2020

At the beginning of December 2020, the new version of ISO 14065 was published. As a result, certification bodies accredited for ISO 14065:2013 must switch to an accreditation ISO/IEC 17029:2019 + ISO 14065:2020 before December 31, 2023. After this date, an accreditation according to ISO 14065:2013 is no longer possible.

In order to ensure a smooth transition to the new standards, BELAC has decided the following:

• BELAC no longer accepts new accreditation requests for the EU ETS domain according to ISO 14065:2013. New accreditation applications can however be submitted according to ISO/IEC 17029:2019  + ISO 14065:2020.
• For the already accredited bodies, it is possible to request a transition to ISO/IEC 17029:2019 + ISO 14065:2020 from July 1, 2022. With a view to finalizing the transition process in time for December 31, 2023, all transitions must be requested by December 1, 2022.

  The assessment of the transition of already accredited bodies will take place during the regular BELAC assessments. If the transition assessment cannot take place together with the regular assessments, an additional assessment will be scheduled.

  The transition request must be accompanied by a gap analysis and an implementation plan (action plan established on the basis of the gap analysis and a progress report of the implementation). If this analysis and implementation plan are sufficiently detailed, the transition can be carried out within the normal schedule of a regular assessment. Otherwise, additional assessment time is added.  At least 1 month before the assessment, the organization must send to the BELAC secretariat an updated version of the implementation plan.

  For each non-conformity noted during the assessment, the assessor will clearly mention whether it is related to ISO 14065:2013, ISO/IEC 17029:2019 or ISO 14065:2020. For non-conformities only relating to new or modified requirements of the new standards, the usual deadlines are not applicable (maximum 4 weeks) for the proposal or completion of the corrective actions.

  The certification body defines the deadline itself. But it takes into account that:

  • accreditation can only be granted according to the new versions of the standards after acceptance of the plan and/or of the corrective actions by the assessment team;
  • and that the transition must be completed by the end of the transitional period, therefore before December 31, 2023.
     

  Since the decision for a transition must be submitted to the Accreditation Board, the corrective actions must have been positively evaluated no later than September 30, 2023  by the assessment team, so that there is still sufficient time for further final processing of the decision making.

Positive result EA Peer Evaluation of BELAC – extension RMP

On December 2, 2021, BELAC became a signatory to the EA-MLA (European Co-operation for Accreditation multilateral agreement) for the accreditation of Reference Material Producers (RMP) according to EN ISO 17034.

To this end, BELAC was subject of an EA peer evaluation in May 2021. A team of colleagues from other accreditation bodies assessed whether BELAC meets the relevant requirements.

The next full EA peer review will take place in September 2022.

09.06.2021 World Accreditation Day

This year’s theme focuses on the use of accreditation in supporting the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

On the occasion of the World Accreditation Day, discover the brochure and the videos that illustrate the role and benefits of accreditation.

Positive result Peer Evaluation BELAC

In May 2018, EA (European Cooperation for Accreditation) conducted a peer evaluation at BELAC. A team of 9 colleagues from other European accreditation bodies assessed whether BELAC meets the requirements of the international standard ISO / IEC 17011 and the European Regulation 765/2008.

On 9 May 2019  the EA MAC confirmed that BELAC remains an EA MLA signatory in the fields of Calibration (ISO/IEC 17025), Testing (ISO/IEC 17025), including Medical Examinations (ISO 15189), Inspection (ISO/IEC 17020), Proficiency Testing Providers (ISO/IEC 17043), Certification of persons (ISO/IEC 17024), Certification of products (ISO/IEC 17065), Certification of management systems (ISO/IEC 17021-1) and Validation and Verification (ISO 14065).

The EA MAC confirms that BELAC successfully made the transition from ISO/IEC 17011:2004 to ISO/IEC 17011:2017. 

The organizations accredited by BELAC can therefore continue to confirm the reliability of their conformity assessment activities to their Belgian and international customers.
 

09.06.2018 World Accreditation Day

World Accreditation Day 2018 will be held on June 9!

"Accreditation: delivering a Safer World" is the theme for the 2018 World Accreditation Day, an international initiative set up jointly by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC).

More information on the World Accreditation Day

11.01.2018: Transition to the new standard ISO/IEC 17025:2017

The new standard ISO/CEI 17025:2017 has been issued in November 2017 and replaces the standard ISO/IEC 17025 :2004.

The European and international accreditation organizations (EA and ILAC) have decided that all accredited laboratories need to comply with the requirements of ISO/CEI 17025:2017 at the latest 3 years after the publication date , which means before the 1rst of December 2020. From that date on an accreditation according to the standard ISO/CEI 17025:2005 will cease to be valid.

In order to facilitate the transition to the new standard, BELAC has decided for the following rules :  

• Starting from the 1rst of July 2018, all new applications will be assessed according to the standard ISO/CEI 17025:2017.  The accredited laboratories may, on a voluntary basis, be assessed according to the requirements of the new standard.
• Starting from the 1rst of January 2019, all assessments will be performed according to the standard ISO/IEC 17025:2017
• Starting from the 1rst of June 2019, BELAC will stop granting accreditations according to the standard ISO/CEI 17025 :2005.
• All accredited laboratories will provide a transition plan to BELAC by the 1rst of December 2019 at the latest. If an assessment is planned to take place before that date, the transition plan will be provided to BELAC at the latest one month before the assessment. The plan will describe, with the necessary level of detail, the actions taken by the laboratory to ensure compliance with requirements of the standard as well as the corresponding implementation dates.  In order to facilitate the transmission of the information and its evaluation by the assessment teams, laboratories are requested to fill in form BELAC 6-101 R3-2018. 
• The laboratories will be given the necessary time to implement corrective actions in case of non-conformities relating to new or modified requirements of the new standard.  Evidence of completion of these actions will nevertheless be necessary in order for BELAC to confirm accreditation according to the new version of the standard. In order to get all transitions processes completed in time, the corrective actions will need to be finalized by the 1rst of September 2020 at the latest. By closure of the non-compliances is meant: closure in accordance with document BELAC 3-11 in particular:
  • For A non-compliances: the proposed root cause and extent analysis as well as the corrective action(s) taken are accepted and evidence of implementation is provided;
  • For B non-compliances: the proposed root cause and extent analysis as well as the planned corrective action(s) and the implementation schedule are accepted.
• On the 1rst of December 2010, all certificates (and technical appendices) with reference to the standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005 will need to be updated to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 . In case the accreditation documents have not been updated by the end of the transition period, the laboratories will lose their certificate.

The BELAC assessment against the requirements of the new standard will preferably take place during regular surveillance or renewal assessments. Cases where the assessment cannot be combined with a regular assessment will be examined on a case by cases basis in order to decide how the evaluation can be performed.