This document is intended to provide background information for those unfamilar with the standards development and certification process.
It all begins with the accreditation process. There are two types of accreditation: standards development for national standards and certification bodies for conformity assessment and certification. In Canada, this is overseen by Standards Council of Canada. CIOSC is currently an Accredited Standards Development Organization and is currently underway to become an Accredited Certification Body.
The diagram below shows how the major pieces fit together conceptually.
Looking directly above in the figure, a conformity assessment scheme is used in conjunction with a standard to assess a system or a product for certification.
Video: How to check Accredited Certificates and Reports
In accordance with SCC requirements, CIOSC has defined a standards development process principles that are open by default with full transparency using agile development. To ensure standards are developed to serve a broad array of stakeholders, principles embracing consensus-based decision-making, multi-stakeholder participation, and current and readily avaialable are also defined.
The infographic below illustrates how everything works together for standards development.
The diagram below shows how concepts and content are:
- developed in trust frameworks,
- formalized as part of standards,
- used in certification schemes, and
- support legal or mutual recognition as granted by the appropriate recognition bodies (either by means of legislation or agreement)
This diagram lays out the landscape of management and technical standards. On the right hand side of the diagram you can see the conformity assessment requirements, namely ISO 17021 for management standards certification and ISO 17065 for technical/product certification.
