National accreditation body certificate recognised in APAC region

The National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies' (NABCB) accreditation programme for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems Certification Bodies has been accorded the recognition of equivalence in the Asia-Pacific region, the government said on Friday.

A Commerce Ministry release said that India's national accreditation body NABCB has signed the Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) of the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC) earlier this week.

"The National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies has secured equivalence for its accreditation programme for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSMS) Certification Bodies in the Asia-Pacific region," it said.

"Any industry carrying ISO 45001 certificate with NABCB logo will be recognized in the Asia-Pacific region."

According to the Ministry, the immediate beneficiary of this equivalence is the Indian Industry which is exporting products to various countries, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.

"It can also be used by regulators for establishing confidence in certified units as Goa government has done by accepting OHSMS certification under NABCB accreditation in lieu of annual audits under the Factories' Act," the statement said.

NABCB can now facilitate the export of Indian goods by attesting that these are certified as per international standards by competent certifying bodies.

NABCB is the third accreditation body in the Asia-Pacific Region to become internationally equivalent in the region, the other two being the accreditation bodies of Hong Kong and Mexico.

The MLA with PAC would facilitate signing an MLA with International Accreditation Forum (IAF) to secure full international equivalence.

"IAF signatory member status signifies that the accreditation of certification bodies by NABCB for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems will be accepted as internationally equivalent," the statement said.

"NABCB has already secured international equivalence for its accreditation programmes for ISO 9001 certification bodies in 2002 and ISO 14001 certification bodies in 2007."

Accreditation bodies that are signatories to the PAC's MLA are evaluated regularly by an appointed team of peers to ensure confidence in the operation of their accreditation programs, the government said.

--IANS

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