The process of accreditation consists of several stages. We mark the distinction between applying for a new accreditation, maintaining an existing accreditation and increasing of the scope of existing accreditation.
The accreditation process from application to decision is described below:
Application for accreditation is filed in the form of application that is sent to the QUALITY INSTITUTE along with other documents requested on the form.
In the application, the customer areas, industries or methods for which you wish to be accredited are specified.
The QUALITY INSTITUTE confirms that the application has been received and checks the content thereof. Based on the area of accreditation, QUALITY INSTITUTE provides fee information and makes suggestions for the assessment manager, assessment team and a preliminary plan for the task completion. The goal of the QUALITY INSTITUTE is to send a cost estimate within 4 weeks after the receipt of complete application documentation. The customer accepts the fee and any outside evaluation supervisor.
The QUALITY INSTITUTE plans assigning of accreditation in consultation with the customer and attracts any experts.
The on-site assessment is performed by the lead assessor, sometimes together with additional internal or external assessors. The assessment includes organizational management of the client, equipment and competence of management and staff.
For accreditation of laboratories and certain regulatory bodies, the assessment is completed by proficiency testing and calibrations.
In some forms of accreditation, the QUALITY INSTITUTE participates as an observer while the accredited body works with its clients.
The goal of the QUALITY INSTITUTE is to have an on-site assessment performed within 12 weeks after the customer has accepted payment and complete documentation is available.
The evaluation concludes with the representatives of the QUALITY INSTITUTE describing how the QUALITY INSTITUTE views the activity and describing any deviations from requirements. The evaluation is formalized in the form of a report.
Any deviations from requirements must be corrected by the customer within 4 months. The QUALITY INSTITUTE takes a position on whether these measures can be taken. In case of serious or extensive deficiencies, a second visit may be required. When all deviations have been corrected, the evaluation manager recommends accreditation.
The accreditation decision must be notified within two months after the moment of submission of the required documentation to the QUALITY INSTITUTE. It is also mentioned here what is referred to by the required documentation. The period for consideration may be extended to one month in no more than one case, if it is necessary in connection with the investigation of the accreditation case.
The accreditation decision is made by the competent head of the department. The accreditation is not time-limited, but is applied continuously if the requirements are complied with.
The decision is sent to the organization together with the accreditation certificate.
In approximately six months after the assigning the accreditation, an additional inspection visit is carried out to verify that the accredited activities have started as planned.
The accreditation decision is always accompanied by regular visits, initially once a year. The goal is to determine whether the activity continues to comply with the requirements. The cost of video surveillance is charged as an annual fee.
A comprehensive assessment is carried out every four years, it is called a reassessment. After the first reassessment, the monitoring range is extended for the most areas of accreditation up to 16 months, given that everything is working well.
Upon monitoring / reassessment, any deviations from the requirements must be solved by the customer within two months.