Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some questions and answers that would help you understand what is accreditation and how to attain accreditation:
- What is accreditation?
- What is the difference between accreditation and certification?
- What are the benefits of being accredited?
- What are the accreditation schemes?
- What is the general procedure for getting accreditation?
- How long does it take to get SAC accreditation?
- What happens after getting accreditation?
- Any other inquiries?
What is accreditation?
Accreditation is an endorsement of an organisation's competence, credibility, independence and integrity in carrying out its conformity assessment activities.
What is the difference between accreditation and certification?
Certification : third-party attestation related to products, processes, systems or persons.
Accreditation : third-party attestation related to a conformity assessment body conveying formal demonstration of its competence to carry out specific conformity assessment tasks.
Reference : ISO/IEC 17000:2004 - Conformity assessment - Vocabulary and general principles
What are the benefits of being accredited?
These are some of the key benefits of being accredited.
Building Trust
In the global industry, customers are becoming more demanding and seeking assurances on the products and services you provide them. By getting accreditation, your customers will have the confidence in the quality of products and services that you provide. This will enable you to build trust between you and your customer.
International Recognition
Through the various mutual recognition arrangements between accreditation bodies, overseas markets will accept your company more readily if they know you have been certified by a SAC accredited certification body or accept your test results or inspections if you are an accredited laboratory or inspection body.
Minimises Risk
Accredited organisations reduce the risk of providing unreliable test results, services and products, and are able to meet the customers·expectations.
Reduce Costs
Although accreditation comes at a cost, the cost savings resulting from being accredited will outweigh the cost of accreditation. Cost savings may result from improve productivity, reduce downtime, reduction of re-testing, etc.
Demonstrate credibility
No organisation will want to spend money on getting a report or certificate that has not been accredited by a competent body. A SAC accredited organisation is able to demonstrate competence for the report or certificate through its sound management system and the use of trained and competence personnel.
What are the SAC accreditation schemes?
Currently SAC operates the following accreditation schemes:
- Accreditation Scheme for Laboratories (SAC-SINGLAS)
This is a national scheme that evaluates the technical competence of testing and calibration laboratories based on the general requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 and specific technical requirements of each field. For medical testing laboratory, the standard is ISO 15189.
- Accreditation Scheme for Inspection Bodies
This is a national scheme that evaluates the technical competence of inspection bodies based on the general requirements of ISO/IEC 17020 and specific technical requirements of each field.
- Accreditation Scheme for Management Systems
Quality Management System (QMS)
This is a national scheme that evaluates the technical competence, integrity and independence of certification bodies, based on the general requirements of ISO/IEC Guide 62 and IAF Guidance.
Environmental Management System (EMS)
This is a national scheme that evaluates the technical competence, integrity and independence of certification bodies, based on the general requirements of ISO/IEC Guide 66 and IAF Guidance.
Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OSHMS)
This is a national scheme that evaluates the technical competence, integrity and independence of certification bodies, based on the general requirements of ISO/IEC Guide 66, IAF Guidance and CT 02 - SAC Criteria for Certification Bodies Auditors (OSHMS).
HACCP based Food Management System
This is a national scheme that evaluates the technical competence, integrity and independence of certification bodies, based on the general requirements of ISO/IEC Guide 62, IAF Guidance and SAC HACCP Doc 01.
Food Safety Management System
This is a national scheme that evaluates the technical competence, integrity and independence of certification bodies, based on the general requirements of ISO/IEC Guide 62, IAF Guidance and SAC ISO 22000 Doc 01.
. - Accreditation Scheme for Product Certification
This is a national scheme that evaluates the technical competence, integrity and independence of certification bodies, based on the general requirements of ISO/IEC Guide 65 and IAF Guidance.
More information for each accreditation scheme, can be obtained at Accreditation Schemes section
What is the general procedure for getting accreditation?
The general procedure to obtain accreditation is as below:
Enquiry and Formal Application
Applicants will submit an application form to SAC with the necessary documents and a non-refundable application fee. An SAC Officer will contact the applicant and make the necessary arrangements.
Preliminary Assessment (Optional)
An SAC assessor will conduct a preliminary assessment to check if the applicant is ready to be accredited.
Initial Assessment
A team consisting of SAC assessor and/or technical experts will conduct the initial assessment.
Recommendation by Assessment Team
The team will make a recommendation to the Review Committee on its recommendation for accreditation.
Award of Accreditation
If the Review Committee is satisfied with the recommendation of the assessment team, the applicant will be granted accreditation and issued with a certificate of accreditation.
How long does it take to get SAC Accreditation?
This would depend on a number of factors, such as the degree of an organisation
compliance with requirements, complexity of scope of the accreditation applied
for, availability of witnessing and clearance of incidences of non-conformance
highlighted during the assessment. A reasonable time frame is between three to
six months.
What happens after getting accreditation?
If you are accredited, you will be invited to the Annual SAC Award ceremony where you will be awarded with an accreditation plaque. You will now also be able to make use of the SAC Accreditation Mark and offer your products or services with confidence both nationally and worldwide. You can also make use of the ILAC or IAF MRA mark.
There will also be follow-up surveillance which consists of periodic assessments being carried out to ensure continued compliance to the scope of accreditation. The accreditation certificate will also require renewal periodically and the renewal period will depend on the terms and conditions of the accreditation scheme.
Any other inquiries?
If you have any questions or doubts, please feel free to visit our Forum and post your question there. Our accreditation officers will attend to your queries.
Alternatively, you can drop us an email or call us directly through the Contact Us section.
Last Updated: 07/05/07
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