JANAAC ACCREDITATION
The Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC) – established under the Companies Act of Jamaica as a public sector company, limited by guarantee – is an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce.
Accreditation for Certification Bodies
JANAAC provides accreditation to conformity assessment bodies that offer certification of management systems. Accreditation involves the assessment of the certification body and its management system and a declaration of competence of the certification body to perform the specific certification-related activities; this is also referred to as registration.
Certification is essential to many organizations as it demonstrates to stakeholders, that the certified systems, products or services meet specified requirements and elevates the credibility of the organization’s ability to meet customer expectations. Furthermore, for some entities, and within certain jurisdictions, certification may also be a regulatory or contractual requirement.
Accreditation provides the assurance that the certification body, operates according to the relevant international standard and is competent to perform the work undertaken. Companies and individuals therefore are always encouraged to select certification bodies that have been accredited. Certification is arguably the broadest and most diverse of the conformity assessment activities, but is applied across three (3) main areas, governed by their respective standards:
- Certification of management systems – ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015
- Certification of persons – ISO/IEC 17024:2012
- Certification of products, services and processes – ISO/IEC 17065:2012
Application Forms
Accreditation of Management Systems Certification Bodies (ISO/IEC 17021-1)
Each organization operates according to a set of processes geared toward fulfilling its objectives. These processes are typically defined by accompanying policies or procedures which guide their effective performance. Together, they comprise the organization’s management system, and may be specifically tailored toward objectives such as quality/customer satisfaction; the environment; employee, food, or product safety, among others.
ISO/IEC 17021-1 is the conformity assessment standard that governs management systems certification bodies. There are also other ISO competence requirements supplementary to ISO/IEC 17021-1, against which certification bodies are assessed. JANAAC offers accreditation in the following management system disciplines and corresponding standards:
(Management System Disciplines in Table Format)
Further to this, certification bodies must also demonstrate industry-specific competence for respective disciplines in which they seek accreditation. These have been codified by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF ID 1) as well as Eurostat Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE). The management system standards, in conjunction with industry-specific activities define the scope of accredited activities. Certification bodies must ensure that they use the current versions of these reference documents. Additionally, there are several mandatory IAF documents with which the certification must be familiar.
