| 1 | Objective |
| 1.1 | This procedure provides ANAB criteria and guidelines for processing AECO applications to be accredited in accordance with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17065 in full except where modified in ASME 17.7.1/CSA B44.7.1. This procedure includes criteria for AECO to certify elevators and escalators in accordance with ASME 17.7/CSA B44.7 in the following scopes: |
| a) | Option 1: Certificate of conformance issued to suppliers conforming to ASME A17.7/CSA44.7 for sub-systems, components or functions; |
| b) | Option 2: Certificate of conformance issued to suppliers conforming to ASME A17.7/CSA44.7 for elevator system. |
| 1.2 | The criteria against which the products of a supplier are evaluated for the above options shall be those outlined in ASME A17.7/CSA B44.7 |
| 2 | Definitions |
| 2.1 | As a general rule, definitions of ISO/IEC 17000 and ISO 9000 are applicable. Additionally, all relevant definitions mentioned in Section 1.3 of ASME A17.1/CSA B44.1 also apply, except as modified in Section 1.3 of ASME 17.7/CSA 44.7. |
| 2.2 | ACCREDITATION: Third party attestation related to a conformity assessment body conveying formal demonstration of its competence to carry out specific conformity assessment tasks. |
| 2.3 | ACCREDITED ELEVATOR/ESCALATOR CERTIFICATION ORGANIZATION (AECO): An ANAB, ASME or SCC accredited, independent organization concerned with the product safety evaluation, which awards certificate of conformance with ASME A17.7/B44.7. Where the term "certification body (CB)" is used in this document or ISO/IEC 17065 shall be understood to mean "AECO". |
| NOTE [Accredited Elevator/Escalator Certification organization (AECO)]: For the purpose of this definition, "accredited" means that an organization has been evaluated and accredited by ANAB, ASME, or SCC to operate a certification program, as is designated as such by ANAB, ASME, or SCC. |
| 2.4 | APPLICANT: The manufacturer or installer that submits the component(s) or the elevator system(s) for certification to an AECO for the purpose of obtaining a “certificate of conformance to ASME A17.7.1/CSA B44.7.1”. |
| 2.5 | EQUIVALENT CERTIFICATION SYSTEM: A certification system that has achieved accreditation under ASME A17.7.1/CSA B44.7.1 with an accreditation body that is a member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and is signed up to the Multi-Lateral Agreement (MLA) concerning ASME A17.7.1/CSA B44.7.1. |
| 2.6 | CERTIFICATE OF CONFORMITY: Document issued under the rules of a certification system, providing confidence that a duly identified product, process or service is in conformity with a specific standard or other normative document. |
| 3 | Accreditation Requirements |
| 3.1 | ANAB Requirements |
| 3.1.1 | In order to be eligible for accreditation the applicant AECO shall comply with ANAB criteria as defined in PRO-PL-101 and PRO-PL-102 and applicable ISO/IEC 17065 requirements. |
| 3.1.2 | ANAB, as a recognized accreditation body, shall ensure that accredited elevator / escalator certification organization (AECO) meet the requirements contained in the ANAB policy and procedures and the ASME 17.7.1/CSA B44.7.1. |
| 3.2 | Sector Specific Requirements |
| 3.2.1 | Scopes of Accreditation |
| a) | Option 1: License/certificate of conformance issued to suppliers conforming to ASME A17.7/CSA44.7 for sub-systems, components or functions; |
| b) | Option 2: License/certificate of conformance issued to suppliers conforming to ASME A17.7/CSA44.7 for elevator system. |
| 3.2.2 | Administrative and Operational Requirements |
| 3.2.2.1 | The administrative and operational requirements imposed on the AECO are contained in ISO/IEC 17065 and ASME 17.7.1/CSA B44.7.1. |
| 4 | Application for Accreditation |
| 4.1 | Information on the Procedure – Preliminary Letter of Application for Accreditation |
| 4.1.1 | The documents, which ANAB provides to the Certification Body (AECO) Applicant, are listed in PRO-PR-112: Information on the Application Process. |
| 4.2 | Analysis of the Preliminary Letter of Application |
| 4.2.1 | The analysis of the Preliminary Letter of Application is conducted in accordance with PRO-PL-102: Manual of Operations for Accreditation of Product Certification Programs. Applicants considered to comply with the eligibility requirements are sent an application package. |
| 4.3 | Application |
| 4.3.1 | The documents, which ANAB provides to the AECO Applicant, are listed in PRO-PR-112: Information on the Application Process |
| 4.3.2 | Applicants shall provide the following documents, background information and fees to initiate the accreditation process: |
| a) | A completed Application Form PRO-FR-104 |
| b) | A cross reference indicating each of the accreditation requirements of PRO-FR-105 ISO/IEC 17065 are addressed in the applicant's management system documentation. |
| c) | A copy of the applicant Quality Manual and related certification procedures |
| d) | A check made out to ANAB, for the non-refundable application fee |
| NOTE: Applicants are encouraged to provide electronic versions of application documentation. Where this is not possible, five copies of all application material must be submitted to ANAB. |
| 4.3.3 | The application is processed in accordance with PRO-PL-102 and PRO-PR-112. The applicant shall inform ANAB of the scope of accreditation requested in the PRO-FR-104. |
| 4.4 | Preparation for Assessment |
| 4.4.1 | Assessments are conducted in accordance with PRO-PL-102. |
| 4.5 | Assessment/Qualification of ANAB assessment team |
| 4.5.1 | The assessment team will conduct the initial assessment on site of the applicant to confirm its full conformance with the ANAB accreditation criteria. The assessment is conducted in accordance with PRO-PL-102. |
| 4.5.2 | The Assessment is conducted in accordance with PRO-PR-145. |
| 4.5.3 | Qualification criteria for the technical expert member of the ANAB assessment team are defined in PRO-FR-134. |
| 4.5.4 | Initial assessments are conducted at the applicant’s head office facility and at the other locations that perform activities related to the certification process. See requirements defined on PRO-PL-102. |
| 4.5.5 | If the assessment team determines that the applicant cannot be accredited for the full range of its requested scope, the team may suggest to the Certification program a suitably reduced or redefined scope, based on its findings. |
| 4.5.6 | The assessment team will produce a verbal summary report that detail the applicant's conformance to ANAB and ASME 17.7.1/CSA B44.7.1 requirements. The assessment team will post in the ANSICA PORTAL NON-CONFORMITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT if applicable. (See PRO-PL-102) |
| 4.6 | Witness Assessment |
| 4.6.1 | During the initial assessment ANAB will conduct a witness assessment to verify the competency of the AECO Applicant to conduct visits of their clients for each requested scope (Option 1 and Option 2) in accordance with PRO-PR-118 and PRO-PR-119. |
| 4.7 | Assessment Report |
| 4.7.1 | The assessment report is developed in accordance with PRO-PR-120. The assessment report will be sent to the applicant within 30 days of the initial assessment. |
| 4.8 | Decision on Accreditation |
| 4.8.1 | The applicant shall send a plan to address any required actions. The response shall either provide evidence of completion of any required actions or shall present a plan to address the actions. This plan shall include a completion date not exceeding 90 days from receipt of the final report. |
| 4.8.2 | All non-conformities must be addressed, verified and closed before the application can proceed to the approval stage. |
| 4.8.3 | Once all required actions are satisfied, ANAB staff will provide to the evaluation task group and make available to ANAB Accreditation Committee members the following, as a minimum: |
| a) | unique identification of the product certification program; |
| b) | date(s) of the on-site assessment; |
| c) | name(s) of the assessor(s) and/or experts involved in the assessment; |
| d) | unique identification of all premises assessed; |
| e) | proposed scope of accreditation that was assessed; |
| f) | assessment report; |
| g) | statement on the adequacy of the internal organization and procedures adopted by the product certification program to give confidence in its competence, as determined through its fulfillment of the requirements for accreditation; |
| h) | information on the resolution of all nonconformities; |
| i) | any further information that may assist in determining fulfillment of requirements and the competence of the product certification program; |
| j) | where applicable, a recommendation on granting, reducing or extending accreditation
for the proposed scope; and |
| k) | bases of the compliance of each test laboratory from which data is being reviewed to
ISO/IEC 17025. |
| 4.8.4 | During a conference call the ETG members review the documents related to the applicant initial assessment and recommend or not the accreditation to the ANAB ACC. The assessment team participates in part of the agenda of the conference. |
| 4.8.5 | Accreditation decisions are made in accordance with PRO-PL-102 and PRO-PL-103. |
| 4.8.6 | The Accreditation Program provides accreditation documents to its accredited bodies in the form of a certificate signed by the Vice President of PILR. |
| 4.9 | Surveillance and Reassessment Procedures |
| 4.9.1 | Surveillance and reassessments are conducted in accordance with PRO-PL-102 and PRO-PR-116. |
| 4.10 | Records |
| 4.10.1 | All records are maintained in accordance with PRO-PL-101 and PRO-PL-102. |
| 4.11 | Reference to Accreditation Status |
| 4.11.1 | ANAB is owner of an accreditation symbol intended for use under the ANAB Accreditation Program. The ANAB Accreditation Program allows an AECO to refer to its accreditation in certificates, reports, stationery, and publicity material related to its accredited activities. |
| 4.11.2 | The Accreditation Program does not allow use of its symbol in any way that implies that ANAB has approved a product or service certified by an accredited body. The Accreditation Program mark shall not be used on a product or in any other way that may be interpreted as denoting product conformance or endorsement by ANAB. |
| 4.11.3 | The Accreditation Program will take suitable action, including corrective action; suspension; or withdrawal of accreditation; publication of the transgression; and, if necessary, any other legal act to deal with misleading references to the accreditation or a misleading use of the accreditation mark found in advertisement, catalogues, etc. |
| 4.12 | Complaints and Appeals |
| 4.12.1 | Complaints and appeals brought before the Accreditation Committee shall be handled in accordance with PR 1021 Complaint Procedure and PR 1024 Appeal Procedure. |
| 4.13 | Changes in the Accreditation Requirements |
| 4.13.1 | ANAB will give due notice of any changes to be made to its requirements for accreditation and will take into account views expressed by interested parties before deciding on the precise form and effective date of the changes. ANAB shall verify that each accredited body carries out any necessary adjustments to its procedures within a reasonable time. |
| 5 | Notification of Certification Scheme Requirements |
| 5.1 | The CB is required by AECO to implement the requirements contained in ASME 17.7/CSA B44.7 Performance based safety code for elevators and escalators and ASME A17.7.1/CSA B44.7.1 General Requirements for Accredited Elevator / Elevator Certification Organizations and shall be accredited, or apply for accreditation from an IAF signatory of the International Accreditation Forum and/or Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (IAF-APAC MLA) that covers accreditation of product certification bodies. |
| 6 | Certification Scheme Information |
| 6.1 | The CB is required by AECO to provide certification information as described in the License/Sublicense and Certification Agreements. |
| 7 | Information on the Certification Scheme |
| 7.1 | Refer to ASME A17.7.1/CSA B44.7.1 General Requirements for Accredited Elevator / Elevator Certification Organizations |
| 7.2 | The CB shall implement the certification activities as defined by ISO/IEC 17065:2012 as applicable, and the ASME A17.7.1/CSA B44.7.1 General Requirements for Accredited Elevator / Elevator Certification Organizations Standard. |