Enoac gains power every year, promoting the synergy between conformity assessment bodies. It is an opportunity for Cgcre to make public information on accreditation and the projects under development and, also, to receive feedback. Cgcre prepares an agenda, which also includes suggestions from its 1,500 clients. “The purpose is that all links of the chain participate proactively, strengthening the system”, states Marcos Aurélio Lima, General Coordinator for Accreditation. Three conferences were held simultaneously: one with certification bodies, another with inspection bodies and another with laboratories. During the conferences several themes were discussed such as: discussion about ISO 17065, new demands for accreditation and transition to ISO/IEC 17021:2011 (certification body area), international recognition for the activity of inspection body accreditation, presentation of the administrative rule for the monitoring of inspections in equipment and vehicles designed for the transportation of dangerous products (inspection body area) and harmonization of accreditation scopes, change in the proficiency testing policy (new revision of ILAC P9) and Brazil´s adherence to the acts of OECD (laboratory area).
Further in the agenda, were meetings of the Technical committees and presentation of the action plan prepared in the previous year. “We undertook a compromise in the meeting of 2010 and it is important to present the results”, completes Marcos Aurélio.
According to the chair of the Brazilian Inspection Body Association (Angis), Claudio Torelli, the meeting is fundamental to the technical advancement of the area. “Angis understands the need of Enoac, that's why it supports it and is one of the sponsors. Before Enoac meetings started to be held, the discussions were more market-based and, today, the improvement of the reference documents and their assessment criteria is striking. It is a natural and important evolution, with proposals of the participant bodies, seeking the understanding of what is written, of the risk analysis of the segment in the service performance. Enoac has three important pillars: seeking improvements; enhancing the credibility of issued certificates and showing that all this process is fundamental to society”, summarizes Torelli.
Masao Ito, from the Brazilian Association of Certification Bodies (Abroc) which also sponsored Enoac, stated that the meeting is a moment for interaction. “It is a moment in which we can harmonize the wishes of certification bodies and regulatory agencies, all joined by the same objective”, emphasizes Masao.
The summit of Enoac took place on Thursday, June 9th, World Accreditation Day. This year, the commemoration accounts for the theme “relationship between the regulator and the accreditation body”, set in common consent in the General Assembly of Accreditation Forums, at the end of 2010. For the debate, representatives of other regulatory agencies besides Inmetro were present, among them the Brazilian Sanitary Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) and the São Paulo State Environment Protection Agency (Cetesb).
To begin, Mr. João Jornada, Inmetro president, spoke about the interface between regulation and accreditation. Then, Anvisa presented a lecture about the significance of accreditation of analytical laboratories that carry out tests on products and services subjected to sanitary surveillance. In turn, Cetesb talked about the experience of the São Paulo State Environment Protection Department in laboratory accreditation. At last, Mr. Marcos Aurelio (Cgcre´s General Coordinator) presented Cgcre´s report for 2010 with activities and latest developments of the sector. There was also the delivery of certificates to accredited reference material producers closing the pilot project of accreditation in this area. As an innovation, the Brazilian National Accreditation Award has been launched, consisting of prizes for 3 categories: external assessor and expert, Cgcre´s employee and accredited CAB. The theme for the work of 2011 is “Accreditation body interaction with the regulator”. The deadline to subscribe and submit papers is September 30th 2011 and prizes will be awarded in November 2011 during the meeting of the Accreditation Council (Conac).
For 2012, the intention is to award the prizes during the World Accreditation Day to foster the participation in the event.
