ANAB Accreditation Announcement

AMS is the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) Accredited Certification Body for the Following Certification Programs

ISO 17065 Programs:

IGCC/IGMA - Click HERE for more information
NACC - Click HERE for more information
SGCC - Click HERE for more information
WDMA/Hallmark - Click HERE for more information

• Click here to view the official 17065 certificate of accreditation.

ISO 17024 Programs:

AGMT - Click HERE for more information

• Click here to view the official 17024 certificate of accreditation.

What is Accreditation?

Accreditation is very similar to certification.  Just like in certification there is an independent party who assesses and determines whether or not an organization meets specific requirements.  In the case of ANAB's assessment of AMS the above listed Certification Programs, they chiefly assessed to ISO standard ISO/IEC 17065:2012 and ISO 17024:2012. The end result is called accreditation.

• Learn more about the ANAB Product Certification Accreditation process here:  https://anab.ansi.org/accreds/products-process-and-services-accreditation
• Learn more about the ANAB Personnel Certification Accreditation process here:  https://anab.ansi.org/accreds/personnel-certification-programs/

Who is ANSI?

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) National Accreditation Board (ANAB) is a not-for-profit entity specializing in assessment and accreditation (among other endeavors) of bodies performing third-party conformity assessment.

• Learn more about the ANAB and their role in accreditation here:  https://anab.ansi.org/mission/

What is ISO/IEC 17065:2012?

ISO/IEC 17065:2012 is an internationally-recognized standard, or set of requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services. It is the main source of criteria used to assess AMS, Inc. and the above referenced Programs. As a main source of criteria, the standard specifies requirements that, according to ISO/IEC 17065:2012, "ensure that certification bodies operate certification programs in a competent, consistent and impartial manner..."

 

What is ISO/IEC 17024:2012?

ISO/IEC 17024:2012 is an internationally recognized standard, or set of requirements, for bodies operating personnel certification programs. It is the main source of criteria used to assess AMS, Inc. and the AGMT Program. The requirements found in that standard help ensure AMS and the AGMT Program operate at a higher standard in the most critical areas of a personnel certification program: from verifying examination staff are highly trained and competent, to ensuring equal treatment of all candidates to provide for an open and transparent path to certification. But, perhaps most critical is the requirement that the program's exam is reliable, valid, and fair. This is a demanding process which, for AGMT, included beta testing, psychometric analysis, and countless hours from industry experts across North America.

 

Disclaimers

While there are benefits to being associated with this accreditation, there are things that accreditation explicitly doesn’t mean:

• Accreditation doesn’t mean that ANAB approves certified products, processes, or services of Licensees; or accredits certified personnel.
• The ANAB Accreditation symbol cannot not be displayed on any product or its packaging.

 

Questions?

If you have any questions or comments for us regarding any of the topics presented above, please feel free to contact us at (315)646-2234, or email us at staff@amscert.com.

 

Citations

ANSICA.org. Why Seek Accreditation?, 2014. Web. November 12, 2014.

ANSI.org. Introduction to ANSI, n.d. Web. November 12, 2014.

AMSCERT.com. Welcome to AMS…, 2014. Web. November 12, 2014.