ANSI Accreditation Announcement

The IGCC®/IGMA® Certification Program is pleased to announce that on Oct. 27^th, 2014 the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) formally issued Accreditation to AMS, Inc., the IGCC®/IGMA® Certification Program Administrator and Certification Body (CB) for meeting the requirements of ISO/IEC 17065:2012, as well as ANSI’s own accreditation requirements.

• Click here to view the official 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 ANSI’s assessment of AMS and the IGCC®/IGMA® Certification Program, they chiefly assessed to ISO standard ISO/IEC 17065:2012. The end result is called accreditation.

 

• Learn more about the ANSI Product Certification Accreditation process here:  https://www.ansica.org/wwwversion2/outside/Benefits.asp

IGCC®/IGMA® Certification Program Recognition

This Accreditation relates specifically to the implementation of the IGCC®/IGMA® Certification Program for Insulating Glass.

 

• Please follow this link to view the formal recognition: (Click Here)

 

Who is ANSI?

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

• To learn more about ANSI and their role in accreditation, please visit: http://www.ansi.org/about_ansi/introduction/introduction.aspx?menuid=1

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 IGCC®/IGMA® Program.  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…”

 

Relationship between AMS and IGCC®/IGMA® Certification Program

AMS has been the administrator and operator of the IGCC®/IGMA® certification program since 1998 (originally the IGCC® Certification Program).  In those 16 years of service, AMS has developed a deep understanding of certification and operates with competence and experience.

• To learn more, please visit: http://www.amscert.com

 

Impact on Certification Program Licensee

How will this affect my certification?

Accreditation of AMS, Inc. and the IGCC®/IGMA® Certification Program is the formal recognition that they have met strict requirements placed on them. This means that as a manufacturer, operator or provider of certified products, processes or services you can be sure that AMS’s conformity assessment system meets some of the highest quality standards in the world.  Because AMS and the IGCC®/IGMA® Certification Program have always operated to stringent guidelines you won’t notice much of a difference in your certification program obligations.

Do I need to do anything?

For current Licensees to gain formal association with the accredited portion of AMS’s certification services, your organization will need to sign and return an updated License Agreement (link below). The new License Agreement must be executed for each corporate entity (not per plant/location)

 

Link to updated License Agreement, by program:

IGCC®/IGMA®: (Click here)

 

If you’re not a current Licensee and wish to become one, please call our office at (315)646-2234, or email us at staff@amscert.com

 

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 ANSI approves certified product, processes, or services of Licensees;
• The ANSI 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.