ISO 17020 - Introduction

ISO/IEC 17020 incorporates same level of requirements for the organizational quality management system as ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 17000 series standards such as ISO/IEC 17021-1, Conformity assessment - Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems, and ISO/IEC 17065, Conformity assessment - Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services. ISO/IEC 17020, however, puts greater emphasis on organizational ability to manage impartiality and conflicts of interest as well as the technical competence of people, inspection processes, and equipment.

ISO 17020-Benefits

There are numerous benefits of implementing ISO 17020. These include: 

• Reduce errors by getting things right the first time.
• Remain competitive in the global economy
• Reducing downtime and the costs of disruption to operations
• Ensure quality is the driving force behind business success and failure
• Identify opportunities for improvement at all times

ISO 17020- standard

Keys requirement of ISO 17020 includes;

Administrative requirement

Requirements for independence, impartiality, and integrity

Confidentiality

Organization and management.....