The Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC) has recognized the International Accreditation Service (IAS) as a signatory member of its Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA). Under the terms of this arrangement, the IAS product certification agency accreditation program is recognized as equivalent to those of other accreditation bodies that are PAC MLA signatories.

IAS President Chuck Ramani said, "Accreditation is increasingly being used by regulators and the market as an impartial, independent and transparent means of assessing the competence of conformity assessment bodies. The PAC MLA helps facilitate world trade by working to remove technical barriers that may flow from demands for certification and/or registration of management systems, products and like processes. Under this program a product can be tested or certified once and accepted everywhere."

The IAS program accredits Product Certification Agencies under ISO/IEC Guide 65, General Requirements for Bodies Operating Product Certification Systems. IAS accreditation demonstrates that the certification agencies' services, including testing, inspection, product surveillance and product labeling, have been properly evaluated and are under a program of continual monitoring by an internationally recognized accreditation body.

In addition to offering accreditation as a product certification agency, the IAS program enables agencies to attain accreditation as a testing laboratory and inspection agency, with only one audit. "Because our program requires fewer audits, it means lower costs, less downtime and less disruption to internal operations," said IAS Program Manager Ron Coiner.

Product manufacturers are facing increased demand for impartial verification that their products are certified to be safe and to meet industry standards. If the products are to be readily accepted, the verification must be by certification agencies that are trusted and widely recognized. IAS accreditation provides the credentials that ensure an agency's certification marks will have full acceptance in the marketplace and by governmental agencies that regulate product acceptance.

For more information, visit www.iasonline.org or contact Ron Coiner, IAS Product Certification Agency Program Manager, at 562-699-0541 or toll free (in the U.S.) 866-427-4422, ext. 3281, or e-mail: rcoiner@iasonline.org.