The International Accreditation Service (IAS) issued the first two accreditations under its new Management System Certification Body (MSCB) Accreditation Program to Paragon Group Registrar and Government Military and Certification Systems. Launched on July 1, the MSCB accreditation program is based on ISO/IEC Standard 17021: 2011 Conformity assessment—requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems. The program accredits MSCBs that provide audits and certifications in sectors such as quality management (ISO 9001), environmental management (ISO 14001), food safety management (ISO 22000), information security management (ISO 27001), occupational health and safety management (OHSAS 18001), energy management (ISO 50001), and medical device quality management (ISO 13485).

IAS recognized building departments for achieving accreditation during 2013 during the ICC Annual Conference Awards Luncheon, in Atlantic City, N.J. IAS awarded commemorative plaques to representatives from the town of Mount Pleasant, S.C.; the city of Philadelphia, Pa.; the city of Jacksonville, Fla.; and Arlington County, Va.

Arlington Is First Virginia County to Earn IAS BDA
Jacksonville Earns IAS BDA
Mount Pleasant Commitment to Quality Leads to IAS BDA
Philadelphia Is Largest City in U.S. to Achieve IAS BDA

Pictured above, Deputy Commissioner for Development Michael E. Fink (second from right) and Deputy Commissioner of Operations Mike Maenner (second from left) receive a plaque from IAS President Chuck Ramani (far left) and IAS Program Manager Preet Bassi (far right), in recognition of IAS Accreditation.

IAS delivered a training program entitled Best Practices: Lessons Learned from Accredited Building Departments. The class was delivered in conjunction with the ICC Major Jurisdictions Committee (MJC) during the ICC Annual Conference.

IAS launched the Building Department/Code Enforcement Agency Accreditation Program in 2004 through the development of Accreditation Criteria 251 (AC251). Aimed at assisting building departments detect their strengths and weaknesses and establish plans for improvement, it has also served to identify best practices in code enforcement and administration. During the last eight years, IAS has been assembling an inventory of best practices in the areas of plan review, permitting, inspection, management/administration, legal, customer service, and information technology.

The MJC membership comprises building officials representing large and politically active municipalities in the U.S. MJC members often have responsibility for the oversight of several large and complex, construction projects and, as a result, have refined and implemented innovations in their operations. In an effort to give back to the code enforcement community, the MJC Steering Committee embarked on a Best Practices project. The MJC encourages its members to submit their best practices in order to maximize the benefit of shared resources, concepts, and programs and to learn from successes and failures. The overarching goal is to better enable state and local jurisdictions to function in more efficient and cost effective manner while maximizing life safety in the built environment.

Code officials, special inspectors and industry representatives attended an IAS-sponsored training program "Special Inspections—Implementing and Managing IBC Chapter 17 Requirements for Building Departments" at the ICC Annual Conference in Atlantic City, N.J. Attendees learned how to set up and manage a special inspection program and how IAS can assist building departments in those efforts. The three-hour program provided CEUs from ICC. Greg Johnson, a past member of the ICC and IAS Board of Directors and a past chairman of the ICC Education Committee, presented the program. If you are interested in hosting this training event, please contact IAS Program Director David Nelson.

The International Accreditation Service (IAS) Accreditation Committee meetings offer opportunities for stakeholders, accredited organizations, building officials and other interested parties to provide input on IAS' accreditation programs. The next committee meeting is scheduled for February 10, 2014, at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel Los Angeles. The Accreditation Committee meets annually or more often as the need arises, in open, public hearings to consider new criteria and proposed revisions to IAS accreditation criteria. All new and proposed revisions to criteria are posted to the IAS website approximately 60 days before Committee meetings. Interested parties are invited to submit written comments by the designated due date and to make verbal presentations during the meeting. For more information, please contact IAS at (562) 364-8201 or visit the IAS website.

ICC, ICC Evaluation Service and IAS staff, past and present, gathered on September 6 at Friendly Hills Country Club in Whittier, Calif., to honor the family of the late James (Jim) Bihr, P.E.—a much revered past President and CEO of the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO), a predecessor of ICC. At a celebratory luncheon with the family, IAS dedicated the 2013 version of the IBC Handbook in memory of the former CEO. At a special ceremony, a commemorative framed edition of the handbook was presented to Bihr's loving wife of more than 60 years, Betty, sons Jim Jr., Tom and Bob, and daughter Kathy. Bihr was born in Buffalo, N.Y. A World War II veteran, Jim earned an engineering degree from Syracuse University on the G.I. Bill before marrying Betty, his childhood sweetheart in 1951. The family moved to Los Angeles and he worked for the city of Los Angeles before joining the Pacific Coast Building Officials Conference (the organization that would later become ICBO). Jim, a voice for the model code movement, was promoted to Executive Director in 1979 and led ICBO until his retirement in 1993. Jim is remembered for being one of the driving forces behind the eventual consolidation to form ICC and for his remarkable vision and leadership.

Dr. David S. Nelson, P.E., Program Director at IAS, attended the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC) peer evaluator training in June and is now eligible to participate in the evaluation of other PAC-recognized accreditation bodies. Nelson manages the IAS Work Force Qualification accreditation programs, which include Training Agency, Curriculum Developer, and Personnel Certification Body Accreditation, and manages IAS Training Services. Peer evaluations are an integral part of multilateral recognition arrangements (MLAs) where an accreditation body, such as IAS, is evaluated by other PAC MRA partner representatives once every four years. The evaluations provide evidence of an accreditation body's technical competence and compliance with ISO Standard 17011: Conformity Assessment—General Requirements for Accreditation Bodies Accrediting Conformity Assessment Bodies. IAS currently has three staff members who are recognized PAC Evaluators. IAS is scheduled to be evaluated by PAC during the second quarter of 2014.

Magnum Industrial Laboratories W.L.L. (MIL) is part of the Al Khalidia Group established in 1990 to provide high-quality and environmentally friendly, bulk and specialty chemicals to the Bahrain market. MIL Testing and Calibration Divisions have been accredited to ISO Standard 17025 by IAS since 2012. IAS assessor Dr. George Anastasopoulos conducted a routine surveillance assessment of MIL as part of its ongoing accreditation.

The Jeddah Food Control Laboratory is one of four accredited Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) laboratories located at strategic ports of entry into Saudi Arabia. The Jeddah laboratory's main responsibility is to test food products for compliance with chemical and microbiological standards. The Jeddah Food Control Laboratory, as part of the SFDA, was established under the Council of Ministers Resolution No. 1 as an independent corporate body that directly reports to the President of Council of Ministers. The purpose of the visit by IAS assessors Dimitris Katsieris and K.M. Arunan was to conduct the initial lab assessment.

IAS Principal Accreditation Officer Hershal Brewer was in Riyadh to conduct the initial assessment of this laboratory. This newly accredited testing lab is an internal lab for the largest manufacture of lighting in the Middle East. The laboratory conducts tests to European standards and Saudi Arabian lighting standards and safety standards.

This Intertek laboratory was assessed by Hershal Brewer for compliance with standards for testing cellular phones, towers and related infrastructure. The testing this laboratory conducts is complex and requires detailed knowledge of radio frequency (RF) propagation and data package transfer. Testing is generally completed under normal conditions; however, the lab is also equipped to test under vibration conditions or in extreme conditions to -10 degrees C in a special environmental chamber. Pictured is Igor Erenberg, IAS Information Technology assessor, conducting a technical assessment of the laboratory's capabilities.

CONTENT DISCLAIMER — IAS eNews features links that may take you outside the IAS website. We are not responsible for the content and privacy practices of outside websites.
EDITOR'S NOTE — We are dedicated to providing informative insight into the world of accreditation. IAS would like to encourage all of our participants in all of our programs to submit relevant articles for future publications. Your unique perspective will prove extremely valuable to our readership. Please forward your articles and photographs to Pat McCullen at pmccullen@iasonline.org.
SUBSCRIPTION INFO — Thank you for subscribing to IAS eNews‚ a free‚ quarterly email publication of the International Accreditation Service (IAS). IAS is a non-profit‚ public-benefit corporation and a leading accreditation body in the United States. Internationally recognized‚ accreditation by IAS makes it easier to market products and services both inside and outside the United States. Receive and experience IAS eNews as intended. If you use spam filters to protect your inbox‚ please take a moment to add the “from” address eNewsLetter@iccsafe.org to your email address book‚ spam software whitelist or mail system whitelist. This will help ensure you receive our enewsletter and that your email software displays the HTML and images properly. You may have received this enewsletter as a one-time-only mailing because you have a business relationship with the International Accreditation Service or the International Code Council. To update your email preferences, please click here (www.iasonline.org/preferences). If you no longer wish to receive any emails from the International Code Council (ICC), ICC Evaluation Service (ICC-ES), or the International Accreditation Service (IAS), please click here (www.iccsafe.org/optout). Please note, unsubscribe requests may take up to 10 business days to process. You also may receive email messages such as confirmation of a product you purchased, an event you registered for, and certain essential membership information pertaining to your business relationship with the Code Council or any other relationship or transactional messages. We respect and value your time and privacy.