Conformance testing — an element of conformity assessment, and also known as compliance testing, or type testing — is testing or other activities that determine whether a process, product, or service complies with the requirements of a specification, technical standard, contract, or regulation. Testing is often either logical testing or physical testing. The test procedures may involve other criteria from mathematical testing or chemical testing. Beyond simple conformance, other requirements for efficiency, interoperability, or compliance may apply. Conformance testing may be undertaken by the producer of the product or service being assessed, by a user, or by an accredited independent organization, which can sometimes be the author of the standard being used. When testing is accompanied by certification, the products or services may then be advertised as being certified in compliance with the referred technical standard. Manufacturers and suppliers of products and services rely on such certification including listing on the certification body's website, to assure quality to the end user and that competing suppliers are on the same level.
The ISO 9000 family is a set of five quality management systems (QMS) standards by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) which help organizations ensure that they meet customer and other stakeholder needs within the statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product or service. The ISO refers to the set of standards as a "family", bringing together the standard for quality management systems and a set of "supporting standards", and their presentation as a family facilitates their integrated application within an organisation. ISO 9000 deals with the fundamentals and vocabulary of QMS, including the seven quality management principles that underlie the family of standards. ISO 9001 deals with the requirements that organizations wishing to meet the standard must fulfill. A companion document, ISO/TS 9002, provides guidelines for the application of ISO 9001. ISO 9004 gives guidance on achieving sustained organizational success.
Facility management or facilities management (FM) is a professional management discipline focused on the efficient and effective delivery of logistics and other support services related to real property and buildings. It encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality, comfort, safety and efficiency of the built environment by integrating people, place, process and technology, as defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The profession is certified through Global Facility Management Association member organizations.
The Canadian Securities Institute is a Canadian organization that offers licensing courses, advanced certifications, continuing education and custom training for financial services professionals in Canada and internationally.
In general, compliance means conforming to a rule, such as a specification, policy, standard or law. Compliance has traditionally been explained by reference to deterrence theory, according to which punishing a behavior will decrease the violations both by the wrongdoer and by others. This view has been supported by economic theory, which has framed punishment in terms of costs and has explained compliance in terms of a cost-benefit equilibrium. However, psychological research on motivation provides an alternative view: granting rewards or imposing fines for a certain behavior is a form of extrinsic motivation that weakens intrinsic motivation and ultimately undermines compliance.
Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to carry out specific conformity assessment tasks.
Product certification or product qualification is the process of certifying that a certain product has passed performance tests and quality assurance tests, and meets qualification criteria stipulated in contracts, regulations, or specifications.
ISO/IEC 17025General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories is the main standard used by testing and calibration laboratories. In most countries, ISO/IEC 17025 is the standard for which most labs must hold accreditation in order to be deemed technically competent. In many cases, suppliers and regulatory authorities will not accept test or calibration results from a lab that is not accredited. Originally known as ISO/IEC Guide 25, ISO/IEC 17025 was initially issued by ISO/IEC in 1999. There are many commonalities with the ISO 9000 standard, but ISO/IEC 17025 is more specific in requirements for competence and applies directly to those organizations that produce testing and calibration results and is based on more technical principles. Laboratories use ISO/IEC 17025 to implement a quality system aimed at improving their ability to consistently produce valid results. Material in the standard also forms the basis for accreditation from an accreditation body.
The British Standards Institution (BSI) is the national standards body of the United Kingdom. BSI produces technical standards on a wide range of products and services and also supplies standards certification services for business and personnel.
An environmental audit is a type of evaluation intended to identify environmental compliance and management system implementation gaps, along with related corrective actions. In this way they perform an analogous (similar) function to financial audits. There are generally two different types of environmental audits: compliance audits and management systems audits. Compliance audits tend to be the primary type in the US or within US-based multinationals.
The South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) is the official laboratory accreditation body for South Africa. Founded in 1996, SANAS is headquartered in Pretoria, South Africa. SANAS accreditation certificates are a formal recognition by the Government of South Africa that an organisation is competent to perform specific tasks.
Vinçotte is a Belgian accredited inspection and certification organisation, that controlled 75% of the Belgian safety, reliability market in 2004. This holding is the result of a merger between two similar non-profit inspection associations : AIB and Association Vinçotte. In May 2022, Vinçotte was acquired by Kiwa, a Dutch company active in the same industry.
SHV Holdings is a privately owned Dutch trading company, regarded as one of the world's largest private trading groups. SHV is a highly diversified company, with interests in transport, retail, oil, food and financial services. It currently employs more than 50,000 people.
Dekra is the world’s largest non-listed expert organization in the TIC sector founded in Berlin, Germany in 1925 as Deutscher Kraftfahrzeug-Überwachungs-Verein . At 28 million per year worldwide, Dekra inspects more vehicles than any other organization. Dekra is active in the field in more than 20 countries across the globe, from Sweden to South Africa, from the U.S. to New Zealand. The latest additions were Finland, Mexico and Chile. With approximately 48,646 employees and revenues of more than €3.8 billion, Dekra is the largest inspection company in Germany and one of the world’s leading expert organizations. By its own account, it is the European market leader. The group focuses on the inspection of vehicles and technical systems, but also offers other services like testing and certification. Dekra has had its headquarters in Stuttgart since 1946. Business operations are carried out by DEKRA SE, which is wholly owned by DEKRA e. V. The vision for the company’s 100th birthday in 2025 is that Dekra will be the global partner for a safe, secure and sustainable world. With a platinum rating from EcoVadis, Dekra is in the top one percent of sustainable businesses ranked.
Det Norske Veritas (DNV), formerly DNV GL, is an international accredited registrar and classification society headquartered in Høvik, Norway. DNV provides services for several industries, including maritime, oil and gas, renewable energy, electrification, and healthcare.
ISA/IEC 62443 is a series of standards that address cybersecurity for operational technology in automation and control systems. The series is divided into different sections and describes both technical and process-related aspects of automation and control systems cybersecurity. The series is also known as ISA/IEC 62443 in recognition of the fact that much of the development is done by the ISA99 committee of the International Society for Automation.
eCOGRA is a London-based testing agency and standards organisation in the realm of online gambling. The company was established in 2003 in the United Kingdom at the behest of the online gaming industry as the first industry self-regulation system. eCOGRA is a testing laboratory, inspection body, and certification body, specializing in the certification of online gaming software and the audit of Information Security Management Systems.
Philipp Aeby is the Chief Executive Officer of RepRisk, an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data science company based in Zürich, specializing in ESG and business conduct risk research and quantitative solutions. He has served in that capacity since 2010 and is also a Board Member of RepRisk. He previously held the position of Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner, when RepRisk was part of the environmental and social consultancy, Ecofact.
Future Generali India Insurance (FGII) Company Limited is a private general insurance company in India. The company is a joint venture between the Future Group and Generali Participations Netherlands N.V.. As of 2022, Generali Group it is the largest insurance company in Italy and ranks among the world's largest insurance companies by net premiums and assets. The company's portfolio comprises insurance products categorised within Personal, Commercial and Social/Rural Insurance.
The testing, inspection and certification (TIC) sector consists of conformity assessment bodies who provide services ranging from auditing and inspection, to testing, verification, quality assurance and certification. The sector consists of both in-house and outsourced services.
