Public report 2010
Trust
Guaranteed
What is accreditation? Nationally and internationally buyers need confidence with regard to the quality and safety of goods and services provided. If these are guaranteed it would not only benefit the buyer but also the supplier. This strengthens his position in the market. In order to be able to give an objective guarantee, the supplier can have his product or service assessed and tested by an accredited, independent certification or inspection body. This is possible for any imaginable sphere of work such as healthcare, construction, energy, food, environment, social affairs and transport. Certificate of conformity If the result of the assessment is good, the assessment organisation will issue a certificate of conformity for the product or service. This statement usually consists of a certificate or a report. That is why we call these bodies ‘conformity-certifying bodies’. Such bodies must be impartial and have the competence to issue this certificate. Only then is it useful and reliable. Surveillance of the conformity-certifying body The RvA has been appointed by the government as the national accreditation body to assess the expertise, the impartiality and the management system of conformity assessment bodies. Thereby the RvA offers a guarantee of trust amongst the public sector, the buyers and the suppliers.