BS EN ISO/IEC 17050 covers conformity assessment

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Oct 17, 2005

To assist those carrying out self assessments, BSI Business Information has published a new standard, BS EN ISO/IEC 17050:2004, 'Conformity assessment, Supplier's declaration of conformity'

Buyers in the global market demand that sellers fulfil their needs.

Competing suppliers are motivated to convey assurance to their customers in the most efficient manner.

Confidence that these needs can and will be met is built through a variety of means, including the assessment of conformity to standards.

Conformity Assessment is defined in BS EN ISO/IEC 17000:2004 as 'demonstration that specified requirements relating to a product, process, system, person or body are fulfilled'.

Put simply, conformity assessment refers to a variety of processes whereby goods and/or services are determined to meet voluntary or mandatory standards, regulations or specifications.

Conformity assessment provides assurance for regulatory authorities, consumers, governments and end users that products meet or exceed performance standards.

To assist suppliers and manufacturers in carrying out a self assessment, BSI Business Information has published a new standard.

The standard defines the requirements that you need to meet in order to make formal claims of conformity about your products, services, systems, processes or materials.

This self-certifying is known as a 'supplier's declaration of conformity', or SDoC for short.

With BS EN ISO/IEC 17050, a manufacturer can issue a SDoC to self-certify its product rather than send it to an external verifier such as a testing laboratory or inspection service.

This will save valuable time and money and the product can be developed and brought to market faster.

BS EN ISO/IEC 17050:2004 'Conformity assessment, Supplier's declaration of conformity' comes in two parts.

Part 1, 'General requirements', specifies the general requirements for an SDoC and includes a sample SDoC.

ISBN 0 580 44685 9, price £64* or £32 for BSI Subscribing Members.

Part 2, 'Supporting documentation', gives details on the support documents that are needed to substantiate an SDoC.

This could include tests carried out by the supplier, or tests carried out by an independent body in order to meet legal requirements - the aim being to encourage acceptance of SDoCs by customers and authorities.

ISBN 0 580 44684 0, price £52* or £26 for BSI Subscribing Members.

Another standard also available is BS EN ISO/IEC 17040:2005 'Conformity Assessment, General requirements for peer assessment of conformity assessment bodies and accreditation bodies', ISBN 0 580 45432 0, price £92* or £46 for BSI Subscribing Members.

Visit BSI's website for more information.

*Packaging and postage is £4.17 within the UK (inclusive of VAT), £5.83 overseas (+ VAT if applicable), or free for BSI Subscribing Members.

Pre-payment is required from non-Members.

All prices, content and publishing dates may be subject to change.