Leading questions:

• Is a DKD 10-7; VDI/VDE 2648-2; XYZ calibration and the issued certificate from ACCREDIA or UKAS as good as if it had the seal from the DAkkS – or the other way around?
• Can I use a ACCREDIA calibration certificate on basis of a specific calibration standard equally to a UKAS, DAkkS, etc. calibration certificate?
• What is ILAC?
• What is meant by a calibration in the scope of accreditation or an ILAC recognition?
• Will I get in trouble (e.g. with my auditor) if I have a different accreditation body stated on the certificate than the one taking care of the country my enterprise is located in?

Summary

ILAC stands for the principle: once accredited, every were recognized. Means if you got a certificate from an ACCREDIA accredited laboratory for the specific calibration standard/procedure for example from an ACCREDIA accredited laboratory in Italy with the ACCREDIA-logo on it and the calibration standard as specification is stated on it, then it is as good as if it would come from the UK with UKAS on it. Same for USAS in the US or many others.

The facts:

In the European Union and internationally there is a system of mutual recognition of accreditation on basis of international standards like the ISO/IEC 17025 (General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories).

The principle: once accredited, every were recognized.

Under the umbrella of ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation) the following accreditation cooperation’s are organized:

• European co-operation for accreditation (EA)
• Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APAC, former APLAC and PAC)
• Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC)
• ARAC (Arab Accreditation Cooperation)
• AFRAC (African Accreditation Cooperation)
• SADCA (South African Development Community Accreditation)

The DAkkS (Germany’s national accreditation body) is member resp. signee of the following compacts:

• EA Multilateral Agreement (MLA)
• IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA)
• ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA)

Additional information on the matter of international network memberships of DAkkS you may find here on the DAkkS homepage or here on the ACCREDIA homepage.

This implies that in Europe the national sovereignty of the local accreditation bodies applies and for each country only one accreditation per company/laboratory is possible. As a laboratory it is therefore not possible to be e.g., accredited by DAkkS and ACCREDIA at the same time. If a laboratory e.g., in Italy would want to be accredited by DAkkS and then only DAkkS, this would need to be applied for at ACCREEDIA.

At the same time, the mutual recognition of accreditation and the included procedures applies (this makes a practice as described before obsolete).  A calibration on basis of DIN 51309 or ISO 6789 or DKD 10-7 (3-7) or DKD 10-8 (3-8) is independent of the accreditation by e.g. the DAkkS or ACCREDIA (Italy; L’Ente Italiano di Accreditamento) or COFRAC (France; comité français d’accréditation) or  UKAS (UK; United Kingdom Accreditation Service) etc. and equivalent. In addition, it is in every country where the national accreditation body is a member of the above-mentioned organizations resp. signee of one of the compacts valid.

For the validity of a calibration on basis of an accredited procedure/standard and the confidence of a customer in the usability in a case of audit, it is irrelevant by which of the accreditation bodies the laboratory got accredited. Because of the mutual recognition the validity and significance of the calibration is internationally recognized.  

Example: