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Quality infrastructure is defined as the system that includes institutions (governmental and private) along with relevant policies, legal and regulatory frameworks and practices necessary to support and enhance the quality, safety, and environmental integrity of goods, services and processes.
third-party attestationrelated to a conformity assessment body, conveying formal demonstration of its competence, impartiality, and consistent operation in performing specific conformity assessment activities after fulfilling all the relevant international standards requirements to ensure its competence, including but not limited to accreditation of testing and calibration laboratories, medical laboratories, inspection bodies, certification bodies, and other relevant bodies.
is a set of measurement operations that are carried out under specific conditions using measuring devices and tools assigned to achieve the metrological traceability of measurement results in the Kingdom to the units of the International System (SI). Such operations determine the accuracy of the measuring devices, their adequacy for the purpose for which they were used, and their conformity with the international system of measurement in accordance with specific international standards.
are documentation for the establishment and development of standards, specifications, requirements, and detailed characteristics of products, services, processes, and associated production methods, with which compliance is optional.
is verification of the conformity of products, services or processes to the technical regulations and the pre-determined specifications.
Accreditation is: a certificate from a third party (Saudi Accreditation Center) acknowledges that a party which provides conformity assessment services in a specific field is officially qualified to carry out specific tasks of conformity assessment , after fulfilling all the requirements contained in international standards to ensure the continuity of its competence.
Accreditation includes evaluating the competence of the conformity assessment body its impartiali sty, and the compliance of its work with nationally and internationally recognized standards or areas which provide testing, examination, calibration, inspection and certification. Accreditation promotes health and safety, protects the environment and develops the economy by ensuring the quality of services and products is in accordance with the best international practices and standards. Accreditation ensures the conformity of national and international standards in terms of:
Reduces production defects and the possibility of product failure.
Supports the quality of results by ensuring traceability, comparability, validity and interchangeability.
Gives confidence in reports, certificates and conformity data.
Enhances the levels of general confidence of consumers in the goods and services available in the market.
Ensures impartiality and non-conflict of interest.
Increases international acceptance of import and export and enhances trade exchange.
Accreditation provides a coordinated and transparent approach and an impartial assessment against internationally recognized standards, and has several benefits including:
The presence of globally recognized national accreditation centers contributes to raising the level of trade exchange, and the flow of goods and products to and from global markets.
Protects the health and safety of the public by minimizing risks by working with reliable laboratories, inspection bodies and certification bodies accredited by national accreditation centers.
Supports the implementation of national legislation, and provides a “Seal of Approval” to confirm compliance with specifications and requirements.
Working with globally recognized national accreditation centers enhances public confidence in the impartiality of government activities in services related to public health, safety and the environment.
The presence of national accreditation centers helps reduce the need for government agencies to employ technicians, experts and assessors, and thus reduce and avoid duplication of audit processes.
Calibration, measurement and accurate testing, performed to help reduce errors, improve production cost control and contribute to innovation.
The accreditation opens up new business opportunities and horizons, and stimulates investment in the conformity assessment sector and opens up new markets.
International recognition of conformity assessment reports covered by the accreditation promotes business expansion in foreign markets without the need for additional verifications.
Accredited certificates guarantee compliance with official standards and regulations, meaning that companies do not need to provide additional evidence
enhances consumer safety through product certification that provides confidence and credibility to the consumer as it is issued by approved conformity assessment bodies.
Accreditation enhances consumers' confidence in the services and products they receive knowing that they have been regularly evaluated and examined by a competent and independent third party.
The Saudi Accreditation Center (SAC) is keen to enhance the Kingdom’s international position in the quality infrastructure system. Among the most important international organizations with which SAC is keen to build a mutual cooperation relationship are:
The International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) is a group of accreditation bodies that operate in accordance with the international standard ISO/IEC 17011. The organization manages mutual recognition agreements in the following areas:
This organization is concerned with the development of accreditation activities in the Asia Pacific region through the management and expansion of mutual recognition agreements between accreditation bodies representing the economies of their countries, and it has been internationally recognized from the two organizations ILAC and IAF.
The Arab Accreditation Cooperation (ARAC) is one of the most important pillars of support for quality infrastructure in the Arab countries. It is the Arab Accreditation Cooperation for the planning, development and coordination of accreditation infrastructure in Arab countries in order to support trade exchange between Arab countries and abroad, strengthen competitiveness and provide reliability in Arab goods and services, in addition to protecting health and safety of the public and the environment. It has been internationally recognized by the two organizations ILAC and IAF since 2016.
The International Accreditation Forum (IAF) is an international association of accreditation bodies operating in accordance with the international standard ISO/IEC 17011. The organization administers international mutual recognition agreements in the following areas:
An independent, international organization established in 2016. It is a comprises the relevant national accreditation bodies in the Halal fields, and aims at build a solid foundation for global trade, industry, management and coordination of accreditation activity in this vital field.
The Accreditation Council is the body that carries out activities contributing to the development of necessary mechanisms for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries. The Council is responsible for supporting actions aimed at establishing a sound system of accreditation across the OIC and raising awareness of the concept of accreditation within the member states.