ARISE Plus is assisting ASEAN Working Group 2 (WG 2) on Accreditation & Conformity Assessment to develop “Guidelines for Implementation of Harmonised Accreditation in ASEAN”. These guidelines will serve to strengthen cooperation & coordination between ASEAN National Accreditation Bodies and Focal Points. The adoption of the guidelines will facilitate the harmonisation of practices and processes and promote the use of 3rd party conformity assessment services in ASEAN resulting in a strengthened role of accreditation bodies.
Thirty two representatives of WG 2 and Member States accreditation bodies participated in the workshop.
Substantial progress was achieved during the workshop in refining the content with participants recommending that the guidelines should be focussed on implementation issues and the role and responsibilities of the ASEAN Consultative Committee on Standards and Quality and WG 2 as a central coordinating body for accreditation. This was seen as critical in meeting the implementation objectives.
These new guidelines supplement the existing ASEAN Guidelines for Accreditation and Conformity Assessments (2015). Upon adoption the new guideline provides a comprehensive set of recommendations for effective implementation of the policies contained in 2015 Guidelines both at Member State level and at the regional level.
WG 2 agreed to continue its deliberations and has aimed to finalise the guidelines by the 3rd quarter of 2022.