Introduction to ISO 17021 and Requirements and Objectives of Lead Auditor Training

Author: Punyam Academy

ISO / IEC 17021 is the standard that was created to evaluate certification bodies to ensure that they are competent and that they suit all types of management systems. These bodies are commonly called Certification Bodies (CBs) or Registrars. The new version of ISO/IEC 17021 was released in 2015. The standard helps the CB to be impartial and to promise that the results of their audit findings are consistent.

In fact, the original ISO/IEC 17021 was published in 2006. In the year 2015, a new version of ISO / IEC 17021 has been released. The standard can guarantee that certification bodies will be biased and comply with the findings of their audit data. According to this first publication, two years after the first date of publication, accredited IAF MLA Management System certification bodies have been given compliance with the standard. In 2011, there was an amendment that focused on eligibility, and all certification bodies were given two years to conform to the new ISO 17021 standard.

The ISO 17021 standards are used by accreditation bodies (ABs) to assess the processes that certification bodies (CBs) have in place to ensure that they are impartial and the results of their assessments are consistent.

These changes in ISO 17021-1 include new requirements related to:

  • Addressing nonconformities and verification of corrective action
  • Timing of re-certification audits and the gathering of more information when a certificate is transferred to a different certification body
  • Taking into account shift work when performing audits
  • On-site auditing requirements when a registrar is providing certification to multiple management systems

Why should you Accredited to this standard?

To help achieve this in the field of compatibility assessment, ISO/IEC 17021-1 sets out the requirements of audit and certification bodies. It is not specific to any specific market, applies to SMEs and large companies, both public and private sector, and covers quality, environment and other management systems.

There are several ISO 17021 Auditor Training Online Courses are available in the market to get awareness about the system and understands it auditing requirements. Punyam Academy is one of the Exemplar Global recognized training provider, which offer such online course on ISO/IEC 17021 lead auditor training that provide you knowledge with certification.

ISO 17021-1:2015 Lead Auditor Training Objectives

  • Familiarize yourself with ISO 17021-1:2015 requirements clauses and sub-clauses.
  • Get an overview of ISO 17021-1:2015 and the benefits to implement it.
  • Understand General and structural requirements of ISO 17021-1:2015 standard.
  • Understand documentation and list of procedures and records and to check them as lead auditor.
  • Get the knowledge of lead auditing and use of audit checklist.
  • Understand the processes involved in auditing.
  • Know about the types of auditing and questioning techniques.
  • Understand how to prepare and maintain lead audit records.
  • Get the ready-to-use lead audit checklist with clause-wise questions to perform an effective audit.
  • Understand the new concepts of impartiality, risk management, and process approach.
  • Helpful for the participant to work as an internal audit in MSCB or to work as an auditor of the accreditation body.