The necessity for harmonisation of accreditation and recognition of testing laboratories, inspection bodies and certification bodies in the regulated and voluntary areas

 There have been two essential developments in current accreditation practices. One tends towards a flexible confirmation of competence of the testing laboratory for the adaptation of existing test methods and the development of new test methods. The other development attempts to assess and confirm the testing activity in terms of concrete processes for a specific application. These polarised tendencies, both in the preparatory work of the testing laboratory and in the assessment activity of the accreditation body, lead to increased costs. This paper examines the necessity for a harmonisation of these opposing sets of requirements by means of a categorised synopsis, citing actual examples. Efforts made to bring about such a harmonisation have, up to now, hardly progressed beyond first attempts and declarations of intention.