Documentation Review

Documentation Review

Before the on-site assessment of your organisation, manuals and supporting documents making up the technical and quality systems will be comprehensively reviewed by us to ensure compliance with the relevant general criteria (the standards), the relevant specific criteria and other criteria as detailed in this section. Prior to or during on-site assessment, you will be notified of any significant changes needed to the documents.
  1. The objective of QAC assessments is to confirm that your organisations is actually doing what its manuals say it will do and that it meets good practice for that discipline. During its on-site visit, the assessment team will focus on the technical operations, the quality system, the competence of signatory applicants and key technical personnel, and on the methods used. The team may wish to witness audits relevant to the scope.
  2. The assessment begins with a meeting between the Assessment Team and the senior staff of your organisation. This opening meeting provides anopportunity for: - The timetable and scope of the assessment to be finalised, - A review of the Accreditation Questionnaire, - Resolution of any immediate queries that the assessors or staff may have.
  3. The assessment ends with an closing meeting where representatives of your organisation are given the summary of findings, including details of any areas of non-compliance that have been found and guidance on correcting them. All findings will be fully discussed before the Assessment Team leaves.

Within ten working days of the visit, your organisation will receive a comprehensive written report on the assessment findings, which were discussed at the closing meeting. The report will place the findings into two categories:
  1. Corrective Action Requests (CARs) are actions that your organisation must carry out before accreditation can be granted. CARs usually relate to non-compliance with the General or Specific Criteria.
  2. Recommendations are actions that your organisation is urged to carry out in the interests of good practice, but are not considered CARs.
  3. The QAC will grant accreditation, issue a Certificate of Accreditation and publish the name of your organisation, together with details of the scope of accreditation, in the QAC Directory, which can be viewed at any time at http://qacin.org/