Complaint #004 - Accreditation Procedures

Details of Complaint:

Complaint regarding restrictions of SAI Accreditation Procedures: that SAI does not operate in a non-discriminatory manner.

Accreditation fees are prohibitive to developing countries and small certification bodies. Very few course providers offer training.

Actions Taken

December, 17, 2000: A non accredited certification firm filed a complaint with SAI , alleging that SAI does not operate in an impartial manner, discriminating against small certification bodies and those from developing countries. It asserted that the fee structure is too high for small-scale certification organizations and that the required training is not widely available.

SAI provided documentation of the relevant SAI and ISO procedures which it follows, requiring non-discrimination—as having one set of requirements applied to all applicants.

Training is offered by three course providers to date and have been conducted in 18 countries. Number of countries increases each year.

Subsequently, the SAI Advisory Board has addressed this problem by instituting a reduced fee structure for accreditation applicants, which only seek to conduct certifications in the same country as their headquarters. This was instituted in April 2001, and the one country fee is $2500.

Complaint closed January 2001.