What Are IAF, SIC & NACE Codes?

[Internet-101]

Could somebody tell me what does SIC & NACE mean in QS-9000 please?

Thanks

Smile is good for your health!

acronyms for:

Standard Industrial Classification: A code number representing certain types of industries and company types.

National Association of Corrosion Engineers: A international set of standards pertaining to corrosive materials and how they affect other material.

[gpainter]

Supposedly the SIC codes are going to be done away with and replaced by the IAF codes, which are 2 digit. Our ISO 9002 certificate has the IAF code on it. IAF (I believe) stands for International Accreditation Forum.

[Graeme]

SIC codes are now "officially" obsolete, even though many. many people know what they are and still use them. The US government replaced them with NAICS codes in 1997, which most people don't know about and don't understand. To quote from the Census Bureau web page ...

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) has replaced the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. ...

NAICS was developed jointly by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to provide new comparability in statistics about business activity across North America.

(found at http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html)

I asked RAB about this in April 2000. Here are some excerpts from that correspondence ...

"NACE stands for Nomenclature des Activites Economiques (common statistical classification of economic activities in Europe). ...

Before the end of 1998, the Registrar Accreditation Board (RAB) used the US SIC code system in granting the scope of accreditation to its accredited registrars. Since the US SIC code system was being replaced by NAICS, RAB needed to make a change. We considered adopting the NAICS system, but instead aligned with a NACE based system so that our processes would be compatible with other accreditation bodies around the world. These bodies, including RAB, have formed the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). IAF adopted the NACE system for registrar scope categories. RAB has also added a 40th category for medical devices.

Our web site at www.rabnet.com or specifically http://www.rabnet.com/content/advisory/advis15.htm
provides a full listing of the IAF scope categories. ... "

As with the SIC coes, the NACE list was designed by a committee and has a category for every type of industry except the one "I" am in.

Of course, there are several other possibilities

• National Association of Corrosion Engineers (mentioned above by Al)
• National Association of County Engineers
• National Autobody Congress and Exposition

[SteelMaiden]

Or as one of my auditors documented in a follow-up assessment of and internal corrective action request:

NACE: "Nobody Actually Corrected Anything"

[Marc]

How does the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) codes fit into this scheme? Or does it? http://www.iaf.nu/

Does anyone have a complete list of their 'Codes'?

I have this but I believe it's a partial listing.

Comparison of IAF Accreditation Code to United States SIC Code
The chart below identifies the relationship between the IAF Accreditation Code and the United States SIC Code.
Comparison of IAF Accreditation Code to United States SIC Code

<pre>The chart below identifies the relationship between the IAF Accreditation Code and the United States SIC Code.
IAF Number Description US SIC
1 Agriculture, fishing 01, 02, 07, 08, 09
2 Mining and Quarrying 10,13,14
3 Food products, beverages and tobacco 20,21
4 Textiles and textile products 22,23
5 Leather and Leather products 31
6 Wood and wood products 24
7 Pulp, Paper and paper products 26
8 Publishing companies 27
9 Printing companies 27
10 Manuf. of coke and refined petro. products 29
11 Nuclear fuel -
12 Che micals, chemical products and fibers 28
13 Pharmaceuticals 28
14 Rubber and plastic products 30
15 Non-metallic mineral products 32
16 Concrete, cement, lime, plaster, etc. 32
17 Basic metals and fabricated metal products 33, 34
18 Machinery and equipment 35
19 Electrical and optical equipment 36
20 Shipbuilding 37
21 Aerospace 37
22 Other transport equipment 37
23 Manufacturing not elsewhere classified 39
24 Recycling 95
25 Electricity Supply 49
26 Gas Supply 49
27 Water Supply 49
28 Construction ` 15, 16, 17
29 Wholesale and retail trade: Repair of motor
vehicles, motorcycles and personal and
household goods 50-59
30 Hotels and restaurants 54, 70
31 Transport, storage and communication 40-48
32 Financial intermediation; real estate; renting 60-67
33 Information Technology 35
34 Engineering services 87
35 Other Services 72-89 minus 87
36 Public administration 91-97
37 Education 82
38 Health and social work 94</pre>

[gpainter]

According to what I was told by an NSF Rep is the IAF codes are more international and will replace tha SIC codes. For an updated list includind specific breakdowns go to www.rabnet.com/qr_tips.shtml Just to add our certificate of registratio has our 3 codes
IAF 14
SIC 3089
NACE DH 25.2

[Marc]

Does anyone know if SIC codes are actually being phased out and if so what the status is?