IRCA withdrawing from Aerospace Auditor Approval

J

Joy

Now,it is final.IRCA is stopping its role as AAB for aerospace auditor from 2nd November 2012 as per a notification issued during last week. New approvals are already stopped.

Though the notification claims that there is no risk for auditors who are already approved and a new organization will take over,still you cannot transfer your approval to other AABs (at least RABQSA). Earlier transfers were possible. RABQSA is asking for fresh application and that means IRCA approved auditors are not recognized by RABQSA though they are listed in OASIS.

Loss of quality control over AAB!!!!:eek:
 
J

Jeff Frost

Joy,

It was previously posted by a member of Elsmer about AS91XX ICOP changes to take place in March 2013. If you have more current information please post a link to this information as I could not find an announcement about this in the news section of IRCA website.
 
J

Joy

Here is the communication from IRCA. Check the attachment.

Administrator note: File removed. It is damaged and will not open.
 
M

Max Linnemann

Dear Joy,
My name is Max Linnemann. I am the Certification Manager at IRCA.
You are correct in stating that IRCA will no longer continue to accept any applications for renewal or regrade for the ICOP scheme (for OASIS registration) after the 2nd November 2012, and will be handing over the management of the scheme to the new AAB - APMG. Currently IRCA is not accepting new applications (for Initial Certification).

There is no risk to currently registered applicants, as we will transfer all registration details and data in a secure fashion. We have advised any auditor registered on OASIS that do not wish for their data to be transferred to contact us to let us know. IRCA will continue to accept application for renewal/regrade up to the 2nd November. Any applications that are "in progress" after the 2nd November, will be handled by IRCA and finalised, before being handed over to the new AAB. This will again ensure that everything is clear with the auditors applying. Note: if you are registered on OASIS through IRCA and your certification expires before 31st Jan 2013, you need to get your application for renewal into IRCA as soon as possible. Ideally, well before the 2nd November).

You mentioned that currently it is impossible to transfer your AAB to another one (eg RABQSA). Until recently, IRCA were still taking applications for transfer, however as we are exiting the scheme, it makes no sense to continue, so we are not presently accepting any more. We have been advised by CBMC that auditors should be registered with their regional AAB. However, this does not mean that there should not be the potential for transfer - as individuals could move, meaning that it would be appropriate for them to transfer. Further, whether/how much the certification being transferred is taken at face value is something that the IAQG/scheme owners should make clear. If RAB are no longer allowing transfers, it would be good if someone in the know could post why - as IRCA does not know, and so cannot advise on this.

I hope this has been helpful. If anyone wants information relating to their OASIS registration with IRCA and the passing of data to the new AAB ? please feel free to get in touch.

Best regards,

Max
 
J

Joy

Hi Max,

Thanks for your clarifications in this great forum as many will benefit from this.

I would like to thank sincerely for the services you provided. Only on last occasion the card validity was wrongly printed. However, it was replaced when I raised this issue. Initially, I was approved by RABQSA in AIEA grade.I tried to get the auditor authentication card for two and half years. As I did not get the card and did not receive the invoices in a timely manner, I decided for a transfer. Since then I am approved by IRCA and never faced any problem with card renewal, invoices or reminders.

As the new organization would not be popularly known through out the world, I thought to go back to RABQSA and requested for transfer. However, I was advised to apply fresh to them even though I was originally approved by them.

I understand that you are still continuing to be auditor registration body for other systems and leaving the responsibility for aerospace (IAQG, OASIS based) only. Will it be possible for you to give us some idea why IRCA decided to come out of this responsibility only?

I believe that IRCA is in this field from the early days of auditor and auditor training approval.We,those who are approved by you have expected you to continue.
 
M

Max Linnemann

Hi Joy,

Yes IRCA will continue to operate its own aerospace auditor certification scheme. This is not mandatory for 3rd party certification audits, and will not result in OASIS registration. However, it will be available to a wider audience as the scheme requirements are broader. There are many that conduct 2nd party audits and 1st party audits for their organisations that would not meet the requirements of the ICOP scheme (for OASIS). The IRCA scheme is an opportunity for these auditors to gain professional recognition for their skills. The IRCA scheme is of course, still a good credential for auditors that conduct 3rd party audits.

Why did we decide to exit the ICOP scheme? There were several reasons, but I will summarise by saying that the scheme no longer 'fitted' with IRCA.

I should be clear that it was IRCAs decision to cease to administer the scheme, and not the other way around. IRCA is still the largest MS auditor certification body in the world and we are doing a lot of work presently to improve IRCA and deliver more to our clients - the auditors around the world, and the training organisations that we certify.

Check out our technical briefing notes on our website, and also check out our new auditor certification criteria that are being released on November the 19th. There are some significant changes. Details in relation to this can be found in our e-zine "Inform" - see the website too.

That's all from me for now.

Best regards,
Max
 
B

Boingo-boingo

Why did we decide to exit the ICOP scheme? There were several reasons, but I will summarise by saying that the scheme no longer 'fitted' with IRCA.
The following letter was conveyed via OASIS, earlier today:
Date: 10th May 2013
To: Certification Bodies (CB)
cc: Auditor Authentication Bodies (AAB) and Accreditation Bodies (AB)

You are receiving this email as you are associated with a Certification Body (CB) in IAQG OASIS (http://www.iaqg.org/oasis).

Subject: UK CBMC Review of IRCA AQMS Auditor Authentications

As you may be aware, the UK Certification Body Management Committee (CBMC) has been reviewing the authentication records of every AQMS Auditor authenticated through the UK implementation of the Industry Controlled Other Party (ICOP) scheme by IRCA. The reason for this review directly relates to improving global confidence in the ICOP certification scheme and verification of conformance to established criteria.

The review has considered the authentication record of every AQMS Auditor authenticated by IRCA on behalf of the UK CBMC by examining all AQMS authentication records from the past 6 years of authentication activity. In order to ensure conformance to the established authentication criteria 19 of the approximately 230 authentication files reviewed required further action to be taken by the UK CBMC.

A variety of decisions have been made based on the determined situation of each individual auditor. In some cases this may mean a change of grade from AEA to AA for one or more authentication standards. For others it may mean that their authentication for one or more standards is withdrawn The AQMS auditors affected have been written to individually and instructed to advise any CB?s they are working with of the change to their authentication
status. All the affected AQMS auditors have been given the opportunity to appeal the decision by providing additional evidence that may not have been available previously.

The authentication decisions made by the UK CBMC will not be put into force in OASIS until 31st May 2013 to give the auditors chance to advise their employing or contracting CB?s of the situation and for those CB?s to implement alternative arrangements for future audits. It is recommended that CB?s review the OASIS database after 31st May 2013 for the authentication status for any of their auditors previous authenticated by IRCA before
assigning them to any AQMS audit. I wish to assure you that no existing AQMS certification or AQMS audit that has been completed before the 31st May 2013 will be affected by these decisions.

As quality professionals we must all continually strive to ensure conformance is maintained and effectiveness improved. I hope that you will understand that the actions we have taken are necessary to assure the continued conformity and credibility of the ICOP scheme.

Yours sincerely,
Pete Cracknell, Chairman of the UK CBMC
 

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