Overview
EN ISO/IEC 17021-3:2018 (adoption of ISO/IEC 17021-3:2017) specifies additional competence requirements for personnel involved in audit and certification of quality management systems (QMS). It complements ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 by detailing the QMS-specific knowledge and skills required of auditors, audit teams, and other certification personnel. The document is primarily applicable to QMS audits based on ISO 9001, but can be used for other QMS applications.
Key Topics
- Scope and purpose
- Defines QMS-specific competence expectations that certification bodies must adopt in addition to ISO/IEC 17021-1 generic requirements.
- Generic competence requirements
- Certification bodies shall define competence for each certification function, taking into account ISO/IEC 17021-1 and clauses in this part.
- Competence of QMS auditors and audit teams
- Audit teams must have the collective competence to achieve audit objectives; individual members need not each have the full set of competencies.
- Fundamental concepts & quality management principles (audit-level knowledge)
- Understanding of quality management principles, terms, process approach, PDCA, leadership role, risk-based thinking, documented information structures, and quality tools and techniques.
- Context of the organization
- Knowledge to evaluate identification of external/internal issues, interested parties’ needs, and the scope/boundaries of the QMS.
- Client products, services and processes
- Familiarity with client-specific terminology, technology and processes relevant to audit scope.
- Other personnel
- Competence requirements also cover personnel who review audit reports and make certification decisions.
- Annex A
- Provides a summary list of knowledge topics for QMS auditing and certification.
Applications
- Who uses it
- Certification bodies, accreditation bodies, QMS auditors, audit team leaders, technical experts, and organizations preparing for QMS certification.
- Practical uses
- Establishing auditor qualification matrices and training programs.
- Defining competency profiles for recruitment and competency assessment.
- Guiding audit team composition for ISO 9001 certification engagements.
- Supporting accreditation assessments and internal quality assurance of certification processes.
- Benefits
- Improves audit consistency and credibility, ensures auditors can assess risk-based thinking and leadership impact, and aligns certification practices with current ISO 9001 requirements.
Related Standards
- ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 - Generic requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems.
- ISO 9001 - Quality management system requirements (basis for many QMS audits).
- ISO 9000 - Fundamentals and vocabulary for quality management systems.
Keywords: EN ISO/IEC 17021-3:2018, ISO/IEC 17021-3, competence requirements, QMS auditors, certification bodies, ISO 9001, audit teams, conformity assessment.
