Accreditation and certifications. Economic value and social benefits

In a scenario of profound evolution, characterized by rising complexity and new social needs, to study the Quality Infrastructure and evaluate its benefits – both economic and other – provides a good opportunity to reflect upon many of the challenges the country faces and which regard the competitiveness and organization of the chains, the new technologies, safety/security and environmental sustainability.

We speak about Quality Infrastructure because there are many actors involved who ensure that it functions: national institutions, national standardization bodies, national metrology institutes, national accreditation bodies and accredited conformity assessment bodies (CABs). The last of these categories includes certification, inspection, verification and validation bodies as well as testing laboratories and calibration laboratories, covering a central role in the system by means of conformity assessment activities. It is a complex but efficient structure, operating in a successful cooperation with public and private structures (standardization bodies and accreditation bodies operate on a not-for-profit basis).