International membership
Currently SCCAB is not a member of any international accreditation organizations, but SCCAB is in the planning phase to obtain memberships with the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), and the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA).
What is the MLA?
The Multilateral Agreement (MLA) is an agreement between accreditation boards that recognizes the equivalence and reliability of accreditations and accredited conformity assessment results from the signatory regions.
The key prerequisite for receiving MLA status for an accreditation body is a successful assessment as part of the accreditation board's peer evaluation process.
This process also determines the areas to which the MLA applies. At the global level, the MLA is recognized by IAF and ILAC. This means that test and inspection reports, calibration certificates, or certificates from bodies with accreditation from a recognized MLA signatory are also accepted as equivalent by the signatories to the multilateral IAF MLA and ILAC MRA agreements.
Mutual recognition of accreditation
A key objective of the international accreditation network is the mutual recognition of the services and results of accredited bodies in order to prevent technical barriers to trade and multiple accreditations.
This is made possible by multilateral agreements and treaties (MRA or MLA) between national accreditation bodies and international accreditation organizations. It creates both national and international recognition that, for example, each laboratory accredited by SCCAB is able to conduct certain testing or calibrations in a competent manner.