SMQS

Our Commitment to ISO/IEC 17024:2003

SM-S offers the only Service Management-specific personal accreditation certificate program approved as a preliminary applicant for accreditation by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ISO/IEC 17024:2003 (ISO 17024) specifies requirements for a body certifying persons against specific requirements, including the development and maintenance of a certification scheme for personnel.

The SM-S believes that the formal processes surrounding the ANSI accreditation process and the actions we must take to meet ISO 17024 requirements will help us produce the best possible certification program. As such, we are committed to taking any actions required to obtain our ANSI accreditation and ongoingly demonstrate our compliance with the provisions of ISO 17024.

Demonstrating ISO 17024 Compliance

In order to demonstrate our ongoing compliance with ISO 17024, at a minimum, SM-S will ensure that:

1. Generally, we will:

  • Ensure that all of our policies and procedures are fair and equitable for all candidates, as well as comply with all applicable regulations and statutory requirements;
  • Define appropriate policies and procedures for operating our certifications;
  • Ensure that only matters related to a certification are considered as part of the scope of that certification.

2. As an organization, we will:

  • Adopt appropriate structures and conduct our affairs so as to give confidence to our stakeholders of our competence, impartiality and integrity. We will do this by:
    • Being independent and impartial in relation to its applicants, candidates and certified persons, including their employers and their customers;
    • Taking all possible steps to assure ethical operations;
    • Have a documented structure which safeguards impartiality including provisions to assure the impartiality of the operations of the certification body;
  • Appoint a committee to be responsible for the development and maintenance of the certification scheme that fairly and equitably represents the interests of all parties significantly concerned with the certification scheme, without any particular interest predominating;
  • Not offer or provide, or aid others in the preparation of training services;
  • Ensure that decisions on certification of a candidate shall be made solely on the basis of the information gathered during the certification process;
  • Define a proactive surveillance process to monitor certificants’ compliance with relevant provisions of the certification scheme;
  • Establish procedures and conditions for the maintenance of certification in accordance with the certification scheme;
  • Define recertification requirements according to the competence standard and other relevant documents, to ensure that the certified person continues to comply with the current certification requirements;
  • Establish procedures to identify and manage the proper use and representation of logos and marks.

3. In developing and maintaining the certification scheme, we will:

  • Define the methods and mechanisms to be used to evaluate the competence of candidates, as well as for the development and maintenance of these methods and mechanisms;
  • Establish credentials in response to specific requirements or a demonstrated market need;
  • Consult interested parties on the scope of certification when proposing a certification scheme;
  • Conduct a job/practice analysis periodically (at least every five years) to produce or confirm the relevance of the tasks covered, examination methods and intended outcomes.

4. In preparing and conducting examinations, we will:

  • Ensure that all examination mechanisms are preprared by those who have the proper knowledge of certifications, the relevant subject matter and their preparation;
  • Conform to the examination specification, are free from bias and are applied uniformly;
  • Define controls for rotation to maintain the objectivity and confidentiatlity of examiners.