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S-A-01:2002 - Authorization [revised 2005-01-10]

Authorization

The mission of Measurement Canada is to ensure equity and accuracy where goods and services are bought and sold on the basis of measurement, in order to contribute to a fair and competitive marketplace for Canadians. In carrying out this mission, Measurement Canada is mandated to maintain high public and business confidence in marketplace transactions based on measurement by administering and enforcing the Weights and Measures Act, the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act, and sharing responsibility for the enforcement of other federal legislation.

Measurement Canada fulfils its mission through the following activities:

a) establishment of measurement specifications;
b) maintenance and calibration of measurement standards;
c) pattern approval of new devices;
d) initial inspection of new devices (verification);
e) periodic inspection of in-service devices (re-verification);
f) inspection of installations; and
g) accreditation and registration of qualified organizations to perform inspections of approved devices.

Accreditation is a voluntary program that delegates authority to provide certain legislated services to private industry and public utilities.

The concept of accreditation for Measurement Canada began in 1979. In 1986, LMB-EG-05 - Criteria and Procedures for the Accreditation of Electricity and Gas Meter Verifier was issued. The Weights and Measures component of the accreditation program, Accreditation of Organizations to Perform Factory Initial Inspections Pursuant to the Weights and Measures Act, was issued in May 1995.

The harmonization of the two existing accreditation programs with the international standard ISO 9002:1994 resulted in the creation of Measurement Canada accreditation standard S-A-01, Criteria for Accreditation of Organizations to Perform Inspections Pursuant to the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act and the Weights and Measures Act, in July 1999.

The first revision to S-A-01, which became S-A-01:2002, further expanded the use of international standards by including references to ISO 9001:2000 and ISO/IEC 17025:1999. Measurement Canada wishes to acknowledge the use of these well recognized documents in the development of its accreditation standard. The revised standard also incorporated requirements, policies and clarifications previously issued in the form of accreditation bulletins, in order to reduce the number of individual documents that contain accreditation requirements. No new requirements were included in S-A-01:2002.

In April of 2002, Measurement Canada opened the accreditation program to its North America Free Trade Agreement partners (NAFTA).

This revision to S-A-01:2002 does not contain any changes to the quality management system requirements of the standard. It provides clarifications; incorporates information previously provided through bulletins; introduces updated terminology and definitions in order to harmonize the accreditation program with the registration program; and corrects editorial and formatting errors.

For organizations seeking accreditation for inspections under the Weights and Measures Act, the May 2004 revision contains some enhancements to the requirements. These enhancements address areas such as the eligibility of organizations and recognized technicians, and the manner in which the accreditation program scope is defined. For organizations accredited prior to the issuance of this revision, appropriate time will be permitted to adjust to the changes in the requirements.

This accreditation standard applies as of the date of issue and supersedes all other previously issued accreditation documents except where otherwise noted by Measurement Canada.

This standard is issued:

• pursuant to section 10 of the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act and Part V of the Regulations established thereto, and

• pursuant to section 7 of the Department of Industry Act, which gives the Minister the authority to designate inspectors to carry out inspections under the Weights and Measures Act.