What are accreditation and a notified body?
The accreditation process ensures that certification practices are acceptable, which means a certifier is competent to test and certify third parties, behaves ethically and employs suitable quality assurance. Accreditation is provided by a so-called accreditation body, which is put in place by the government of a certain country. Kiwa has been accredited by various accreditation bodies for a wide variety of certification processes in many countries.
Kiwa is also a Notified Body, or NoBo. In the European Union, a NoBo is a third-party entity that has been accredited by a Member State to assess whether a product to be placed on the market meets certain standards. Conformity assessment can include inspection and examination of a product, its design, and the manufacturing environment and processes associated with it.