Inspection is an essential part of ensuring the operational safety of many items that the public use in their daily lives. Safety of food is a prime example, as are cranes, boilers and pressure vessels used in the workplace. The competency of inspection services employed by central and local government and other organisations to ensure regulatory requirements are being met for these and other devices is assured by IANZ accreditation.

Types of Inspection Bodies
The various types of inspection bodies accredited or assessed by IANZ include:

Mechanical

• Meat, dairy, sea foods and other animal products
• Food Safety Programmes
• Drinking water
• Organic foods

• Building Consent Authorities

About inspection body accreditation
Inspection is the examination of a product design, product, service, process or plant; and determining their conformity with specific requirements. Many types of inspection also involve professional judgement for conformance against standards and general requirements. In such cases, the inspection body must demonstrate that it has the necessary competence to perform the task to achieve IANZ accreditation.

There is a close relationship between inspection, testing and measurement. Inspection involves examinations by qualified personnel using techniques including:

Accreditation Criteria
General
Inspection Bodies are accredited by IANZ when they comply with the IANZ General Criteria: Requirements for Inspection Body Accreditation in New Zealand, incorporating AS/NZS ISO/IEC 17020 General Requirement for the Operation of Various Types of Bodies Performing Inspection and interpretations.

Assessment Criteria
Accreditation provides formal recognition that an inspection service is capable of meeting standards of quality, performance, technical expertise, competence and professional judgement.

In assessing an inspection body, IANZ gives consideration to: