General Information
Applicable Cgcre documents
Orquestra System
Operational Flow Steps
Maintenance of Accreditation
Accreditation Extension
Changes in the Accreditation
Extraordinary Assessments
Technical Visit
Suspension, Reduction and Withdrawal of the Accreditation

General Information

The accreditation of Inspection Bodies is conducted according to the requirements established in the standard ISO/IEC 17020:1998 and NIT-DIOIS-008.

Cgcre accredits bodies which conduct inspections in the areas below:

- Vehicle Safety (OIA-SV) - Assessment of road motor or towed vehicles by means of visual, mechanized and automated inspection, aiming to prove the compliance with the safety and environmental requirements established by Conmetro, Inmetro, Contran and Denatran. The specific criteria for the accreditation of vehicle safety inspection bodies are described in NIT-DIOIS-002.

Accredited inspection bodies in the area of vehicle safety shall comply with the existing legislations regarding the process of vehicle safety inspection, available at the following web sites: www.inmetro.gov.br/qualidade and www.denatran.gov.br.

- Road Equipment for Transportation of Dangerous Products (OIA-PP) – Assessment and conformity attestation of road equipment that transports bulk dangerous products, based on the technical regulations related to Inmetro, Brazilian Ministry of Transportation, ANP (Brazilian Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas & Biofuels) and ANTT (Brazilian Agency for Overland Transport). The inspections are carried out at inspection places licensed by Cgcre. The specific criteria for the accreditation of inspection bodies of road equipment for transportation of dangerous products are described in NIT-DIOIS-004.

- Road Vehicles for Transportation of Dangerous Products (OIVA) – Assessment and conformity attestation of road vehicles used in the transportation of dangerous products, based on the technical regulations related to Inmetro, Brazilian Ministry of Transportation, ANP (Brazilian Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas & Biofuels), ANTT (Brazilian Agency for Overland Transport), Contran (Brazilian National Traffic Council), Denatran (Brazilian Traffic Department), Ibama (Brazilian Institute for the Environment & Renewable Natural Resources) and Conama (Brazilian Environmental Council). The specific criteria for the accreditation of inspection bodies of road vehicles for transportation of dangerous products are described in NIT-DIOIS-005.

- Non-Destructive Testing (OIA-END) – Evaluation of homogeneity and structural integrity of materials and equipment through testing that does not compromise subsequent use, such as: testing by radiography, magnetic particles, ultrasound, etc. The specific criteria for the accreditation of inspection bodies performing non-destructive testing are described in NIT-DIOIS-003.

- Electrical Installations (OIA-IE) – Assessment of a new installation, expansion or reform of an existing installation through document review, visual inspection and tests, with the purpose of proving the conformity with the requirements of ABNT NBR 5410:2004. The specific criteria for the accreditation of electrical installation inspection bodies are described in NIT-DIOIS-011.

- Products – Assessment of a product through visual or mechanized inspection, and/or tests, with the purpose of proving the compliance with related normative requirements. The specific criteria for the accreditation of product inspection bodies are described in NIT-DIOIS-009.

- Energy Efficiency of Commercial, Service and Public Buildings (OIA-EE) – Process of evaluation of a project or building aiming at proving its conformity to the requirements of RTQ-C (Quality Technical Regulation) and RAC-C (Conformity Assessment Regulation). The purpose of this process is to issue an Energy Conservation National Label (Etiqueta Nacional de Conservação de Energia, ENCE in Portuguese), attesting the level of energy efficiency of the project or building. The specific criteria for the accreditation of inspection bodies for Energy Efficiency of Commercial, Service and Public Buildings are described in NIT-DIOIS-012.

When the organization has more than one permanent facility, in different addresses, each of these facilities is individually accredited. In the specific case of inspection bodies of road equipment for transportation of dangerous products, a sole accreditation is conducted, irrespective of the number of body's inspection places.

Applicable Cgcre Documents

Cgcre establishes normative documents (NIE-CGCRE, NIT-DIOIS), which also comprise requirements for accreditation, and the conformity of the body to these requirements is evaluated in all accreditation steps.

Documentos Normativos e Documentos Orientativos

Orquestra System

The General Coordination for Accreditation (Cgcre) of Inmetro is using a new management system of accreditation activities, called ORQUESTRA, whose web page is http://orquestra.inmetro.gov.br/workbase/wlogin.aspx?.

The system is based on the Business Process Management (BPM) methodology which provides automation, better management and optimization of the accreditation process, besides allowing bodies and/or laboratories already accredited, or whose accreditation is in process, easy access to their processes of granting or extending accreditation.
With the implementation of this tool, all applications for granting or extending accreditation shall be made, from now on, through the ORQUESTRA System.

Manual for ORQUESTRA system

Operational Flow Steps

Deadlines established by Cgcre:

The standard NIT-DIOIS-006 establishes the deadlines for all steps in the process.

Accreditation Application

A login and a password for access to the “ORQUESTRA” system, whose address is http://orquestra.inmetro.gov.br/workbase/wlogin.aspx?, shall be requested to Diois, by e-mail oi@inmetro.gov.br. This system provides automation, better management and optimization of accreditation processes, besides allowing inspection bodies easy access to information about their processes of granting or extending accreditation.

The password shall be changed in the following way: click on the icon “configurações pessoais” (personal settings), to fill the field “senha” (password) and click on atualizar (update).

After accessing the "ORQUESTRA" system, the user must click on “Fluxos que Posso Iniciar (Flows I can begin)” and “Diois – Processo de Acreditação (Accreditation Process)” and fill in task T1, which is the electronic application form.

The supplementary documents shall also be sent in hard copy, to Diois, in the address: Rua Santa Alexandrina, 416, 7º andar, CEP: 20.261-232, Rio Comprido – RJ – Brazil.
The body shall submit all the required documents. If any document is missing or inadequate, a deadline of 30 (thirty) days is allowed for completing the documentation. The failure in sending the complete documentation results in the non-acceptance of the application and the return of the documentation.

Application Review

A review is conducted to ensure that Cgcre has the resources necessary for the immediate start of the assessment process. If not, the body is notified and kept informed on actions taken by Cgcre to answer the application.

Designation of the Assessment Team

For assessment of Inspection Bodies, Cgcre has a list of assessors and experts trained and qualified by Cgcre for this activity. These professionals linked to Inmetro or other organizations are specialized in different activity areas.

The assessment team is defined in terms of the applied scope and the availability of the assessor/expert to conduct the job. It is subjected to approval by the body, which has the right to object the appointment of assessors/experts, upon justification included in the "mensagens (messages)" field in the ORQUESTRA System, describing the reasons for the objection, such as, conflict of interests.

Document Review

The assessment team reviews all the documentation sent, based on the requirements established by Cgcre, and records the found non-conformities in a report that is sent to the accreditation applicant for the implementation of corrective actions. Following the implementation, the applicant shall register in the "ORQUESTRA” system, in the appropriate task, that the applicant is ready to receive the assessment visit.

In this step, supplementary documents may be requested to the body in order to clarify details and/or assist the team in the preparation for the assessment visit.

Initial Assessment

The initial assessment is a visit of the assessment team to the facilities subject of the accreditation application and to the associated facilities, which the body is subordinated to, in order to check, by means of objective evidences:

a) the implementation of the management system established in the Quality Manual and associated documentation, which shall meet accreditation requirements;
b) the technical competence of the inspection body to perform the services for which the accreditation was applied for.

The duration of an initial assessment varies, usually from 02 to 05 days, and the assessment program is established according to the applied scope, the types of facilities to be visited and the complexity of the management system of the body or organization.

All documents and records regarding the inspection body management system and services for which the inspection body is applying for accreditation shall be available for the assessment team.

The body shall be prepared to perform the inspections, for which it is applying for accreditation, during the assessment, as defined in the assessment program, including the conduction of services in the facilities subject of the accreditation application. For services at client facilities, the inspection body must schedule such services in advance to visits.

During the assessment, the technical management, the quality manager, their substitutes, and the authorized signatories to be assessed shall be available.
Other sectors of the organization that are involved in the body activities shall also be available.

During the assessment, each member of the assessment team is assisted by a representative indicated by the body, who has the knowledge about the activities that are being assessed and is able to confirm the evidences found by the assessment team.
At the end of the assessment, a meeting between the assessment team, the top management, technical management and quality manager is held, in which the assessment result is presented.

The result of the assessment is recorded in an Assessment Report and a copy of such report is delivered to the body by the end of the assessment process. The evidence of implementation of corrective actions may be documentary or by means of an extraordinary assessment, depending on the nonconformity.

In exceptional cases where the body is unable to implement certain corrective actions that affect only a specific part of the accreditation scope, the body may choose to reduce part of the scope from its application.

Accreditation Decision

The decision on granting the accreditation is taken by the Coordinator of Cgcre, based on the recommendations of the assessment team, the AM, the Head of Sector and the Accreditation Commission.

Accreditation Formalization

The formalization happens by means of a letter sent to the body, along with the Accreditation Certificate and the Annex containing the Accreditation Scopes, issued by Cgcre. The Accreditation Symbol is also sent. As of the accreditation granting, it is provided the insertion of the body in the catalog of accredited bodies available on the Internet at http://www.inmetro.gov.br/organismos.

Maintenance of Accreditation

With the purpose of verifying whether the body is still complying with the accreditation requirements, including Cgcre’s normative documents, periodical surveillance assessments are conducted.

If nonconformities are found during the surveillances, the corrections and corrective actions are agreed with the body, and the need of an extraordinary assessment to evidence their implementation is evaluated.

The result of these assessments may result in change of the accreditation scope, including partial or full suspension, reduction or withdrawal of accreditation.

Accreditation Extension

The body can request extension when it wishes to include a new scope to the list of accredited scopes.

The accreditation extension shall be requested via Orquestra system and is similar to the accreditation process. It can be included, by means of previous consultation to Diois, in a surveillance assessment.

Changes in the Accreditation

In the case of changes in accreditation, the Inspection Body shall immediately inform Diois, as set forth by NIT-DIOIS-001.

Extraordinary Assessments

Extraordinary assessments may occur in the following cases:

a) Checking implementation and/or effectiveness of corrective actions related to equipment, facilities and staff;
b) Assessment of changes in accreditation;
c) Removal of suspension of the Inspection Body, after conducting a full assessment.

Note: The requirements to be assessed depend on the nature of the extraordinary assessment.

Technical Visit

The Inspection Body, during the period in which it is accredited, can receive, at any time, a technical visit of Inmetro’s assessors.

The conduction of a technical visit can only be made by means of Cgcre General Coordinator’s authorization, formalized in an official letter delivered to the Inspection Body, when conducting the technical visit.

The technical visits are conducted with the purpose of investigating accusations and complaints or to verify aspects inherent to the inspections carried out by Inspection Bodies.

There are no costs for the Body derived from these assessments

Suspension, Reduction and Withdrawal of the Accreditation

• Upon Cgcre decision:

The accreditation of an Inspection Body may be suspended, partially or totally, withdrawn or have its scope reduced, upon decision by Cgcre, when the Inspection Body fails to comply with the accreditation requirements and the normative documents established by Cgcre and available at Cgcre's web site.

The suspension of accreditation may be preceded by a warning to the accredited Inspection Body.

The suspension of accreditation of a Body can also occur when:

1) the deadline for the closing of all non-conformities found during the assessment (60 days) has been finished or a Non-conformity (RNC) type C has been opened, and
2) the deadline of 15 days, allowed by an Administrative Process to close the non-conformities, has elapsed or corrective actions sent after the opening of this Administrative Process have not been accepted by the assessment team as sufficient for the closing of the non-conformities.

The removal of the suspension will only occur after the closing of all non-conformities and the conduction of a full extraordinary assessment.

• Upon request of the accredited Inspection Body:

The Inspection Body may, at any time, request partial or total suspension of accreditation, the reduction of its scope and withdrawal of accreditation by opening a process in the Orquestra system.

The interruption of the voluntary suspension shall be requested by the Inspection Body to the AM, so that the need for document review and/or extraordinary assessment is evaluated.

To resume reduced scope, a new scope extension shall be requested.

After the withdrawal, the Inspection Body will only be able to resume its activities if it undergoes all the accreditation granting process again.

In order to get the documents in English, please send an email to smsaraiva@inmetro.gov.br.