About the Committee:
Since 2002, IBP has been accredited by INMETRO’s General Accreditation Coordination (Cgcre/INMETRO) to act as a Product Certification Body (OCP) for the Equipment Inspection Specific Service, known by the acronym SPIE.
INMETRO requires the OCP/IBP to have a management system that considers the “Handling of Complaints and Appeals”.
The complaint and appeal handling process stipulates that an analysis and decision of this type must be made by a designated person or committee (who is not involved in the activity that is the subject of the Complaint).
If the Complaint concerns Impartiality, it should be directed to the Impartiality Committee (ComImp) of the OCP/IBP.
Thus, the OCP/IBP maintains an independent and autonomous Impartiality Committee to analyze the impartiality of its operations and take the necessary actions to address any possible threats to them.
How the ComImp works
ComImp is made up of members chosen by IBP’s Certification Management, so that there is a balanced representation of interested parties, and that no single interest predominates over the others.
ComImp is made up of representatives from the following groups:
– Companies that have certified SPIEs;
– Entities representing workers;
– Entities representing consumers;
– Experts in compliance assessment
ComImp’s Responsibilities
To assist the OCP/IBP in drawing up the impartiality policy for its certification activities;
To counter any tendency on the part of the OCP/IBP to allow commercial or other considerations to hinder the objective provision of certification services/activities;
To advise on aspects that affect trust in certification, including transparency and perception by the public;
To request all necessary information from the OCP/IBP, including the reasons for all significant decisions and actions on certification, including the selection of auditors, whether in-house or outsourced, in order to verify that the OCP/IBP is managed in such a way as to ensure the impartiality of its operations;
To issue opinions or guidelines on the impartiality of the OCP/IBP’s operations;
To assist in establishing the policies and principles concerning the content and operation of the SPIE certification system;
Verify that the OCP/IBP is complying with its guidelines in any respect and take appropriate measures, which may include notifying Inmetro;
To counter any tendency on the part of SPIEs or trade union representations, in order to maintain the impartiality of the certification system.
