Accreditation: Delivering confidence in the provision of energy
June 9th, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. (EDT)
Room 201, Ottawa Convention Centre
June 9th, 2014 marked the fifth anniversary of World Accreditation Day. A global joint initiative between the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), the aim of World Accreditation Day is to raise awareness of the importance of accreditation-related activities.
2014 theme
The theme for World Accreditation Day 2014 was “Accreditation: Delivering confidence in the provision of energy”.
Convenient access to energy is a luxury that society depends on, and this demand will only go up as the world becomes more industrialized. As this demand for energy grows, it remains as important as ever to ensure that the methods used for harnessing, storing and sharing this energy are safe and efficient. This is accomplished, in part, by the accreditation of those organizations that test devices, inspect energy-related installations, and certify energy-related processes and procedures.
Event highlights
Breakfast and keynote
SCC hosted a breakfast event to celebrate World Accreditation Day 2014, including a key note speech from Patrick Hardy, the Chief Operating Officer of ClimateCHECK, an innovative greenhouse gas management solutions company.
Panel discussion
There was also a moderated panel discussion including Nicolas Vincent from Enviro-access Inc., one of the three Canadian Environmental Technology Advancement Centers, Adam Haines, Vice President, Product Development & Delivery, from Industrial Audit Corporation, and Inderpal Jaswal from QUASAR, the auditing, quality management and ISO certification arm of the Canadian Welding Bureau Group.
Both Enviro-access and QUASAR are SCC-accredited organizations. Mr. Comeau and Mr. Jaswal spoke from first-hand experience about the value of accreditation to their businesses. As Industrial Audit Corporation is actually certified by QUASAR, Mr. Haines spoke about the value that being certified by an SCC-accredited body provides.
Information session on ISO 50001
Also, SCC offered an information session on ISO 50001, the internationally-recognized Energy Management Systems standard. SCC recently launched a new accreditation program for organizations looking to implement this standard to increase their energy efficiency, reduce costs and improve energy performance — and for certification bodies wanting to help their clients do so.
Carol Buckley, the Director General of the Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE), Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), talked about the value of becoming certified to ISO 50001. Through NRCan’s OEE, the Government of Canada supports Responsible Energy Use through systematic energy management.
As well, Ms. Buckley introduced Paul W. Birkeland, Founder and Principal, Global Strategic Energy, who led the information session on ISO 50001.
About Accreditation and the Standards Council of Canada
Accreditation is the formal verification of an organization's competence to carry out a specific function. Accredited bodies throughout the energy supply chain, such as laboratories and inspection bodies, offer assurance that processes and procedures are safe to deliver products and services.
The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) is Canada’s national accreditation body, providing accreditation services and programs to a wide variety of organizations, including those within the energy sector.