A growing number of public sector and large private organisations are recognising the value of accreditation by specifying that suppliers carrying out legionella risk assessments are accredited to ISO/IEC 17020, the international standard for organisations carrying out inspection activities.
In this way, they can be:
- Confident the organisation has the technical competence to undertake the work in question
- Satisfied the organisation has the resources to do the work
- Assured the assessors are working to suitable codes of conduct to ensure that the risk assessments are carried
out impartially and with integrity - Confident the organisation has an adequate quality system with processes in place to deal with appeals and
complaints - Satisfied that safeguards are in place, for example, appropriate liability insurance, in case difficulties arise.
Health and Safety Law, legionella risk assessment and ISO/IEC 17020
Under UK Health and Safety Law, employers are required to consider the risks from legionella and take suitable precautions. Selecting an organisation accredited to ISO/IEC 17020 by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to carry out your risk assessment will ensure that you are appointing a competent organisation that will
understand and meet your requirements.
ISO/IEC 17020 is an international standard that describes the requirements for inspection activities. Organisations are assessed and accredited to this standard for legionella risk assessment and therefore, must demonstrate compliance with the requirements as detailed in the standard document.
ISO/IEC 17020 accreditation provides an independent and authoritative declaration that the organisation carrying out the risk assessment has the resources, facilities, technical expertise, management systems and controls, to undertake the activity professionally and competently.
