Inspection bodies

An inspection body establishes whether something meets the requirements: lifts, fuels, foods, fire alarm systems, etc. These requirements are set in law or are specified by the client. An important characteristic of inspection bodies is that they provide the result of a test or investigation with a professional opinion, for example: Is this lift safe? Does this fruit meet the requirements for export? They therefore go a step further than test laboratories. If an inspection body uses measuring equipment this equipment has to be calibrated by a calibration laboratory. If laboratory tests are required an inspection body can use the services of an accredited test laboratory.

Inspection bodies that undertake calibrations or tests themselves must meet the requirements for calibration or test laboratories. Where applicable, they also have to participate in proficiency testing. The RvA accredits inspection bodies on the basis of the ISO/IEC 17020 standard.