Becoming ANSI certified is no easy business. There are several steps that the applicant or certification body must complete before they can be awarded those sought-out credentials from an accredited entity like the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB). The ANAB happens to be the largest accreditation body that covers multiple areas of expertise in North America. Of course, there are others that can be companies, government bodies, standard organizations, consumer groups, etc. who have been accredited by ANSI for American National Standard (ANS) Development.
Personnel certification comes from accredited bodies whose main goal is to provide certification programs based off of established standards. For an industry that is seeking certification to be able to certify others, the accredited authority will test a process, system, event, or product, skill, and expertise. Certifications are measured against standards; in this case they would be ANSI standards for an ANSI certification.
As for the steps involved in becoming ANSI certified, they involve:
- Becoming familiar with the material that is the chosen subject area and participating in visits by the accreditation entity
- Filling out the PCAC-FR-503 form
- Paying a fee for that form to be submitted
- Once the preliminary approval has been received you will have to fill out the PCAC-FR-504 and submit other requested documents
- Prep and participate in an onsite assessment
- After all other nonconformities are identified and closed out the certification body can be awarded accreditation under ISO/IEC/17024
The above list is simplified to describe the big milestones that are involved in receiving an ANSI certification. Accredited bodies may have variances in each of their certification programs which is why it is good to do research on the certification that is being applied for.
