This is a good way to establish whether your system meets with the standard's requirements and provides confidence for the formal assessment. Pre-assessments have proven to be enormously beneficial, provided the company acts on the resulting information. In my experience, the success rate for registering companies on the first audit is in the 90 percent to 95 percent range when a pre-assessment is conducted. The organization that oversees the competency of registration bodies in the United States is the American National Standards Institute and Registrar Accreditation Board. All registrars serving the United States should obtain accreditation from the ANSI-RAB National Accreditation Program.
Registrars gain accreditation after a rigorous assessment of their practices.
The ANSI-RAB audit team witnesses a registrar's assessment and confirms its compliance with the industry's recognized standards. Although your selected registrar should have the appropriate accreditations in the countries in which it serves, a registrar need not possess multiple accreditations. Therefore, more accreditations don't necessarily benefit your organization. Understanding your business's problems and processes is a key factor. Auditors who have had hands-on experience in your industry, whether it's aerospace, chemical, service or otherwise, will have an even greater understanding of your operations and your quality management system.