The Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) has recently finalised its Asset Management Systems Scheme (AMS Scheme) in order to provide requirements for International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) bodies providing audit and certification of Asset Management Systems to ISO 55001 specifications (known as Conformity Assessment Bodies or Certification Bodies (CAB’s)) in Australia and New Zealand.
A summary of the key points of this scheme has been published on the Asset Management Council of Australia’s (AMC) website, and the full scheme document is available to AMC members by download, or to JAS-ANZ accredited organisations through their SharePoint portal.
An overview of the scheme was given at the AM Council’s recent AMPEAK conference in Sydney, and the key message that we received from this presentation is that there is an expectation that the certification audit process should be both rigorous, and performed by suitably experienced and qualified people. A suitable qualification is the Certified Asset Management Assessor (CAMA) qualification issued by the member organisations of the World Partners in Asset Management (WPiAM).
It should be noted that this scheme currently only applies to CAB’s operating in Australia and New Zealand, and who are accredited by JAS-ANZ. The requirements in other regions, and by certifying bodies that are accredited under other schemes may differ. It is to be hoped that, in time, all jurisdictions and all certifying bodies apply a consistent level of rigour and standard to the assessment process, but our view is that, at present, this is by no means assured.
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