Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on accredited conformity assessment bodies: insights from a multinational study

Claudia Koch, Parsa Asna Ashari, Mona Mirtsch*, Knut Blind, Pavel Castka

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic posed new and manifold challenges to organizations and their operations worldwide. Conformity assessment bodies (CABs), such as testing or medical laboratories, certification, and inspection bodies, were also affected by the associated disruptions. Their role in this crisis is highly relevant, as CABs are essential pillars of the quality infrastructure: their activities ensure that products and services meet requirements as defined in standards and regulations, thereby contributing to their safety and reliability. The question arises of how CABs and their operations were affected by the pandemic and how they responded. To this end, we present the results of an international survey of 986 CABs of all types in Germany, the UK, Italy, and New Zealand. Overall, CABs reported, on average, a reduction in demand for their services during the pandemic, facing restrictions in all countries. In addition, the pandemic had an overall negative impact on the CABs’ investment and innovation activities. However, investments in digital infrastructure were increased as a countermeasure, with CABs reporting a higher need for digitalization. The paper highlights and discusses results from in-depth analyses relevant to policymakers and industry alike.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)275-288
Number of pages14
JournalAccreditation and Quality Assurance: Journal for Quality, Comparability and Reliability in Chemical Measurement
Volume27
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2022
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Accreditation
  • Conformity assessment
  • COVID-19
  • Laboratory
  • Quality infrastructure

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