Key Concepts: Types of Conformity Assessment

Inspection

According to ISO IEC 17000, inspection is defined as:

  • “The examination of a product design, product, process or installation and the determination of its conformity with specific requirements or, based on professional judgement with general requirements”.  
  • Inspection is often conducted on consignments, for example import inspection, to ensure that the entire consignment is equivalent to the product sample tested.
  • Institutions involved in conducting inspections include general inspection agencies; import inspection agencies (both private and public).