IACS Quality System Certification Scheme (QSCS) is the management system IACS member classification societies developed and put in place during the early 90’s. Compliance with QSCS has since always been required for IACS members and that requirement continues to the present day.
The scheme itself has however continually evolved and developed, and the drive to make the scheme the best it can be continues unabated. Today, and after 25 years plus of evolution, QSCS is widely recognised as the ‘gold standard’ for classification societies.
The principle objective of QSCS, which contains the procedures, processes and practices of the scheme, is to verify that every classification society obliged to comply with QSCS has developed its own internal quality management system, satisfying the requirements set out in IACS Quality Management System Requirements (IQMSR) – now on its 10th issue. IQMSR is an integral part of the QSCS.
IQMSR is the management standard against which the classification society is audited. It is based on ISO 9001:2015, supplemented by specific requirements that characterise and are relevant to the work of classification societies. The audits of IACS members, and those classification societies considering applying for membership of IACS, are conducted by independent accredited certification bodies (ACBs) that must also meet clear, transparent criteria to ensure the audits are conducted to a robust standard, consistent across the IACS members and applicants.
A list of the ACBs currently verified by IACS as compliant with the requirements described in QSCS and used by IACS members, as well as IACS Procedures Volume 3, which contains all details of IACS QSCS.
