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Conformity assessment refers to the activities associated with determining (formally and informally) whether an implemented management system conforms to a formal OHSMS standard, such as ISO 45001, or a protocol unique and internal to an organization. A common definition for conform assessment is “the determination of whether a product or process conforms to particular standards or specifications. Activities associated with conformity assessment include testing, certification, and quality assurance” (29). Conformity assessment deals with the activities associated with determining how well a given system approach has been implemented in an organization, this primarily includes auditing and the certification activities.

It is important to understand and consider conformity assessment issues and how they relate to MS as they are central to strategic considerations regarding the rational for implementing and auditing a management system. A common misconception about MS is that third‐party certification must be pursued. This is not the case. While many organizations do pursue certification, many do not.

Conformity assessment frameworks typically have three levels.

 Primary level – assessment

 Secondary level – accreditation

 Tertiary level – recognition

The primary level represents measurement activities, including auditing. Workplace air sampling or safety surveys are examples of assessment activities, as are management system audits. The secondary level, addresses the formal qualifications of the entities performing primary level activities and the bodies that provide confirmation of the qualifications. An example is with Certified Safety Professionals (CSP) or Certified Industrial Hygienists (CIH) who perform workplace assessments. The CSP and CIH designations are given respectively by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) and the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH). The certification function performed by the BCSP and ABIH represent secondary level activities.

With management system certification, registrars perform audits, a primary level activity, and accreditation agencies, accredit the registrars to perform the registration audits. Finally, an example of tertiary level recognition is found in OSHA regulations that require certain activities be performed by CSPs or CIHs (30). With MS, recognition is given by regulatory agencies who might give organizations with a certified OHSMS some sort of regulatory relief, as with the OSHA VPP.