Overview
ISO/IEC TS 17021-5:2014 is a Technical Specification that complements ISO/IEC 17021:2011 by defining additional competence requirements for personnel involved in the audit and certification of asset management systems. It clarifies the specific knowledge and skills certification bodies must demonstrate for auditors, report reviewers and certification decision‑makers when assessing management systems against asset management standards such as ISO 55001.
Key Topics and Requirements
- Scope and purpose: Specifies additional competence requirements that sit alongside the generic competencies in ISO/IEC 17021:2011.
- Generic competence: Personnel must have the core auditor competencies from ISO/IEC 17021 plus asset‑management‑specific knowledge.
- Audit team composition: Collective competence of the audit team must be sufficient to meet audit objectives; not every team member needs identical skills.
- Knowledge areas (Clauses 5.1–5.6):
- Asset management terminology and principles (ISO 55000): understanding terms, principles and financial/non‑financial interactions.
- Practices, activities and methodologies: life‑cycle costing (LCC), risk management, asset registration, prioritization, planning (capital, operational, maintenance), tools and statistical sampling techniques.
- Asset management system standards: familiarity with ISO 55000/55001 and application guidance in ISO 55002.
- Business management practices: asset valuation approaches, outsourcing considerations and other organizational interfaces.
- Client sector and asset types: sector‑specific processes, technology and asset terminology.
- Client products, services and compliance: legal/regulatory, contractual requirements and performance monitoring (with stage‑1 audit used to obtain specific client knowledge).
- Other personnel: Those selecting audit teams or determining audit time must understand the client’s product, service and asset types.
Practical Applications and Users
- Certification bodies: to define auditor qualification, team selection and competence assessment processes for asset management certification.
- Auditors and lead auditors: to identify required technical skills for auditing asset management systems.
- Accreditation bodies: to assess whether certification bodies meet asset‑management competence expectations.
- Organizations implementing ISO 55001: to understand auditor focus areas and ensure readiness for certification.
- HR and training functions: to design competence development, training curricula and competency matrices for asset management auditors.
Related Standards
Keywords: ISO/IEC TS 17021-5:2014, asset management systems, competence requirements, audit and certification, ISO 55001, certification bodies, auditors.