Master Bomb Technician Certification Framework

• Legal Status and Liability – The certification body (CB) must be a legal entity that can be sued and that carries adequate professional-liability cover.
• Responsibility for Certification Decisions – The CB alone (not a contractor) grants, maintains, suspends or withdraws certificates.
• Impartiality – Identify and manage every possible conflict of interest; have a standing Impartiality Committee that reports to top management.
• Non-Discrimination and Finance – Fees, marketing, and access to exams must not favor any group or imply that buying training gives an advantage.

• A documented organization chart that shows who is responsible for policy, scheme design, assessment, and final decisions.
• If the same parent company also sells training, you must have “firewalls” – for example, examiners may not have trained the candidate in the previous two years.
• Committees that review appeals, complaints and scheme changes must include stakeholder representation (employers, users, regulators, certificants).

• Competent personnel – Written criteria, CVs and ongoing Continuous Professional Development (CPD) records for staff and volunteers who design exams, invigilate, mark and make certification decisions.
• Examination facilities and equipment – Secure, accessible, fit-for-purpose; controls on who may enter, what materials may be taken in, and how data are protected.
• Outsourcing controls – Written contracts, due-diligence and performance monitoring if any part of the process (e.g., computer-based testing centers) is subcontracted.

• Confidentiality policy covering candidate data, item banks and psychometric files.
• Public-facing directory of current certificants (or a secure verification service).
• Document-control system that tracks versions, authors and review dates.

• A formal Job/Practice Analysis that defines the competence to be certified.
• Documented scheme file containing:
• Prerequisites
• Code of Conduct
• Learning Outcome Questions (LOQs – learning-outcomes/competency statements)
• Assessment blueprint
• Pass–fail methodology
• Surveillance/recertification rules and criteria for suspension or withdrawal
• A review cycle that checks the scheme still reflects current practice (every 3-years or when technology/legislation changes).

• Application review against prerequisites; written rationale for any denial.
• Assessment using fair, valid and reliable methods (written, oral, practical, simulation, etc.).
• Security of items and scoring; segregation of duties between item writers and decision makers.
• Decisions based only on objective evidence and recorded with date and signatures.
• Certificate, logo, and marks – Rules for use, misuse and withdrawal.
• Surveillance/recertification – Scheduled activities (e.g., CPD logs, re-exams) to confirm ongoing competence.
• Complaints and appeals – Independent process that leads to corrective action where required.

The CB must run a documented management system and choose Option A (internal system that meets the clause 10 requirements for document control, internal audits, corrective and preventive action, management review, continual improvement), or Option B (demonstrate compliance with ISO 9001 instead).

Step 1:   Gap analysis and documentation – Draft policies and procedures that map every requirement above to a controlled document or record.

Step 2:   Apply to an accreditation body (e.g., ANAB in the USA, UKAS in the UK).

Step 3:   Stage 1 Review – Off-site document check.

Step 4:   Stage 2 Audit – On-site (or virtual) witness of exams, interviews with staff, sample file review.

Step 5:   Corrective actions – Close any non-conformities.

Step 6:   Accreditation decision – Listed on the accreditation body’s register; surveillance audits every 12–24 months.