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Conformity Assessment and How it Relates to International Trade

November 16, 2010 by Leave a Comment

In addition to inciting consumer purchasing power by encouraging confidence in products, the act of setting forth a uniform set of standards that must be met by all product manufacturers has a far reaching effect on the arena of international trade.

One of the most noticeable benefits is that by encouraging all relevant nations to follow specific procedures, potential barriers of international trade can be lessened or removed entirely.

The World Trade Organisation established an agreement on technical barriers to trade. The purpose of such an agreement was to ensure that the process of ensuring that international trade is not hampered when conformity assessment procedures are followed. In fact, the World Trade Organisation has a strong belief that one of the main things that restricts the free flow of international goods and services is technical barriers, which is one of the main reasons why the above agreement was established.

Under the agreement, it is implied that a product’s reliability and competence can be best measured by testing the product against those specific things that are examined during the conformity assessment testing procedures.

The International Standardisation Organisation (ISO) works alongside the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to ensure that conformity assessment standards are followed by all applicable countries in a way that facilitates trade and does so in a way that is economically and efficiently feasible.

The main goal and focus here is to ensure that products are allowed to enter a market that is as free of obstacles as possible. By that same token however, it is important that such goods and services agree to comply with the standards testing afforded by conformity assessment procedures. By making this pledge, manufacturers of products within many countries are agreeing to stand behind the quality and workmanship of their products, allowing for a greater amount of consumer confidence and satisfaction.

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The Call to Simplify Conformity Assessments in Europe

November 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment

There is a growing trend that calls for the simplification of the European Organisation for Conformity Assessment standards. Specifically, people want the testing and certification procedures simplified to be a friendlier more cost effective model of certification.
A complex problem exists when single companies have many different roles and offer many different services. The standards one company may undergo are numerous if they fall into a cross sectional business model such as a testing organization. These companies can be held to standards under the inspection bodies, testing labs, product certification requirements, GLP-laboratories and the list continues. Each of these governing bodies require different standards and different procedures to arrive at the agreed upon point in which the company meets the ability to claim certification.
Opponents of the status quo complain the current system may have been formulated by a single body with their own particular agenda. One theory that has been put forth to counter this perceived pitfall is to bring a broad group of people together who represent many different industries to develop a single standard for all industries. The theory is that if any particular person has an agenda, he or she will be outweighed by the myriad of other industry leaders who will balk at any discussions leading to further red tape and testing that will not reap benefits for the cross section of industries represented.
Another identified concern is the perception that standards need revision, while there is a recognition that all standards fluctuate over time, consumer needs, and technological advances. The European Organisation for Conformity Assessment has carefully crafted standards that offer a unique and quality starting point. All constructive comments appear to be welcome on how to further development of the standards tested under the framework. At this point there is clear evidence of open correspondence efforts on the part of the conformity assessment overseeing body.

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The Main Areas of Testing For Conformity Assessment

November 9, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Conformity Assessment is the act of ensuring that goods, products or services are able to meet predefined standards of quality or effectiveness. This ensures that consumers are increasingly aware of what they are buying, and can have confidence in the quality that is implied through that product.

Normally, the procedures related to conformity assessment are related to three main areas, and may spread onto more related areas depending on the sort of product that is being examined.

The first of these areas is product/service testing to ensure that it can meet or exceed standardized testing procedures designed to put the product through the rigors it would meet in every day usage, but in a controlled laboratory environment.

The second area is the implementation of a management system to ensure that any relevant products are continually developed in a way that is compliant with standards of both quality and safety. Even the most expertly designed products can ultimately fail in the marketplace if the facilities manufacturing them are not required to demonstrate their commitment to certain standards that have been set forth. Officials from the European Organisation for Conformity Assessment must also ensure clear and efficient distribution channels for such products, so that they can reach consumers with a limited amount of hassle.

Finally, an inspection process must occur to investigate whether such products in question have followed regulated procedures during their design and manufacturing process. This is especially important for product types such as fire extinguishers, baby products or electrical appliances, since they could cause serious damages, personal injury or even death in the event that they were built or conceived in a faulty manner.

The European Organisation for Conformity Assessment strives to present easily understood standards that can be followed by manufacturers and distributors, and ultimately protect the consumer.

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Embracing All Standards for Unity

November 8, 2010 by Leave a Comment

It is reasonable to expect countries that operate business and offer services under the same government policies, climates and consumer cultures would also operate under similar standards. The need to evaluate and certify that products and services meet standards will improve economic advancements for all parties involved. The common standard system will secure European countries place in the global business economy as we receive more balanced trade efforts with businesses outside of our region.
There have been committees and boards for standards in most of the European countries for decades. With the realignment we need to seek a single unit of standard and agree on all commonalities that can strengthen the union. One way to do this is to address the benefits of each previous standards and bring them together under a single standard with oversight provided by European Organisation for Conformity Assessment. This common standard will function to deal with regional issues that relate to the delivery of services as well as products.

The European Organisation for Conformity Assessment differs from the European Committee for Standardization, which was founded in 1961. The EOCA seeks to utilize the strengths of the CEN but with improved oversight. Some strengths identified in the European Committee Standards is the industry specific standards such as the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) which covers electrical industries, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), that has made strides in the development of the telecommunication industry and the European Union, the European Free Trade Association
(EFTA) and Eastern Europe which has successfully overseen trade among 55 nations. Once the strengths of these are identified, the European Organisation for Conformity Assessment will seek to move all programs under one umbrella so the consumer will have an simplified way to identify if a company meets the expectations of the governing body that is suppose to provide consumer protection.

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Who Benefits From Conformity Assessment Standards?

November 8, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Supporters agree that requiring certain standards of conformity assessment to be followed is ultimately beneficial to all main parties within the product supply chain, all the way from manufacturers, to consumers.

Upon close examination, it appears that there are at least three groups that can see benefits when conformity assessment techniques are applied.

The first and likely most obvious group is the consumer. Consumers are those who see the most noticeable benefits from the confidence that comes from knowing that a product has been created and distributed and manufactured in accordance with strict policies set forth by the European Organisation for Conformity Assessment. In fact, the benefits are multi-faceted. Firstly, consumers can trust that the products were made to meet or exceed exact standards. This ultimately inspires consumer spending trends to be continually healthy since consumers can assume that the products in question are of the highest quality. Finally, it allows consumers an avenue through which to find recourse if it turns out that the product they have purchased is defective or does not serve the intended purpose.

The next group that will benefit when conformity assessment standards and testing is set forth are the factory or manufacturing regulators. One aspect that is constantly on the mind of these individuals and groups is the need to ensure that their environments are free of hazards and up to the most modern health and safety standards to promote the well-being of their employees. Conformity assessment standards encourage any factories to adjust their working conditions in the event that they are not already at the appropriate level.

Finally, manufacturers can take immense pride in the fact that they have chosen to follow conformity standards. Not only does it give them an edge over competitors who have not chosen to follow similar standards, but it also give them an extra element of trust regarding the product that has been created.

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The Main Parties Responsible For The Conformity Assessment Testing Process

November 7, 2010 by Leave a Comment

There are three main components of conformity assessment standards, and when applied correctly, these components use specific testing procedures to assure that the products are performing as they should, and for their intended purposes.

In fact, there are three tiers or groups involved with the conformity assessment process.

Conformity assessment is designed to ensure that products meet or exceed standards, regulations or specifications that will vary depending on the type of product in question. The first tier is made up of individuals who are directly involved with the product manufacturing process. In simple terms, it can be thought of as a process of self-assessment. Formerly termed as the supplier’s declaration of conformity (or SDoC), this part of the procedure can eliminate or cut down on the costs involved with carrying out a third-party assessment or test. Essentially, such a declaration demonstrates the commitment to the fact that a product can perform as promised. Furthermore, the declarer must be able to show this evidence if requested.

The second tier is made up of customers who are linked to the manufacturer in some way. In essence, it requires the manufacturer to make the specific requirements of the product known to the customer, and allow the customer to test the product to the best of their ability to ensure that such requirements are met or exceeded.

The third and final tier is made up of parties that are completely independent of the manufacturer, and are also not consumers of the product. An example might be an independent certification organisation that is ultimately responsible for ensuring that exact standards are indeed met. In the event that they are, the independent regulatory body would issue a certification to designate that the product has complied with all testing procedures and passed them in a satisfactory manner.

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