APPROVED CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT BODIES OF ABU DHABI
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CERTIFY YOUR BUSINESS Conformity Assessment Bodies are essential to the development of the national economy of every country. The UAE takes great care to ensure that all its products comply with global standards
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Nisthula Nagarajan n the digital age, misinformation, low-quality products, fraud etc. are inevitable. Another factor is the speedy pace of the ever-changing world we live in today, where technology is continuously advancing and organisations need to be flexible enough to accommodate a changing society. Just the fact that the UAE has grown from a land of dunes to one of glass and steel in less than five decades is a testament to how fast the business environs can change. Amid all these factors, globalisation is an integral driver for businesses to meet international standards. Locally manufactured goods and services need to conform to international quality and procedural standards especially in an open market where competition is strife. For businesses that aspire to survive and cope with the contemporary global evolution, it is only right that they should all conform to the same specifications. Thanks to its strategic location and its solid infrastructure, the UAE’s exports and re-exports continue to increase year on year. WAM reports that the country’s entrepot trade amounted to Dh467.5 billion in 2020 despite the ongoing economic slowdown due to the pandemic, according
to the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC). The re-export market accounts for 46.5 per cent of the total reexports and exports of commodities and services in 2020, which are valued at Dh1.003 trillion. They comprise 54.3 per cent of the total commodity imports, which stood at Dh860.1 bn in the same year, therefore proving the UAE remains the leading entrepot, warehouse and distribution country in the region. This only further proves the necessity of Conformity Assessment Bodies or ‘CABs’. The UAE has achieved major milestones but it is important to sustain these stories of success. For this, CABs are essential.
The UAE has several CABs to ensure that businesses uphold the best practices for their clients and the country’s development.
CABs are companies responsible for carrying out audits or conformity assessments for Trust Service Providers (TSPs). Essentially, they ensure that a company’s products and services meet the local and/ or international requirements of quality following the regulations applicable in the corresponding sector.
One of the foremost things a company has to do to get a Conformity Assessment is to find a Conformity Assessment Body. CABs are companies responsible for carrying out audits or conformity assessments for Trust Service Providers (TSPs). Essentially, they ensure that a company’s products and services meet the local and/or international requirements of quality following the regulations applicable in the corresponding sector. This usually happens in three steps — planning and programming where a team is assigned to carry out an audit plan where the scope, date, duration, etc. are decided; execution where an initial meeting is held to establish the scope and sequence of the audit
CREATING BENCHMARK FOR QUALITY AND INTEGRITY Hakan Sebükcebe, Managing Director Middle East at SGS, speaks about the company’s multiple initiatives and contributions to ensure consumer safety and trade facilitation in the region
We protect businesses by ensuring compliance and integrity thereby delivering safer products to consumers both at home and at work. Hakan Sebükcebe Managing Director Middle East, SGS
As the UAE has been very swift and shown its resilience in combatting the pandemic, what has been your involvement as a compliance organisation in this direction? At SGS, we have been aligned with the vision of the UAE government and its commitment to the community. Residents safety undoubtedly takes centrestage. In line with the various initiatives of the local government, we have been contributing to the UAE community by ensuring business continuity and providing testing support throughout. We have developed a dedicated state-of-art Covid-19 laboratory — one of the first in the region to be accredited by the Emirates National Accreditation System (ENAS) for SARS-Covid-19 RT-PCR testing for environmental swabs to ensure that business premises and facilities are free from any possible infection. We have also been supporting and facilitating trade and business in the UAE with disinfection efficacy services and specialised onsite verification services. These reinforce both consumer and business confidence to reopen and get back to normal with all the necessary protocols in place. What is your opinion about consumer safety and quality in the region? Trade facilitation and consumer safety arguably remain of paramount importance and at the centre of all our activities. We ensure the protection of businesses by ensuring compliance and following our code of integrity, thereby delivering safer products to consumers at home and work.
SGS has been working closely with the regional government statutory authorities like Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA), Abu Dhabi Quality & Conformity Council (ADQCC), GCC Standardization Organization (GSO), Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) etc. as notified bodies/ approved certification bodies to conduct reviews, audits and certification under several product and shipment schemes. These are regulatory mandates to be complied with as per the regional and international product and consumer safety technical regulations and standards. On the note of Halal certification, which resonates with the region, SGS Gulf Ltd is accredited by the GCC Accreditation Center (GAC) according to GSO.2055-2 to facilitate Halal certification for the widest range of products and services in the region. We are an approved certification body in the region for Halal certification with ESMA, Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) and Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA). How is SGS investing in people and infrastructure to develop UAE as a centre of excellence in the region? SGS has been consistently investing in the latest technologies in the field of product testing like the Next Generation DNA sequencing (NGS), GMO screening and pesticide minimum residue limit (MRL) to mitigate risks and enhance product safety in the region, especially regarding food products. All our laboratories are equipped with advanced capabilities accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 to support the industry in monitoring quality compliance. At SGS, people remain the true strength behind our initiatives and activities. We are a team with a diverse skillset and from different ethnic backgrounds who are subject matter experts in their corresponding domains and who consistently go the extra mile to ensure their commitment to SGS every day. How is SGS supporting businesses in the growing digital marketplaces and e-commerce space? SGS Gulf offers a unique integration of conventional service matrix and value-added services supporting the bustling and booming e-commerce space and digital marketplace. In understanding the complexities and dynamics of the digital trade space — both B2B and B2C — quite honestly, we have been the driving force to ensure the products traded and sold are compliant and verified each day and keep our focus on the consumer. Another leading-edge innovation is the subscription-based Digi Comply tool, which aims to simplify single window access to regulatory information, technical standards etc. internationally and regionally to enable subscribers to make more informed decisions and planning their trade.
and analyse the points that both parties consider necessary, including both documentary reviews and on-site inspections; and the final report which outlines the results, identifying the detected nonconformities. In addition, there will be a final meeting in which the audit team will present the report to the client so that he can review and sign it. It also must ensure that the organisation that hired for evaluation is registered and accredited, recognising the assessment body is competent to carry out the verification and validation services as per the technical standards and regulations in the scope of the accreditation and the certificate provided is valid and accepted in the market and supply chain. The Emirates National Accreditation System is the authorised body in the UAE to accredit CABs including calibration and testing laboratories, certification bodies, inspection bodies, medical laboratories and Halal certification bodies. The UAE has several CABs to ensure that businesses uphold the best practices for their clients and the country’s development. The most integral is the Federal UAE Authority, Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) established in 2001. As the only reference in the UAE in terms of quality standards, ESMA’s strategy aims at supporting the national economy by establishing a new era of excellence and quality. It is a member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ESMA has established Technical Committees in several fields such as food products, construction and building materials products, electrical and electronic products, chemical and plastic products, mechanical products, petroleum products and lubricants, and metrology and information technology. Unseen, ESMA is working hard to ensure that countries that import UAE-produced commodities develop strong confidence in the products, as well as those exported from the UAE and imported into the UAE. For products and commodities to be traded and accepted by any importing country, there must be confidence that they comply with the importing country’s regulatory requirements. This is to ensure that the products and commodities do not endanger the consumers’ and society’s health and safety. As a member of the World
Trade Organization (WTO), ESMA aims to overcome technical barriers and trade with the implementation of technical requirements that are transparent, non-discriminatory and based as far as possible on international standards. Another conformity mark is the Emirates Quality Mark, granted to the products that can demonstrate compliance with the relevant UAE national stan-
dards and regional and/or international standards and are manufactured by an organisation implementing an effective Quality Management System to ensure continuous compliance. One of the companies that have been aligned with the vision of the UAE government and its commitment to the community is SGS. It developed a state-of-art Covid-19 laboratory — one of the first in the region to be accredited by ENAS for SARS-Covid-19 RTPCR testing; it is an approved certification body in the region for halal certification with ESMA; it has been working closely with ESMA, Abu Dhabi Quality & Conformity Council (ADQCC), as notified bodies to conduct reviews, audits and certification under several product and shipment schemes.
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