Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, Aug 30, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version | Audio
Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, Aug 30, 2008 ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version | Audio |
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Marketing
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Standards & Benchmarks Web Extras - Outlook National accreditation board suspends approval of certification body G. Srinivasan New Delhi, Aug. 29 The National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) has suspended accreditation of a certification body dealing with Quality Management Systems and also Environmental Management Systems for a slew of industries ranging from mining and quarrying, pharmaceuticals, machinery and equipment to information technology and health and social work. In yet another case, the board has withheld re-accreditation of a certification body on quality management systems for industries ranging from pulp, paper and paper products, chemical and chemical products, shipbuilding to electric supply and basic metals and fabricated metal products. NABCB, a constituent of Quality Council of India (QCI), which is a joint initiative of the Government of India and Indian industry, is essentially set up to establish and offer accreditation schemes, based on globally accepted standards, for certification bodies (CBs) and inspection agencies engaged in services of system certification such as ISO 9001, ISO 140001, product certification and inspection. Sources in the QCI said that suspension of accreditation is in the case of a Delhi-based certification body, AQSR India Pvt Ltd, for both quality management systems and environmental management systems, and withholding of re-accreditation relates to a Mumbai-based certification body, International Certification Services Pvt Ltd, for its quality management systems. Scouting for standardsWhen contacted, the QCI Secretary General, Mr Girdhar J. Gyani, told Business Line here that a CB is accredited based on its compliance to the applicable standards and the competence of its managerial and technical resources and once accredited, it could issue certificates to industries. He said when the awareness in the market spread about certification, which would help improve the exports of countries in the developing world, industries began scouting for the ISO 9000 series of standards. The CBs ‘mushroomed’ and began having partnerships or tie-ups with appropriate agencies in the developing world. Alongside, this gave rise to local CBs surfacing in larger numbers and seeking overseas accreditation. CompetitionHe said proliferation in certification brought in competition and inadequate control of foreign accreditation bodies on the certification bodies together led to considerable dilution of the certification process. He said CBs have been operating through the branch offices, franchisee or through representation. Mr Gyani said that while CBs with accreditation from the national accreditation body or from foreign Accreditation Bodies (ABs) undergo mandatory annual surveillance by their ABs, as postulated by the IAF guidelines, it is the CBs operating through branch offices, franchisee or through representation of foreign CBs that were responsible for the dilution in the certification process. Since the NABCB undertakes mandatory annual surveillance of CBs under its purview to ensure regular monitoring and control over their functioning, Mr Gyani said that “we are able to suspend accreditation of a CB and in another instance withhold re-accreditation of a CB” after not being satisfied with their adherence to specific standards enjoined upon the CBs. Harmful trends Mr Gyani deprecates some trends as CBs establish a formal marketing department for selling the concept of ISO 9000 certification. What is worrisome, he said, is the nexus between consultants and CBs which, coupled with commercial consideration, is resulting in dilution of the quality of certification. The QCI chief regrets that industries do not see value addition in the certification to the extent that some of them have lost faith in the standard itself. International Standards Organisation and IAF are alive to this issue and have initiated correctives. Industries would, hopefully, begin to look upon the quality management systems certification as a value-added exercise and the standard (certification profess) would regain some of its lost glory. More Stories on : Standards & Benchmarks | Outlook
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