New system launched for certification bodies in UAE

NA130116-RG-ERMA. H.E. Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad Minister of Environment and Water (L) and H.E. Abdulla Al Maeeni Director General of ESMA (R) address the media during the press conference of the assessment program announcement by Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology at sofitel downtown hotel Dubai on 13th Jan 2016.Photo by: Rahul GajjarPhoto by: Rahul GajjarPhoto by: Rahul Gajjar

The Emirates Standardisation and Metrology Authority (Esma) on Wednesday launched the UAE Notification System for conformity assessment bodies in the country.
The new system will allow the Conformity Assessment Bodies, or CABs from all emirates to issue conformity certification and quality mark for products regulated by the authority, provided they fulfill the requirements including mandatory registration and accreditation.
Announcing the launch of the new system, the Minister of Environment and Water Dr Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, who is also the president of Esma said the move will regulate the market of CABs and support the national economy. "We are working towards eliminating all the trade barriers and this initiative will support the national economy by assuring access to the market for private sector.This will also help assure confidence over the products among the consumers and safeguard the rights of the manufacturers," he said.
The global certification industry is worth $47b while the industry is still in its infancy in the UAE, officials said. The new move is expected to encourage more private players in the local market.
The director general of Esma Abdulla Abdelqader Al Maeeni told Khaleej Times the certification bodies in the UAE have made an investment of Dh150m in the market ever since the authority started implementing its standards for the industry.
"Seven of the key companies are planning to invest Dh215m in the next five years. We are expecting at least 25international certification bodies to be operating in the UAE by then."
Addressing a group of national and international CABs, he said the authority will unify the registration and accreditation procedures across the country. "We are working with the local authorities to unify the system and have a common database. This will eliminate the need for registering with different local bodies and getting separate accreditation from them," he said.
The UAE-based CABs have been given time till March for the mandatory registration. It is the preliminary step before securing accreditation for the scope of their certification procedures and the status of a "Esma-notified body" to enable themselves to start issuing certification of conformity and the UAE quality mark on behalf of Esma. Farah Ali Al Zarooni, the director of Accreditation Department said no CABs will be allowed to issue certification without the "notified body" status from Esma. Penalties for violations have already been listed on the website of the authority, she said. Representatives of the industry welcomed the move.
Akbar Ali Chaudhry, a technical manager with Tawasul Testing and Inspection Services said the move to unify the registration and accreditation procedures will eliminate a lot of hassles for the industry.
"This is the major challenge we are facing in the industry. Having unified database and uniform quality and conformity standards will boost the industry in a big way," he said. - sajila@khaleejtimes.com