The certification of systems for quality assurance, which is necessary to comply with the standards of the ISO 9000 series, is highly developed in many countries. At one time, Russia also drew attention to this and began to focus on it. A particular need arises for goods that are released for export. Manufacturers have already managed to appreciate the importance of system certification.
Advantages
It is believed that this institution has many advantages. Firstly, it serves as a proof of the reliability of the manufacturer. Even banks will give loans to such firms much faster. Insurance companies, in turn, are more likely to insure them against damage for unfair products. Certification of quality systems is a significant argument when concluding a contract. If a company is sued for defective goods, this document will prove that the manufacturer is not guilty.
Secondly, it is an important condition for the company to participate in tenders. In addition, the procedure will certainly affect the affairs of the manufacturer in the most positive way. Indeed, when implementing this action aimed at obtaining a certificate, the affairs of the company, as a rule, are put in order. Thus, the procedure itself becomes easier and less long.
Certification of quality systems shows the ability of the enterprise to produce goods of the claimed sample. Therefore, it acquires the ability to become competitive in any market. This is especially true for Russian companies planning to export their products in the future. They have more opportunities for its implementation at decent prices. At least, the experience of many companies that have encountered such a problem in the past is now convinced of the need for such a document.
A bit of history
In 1995, Gosstandart adopted a program according to which certification of quality systems in Russia under the name "Register of Quality Systems" began to develop. She approves the voluntary procedure for carrying out the procedure, while at the same time being part of the state system GOST R. The latter is the mandatory certification of quality systems. The decision to conduct a voluntary procedure was motivated by the fact that the state document of Russia is well recognized in other countries. Therefore, the sign of conformity is very similar to the state one.
State standards and certification objectives
The purpose of introducing the institute was to obtain even greater recognition of Russian documents abroad. The main activities are:
- production certification;
- exercise control;
- cooperation between states.
The activities of this body are regulated by the following state standards.
- Rules for certification of quality systems.
- Register of quality systems.
- The order of certification of quality systems.
- The procedure for certification of production.
- Register, inspection control of certified systems.
In addition, a number of documents have been adopted that display the international ISO standards using the cover method . These are acts where the model of quality assurance is regulated in the design, development, installation, maintenance, control and testing.
In Gosstandart there is a technical center of the Register. It organizes the functioning of the formation of the norms of the system, implements the state policy regarding certification of quality and production, and interested parties are informed about the experience in this area.
Principles
All standards have a number of principles through which the structure of the certification system is organized, its procedure, and control is also carried out. We list them.
- Volunteering
- Objectivity.
- Lack of discrimination.
- Confidentiality.
- The certainty of the area.
- Awareness.
- Verification of compliance with the relevant requirements.
Certification Authorities
The structure of the Register includes the following bodies.
- Gosstandart.
- Technical Center.
- Certification Board.
- Board of Appeal.
- Scientific and Methodological Committee.
- Certification Authorities.
Gosstandart approves the structure of the Register, resolves issues regarding its development, considers the main rules and principles of work, monitors activities, and also takes part in the appeal commission.
The technical center organizes and monitors the process, takes part in inspection activities, as well as accreditation of experts, maintains the Register, suspends or revokes certificates, informs and contacts with foreign organizations of the same profile. In addition, other tasks may be assigned to him.
The Certification Council is an advisory body that develops appropriate decisions on the operation of the Register. It includes specialists from various organizations.
The commission is formed by the Technical Center. It consists of experts and works only if there is such a need.
The Scientific and Methodological Committee is developing documents for participation in the Council and the Commission, forming a data bank and documents, developing programs aimed at obtaining experts the necessary knowledge and more.
Bodies where certification of product quality management systems is directly carried out , in addition, document results, inspect enterprises, and also develop interaction between structural divisions.
Special organizations monitor quality and inform the certification body or Technical Center. If necessary, they adjust the results of inspections, inform the appropriate authority about changes in production, and so on.
Activities before the procedure
Three GOSTs, namely: 40.003-96, 40.004-96 and 40.005-96, are aimed at the interaction of certification bodies and applicants even before the procedure begins. According to them, a check is carried out and a decision is made on the preparation of the document, monitoring and joint actions of organizations with the Technical Center. They are in accordance with international rules, thus creating the conditions for recognition in other countries, and accession to the international system.
At the same time, the Russian system of standardization and certification is somewhat different, since it has, among other things, a procedure for obtaining a document during production. But usually enterprises first go through this particular type. Then they begin to work on quality, because the latter is more complex in comparison with the previous one.
System steps
Thus, the structure of the Register certification system consists of two steps. State standards and the procedure for their accreditation are being developed. This mainly concerns certification bodies. Their competency is verified. It also creates the conditions for attracting good specialists from outside. The advantage will be the fame of the organization abroad. In addition, it should have all the necessary equipment for documented quality assessment procedures. Production certification is also carried out here. However, the issuance of the document belongs to another organization, since this opportunity requires a different accreditation.
Russian certification systems consist of three stages.
- Correspondence.
- Final check and assessment.
- Inspection control.
Correspondence system
At this stage, a preliminary assessment is given, which is necessary for the expert to identify the potential for the procedure. It also considers its feasibility in a particular enterprise. The applicant submits an application to which he encloses a document on the quality policy, its manual and a questionnaire with answers. With positive results, a decision is made on the next step.
Final inspection
At this stage, the status is checked:
- quality management activities;
- production systems;
- product quality.
The activity is inspected for compliance of the available parts with the requirements that are included in the ISO 9000 series standard or similar Russian certification systems.
Conclusions may take such forms.
- Full compliance - then a certificate is issued immediately.
- On the whole, the answer is yes, but there are some deviations. In this case, a period is appointed during which the activity should be brought back to normal.
- Complete mismatch. Then the company can re-pass the procedure, only thoroughly prepared for it. The program will be repeated again.
Inspection control
It can take place in planned and unscheduled modes. In the latter case, control is assigned if quality system complaints are received by the certification system or significant changes are introduced to the manufacturing process or to its design. It can also be carried out in the event that the structure of the organization and the personnel of the enterprise change.
Joint certification
In addition to the above, “Register” provides other opportunities. So, there may be not only a national certification system, but also a joint one with similar organizations in other countries. For example, VNIIS has entered into a similar agreement with the world famous company Det Norsk Veritas. The goal in this case was voluntary certification to improve the competitive background of Russian companies and their products.
Thus, companies acquire the opportunity at their request to receive a document from two bodies or from any of them separately. Incidentally, not only domestic manufacturers are interested in this. The Italians, entering the Russian market, also need appropriate documentation.
The rules of the certification system allows Russian manufacturers to also directly apply to any company engaged in relevant activities in the world.
The joint procedure is aimed not only at issuing a document of the required sample. It consists in the implementation of the task of ensuring compliance with the quality of international standards at domestic enterprises.
Production certification
This procedure can be independent or included in the receipt of a document on the quality system. The evaluation criterion here is the ability of products to meet certain requirements contained in the documents. The structure of the certification system consists of the rules that are established by the State Standard. They provide a methodology for the procedure at each enterprise. The goal here is to achieve compliance with reasonable estimates and reproduced outcomes.
The objects are:
- finished products;
- technological system;
- maintenance;
- system of technical control and testing.
The preparation of the company always affects its activities positively. So, in practice, it has been noticed that communication with consumers is improving, discipline in production is increasing, various stability criteria are being developed, the main links are identified that affect the characteristics of products and so on.
Each species has its own scheme. So, if mandatory certification systems are implemented, scheme 5 is selected. Then the tests are carried out in special laboratories. The scheme is also used for sensitive production technology to external influences, as well as in cases where the shelf life is very short, and the company modifies its products.