August 2002

Issue No.

32H o n g K o n g A c c r e d i t a t i o n S e r v i c e

news

36/F., Immigration Tower,7 Gloucester Road, Hong Kong.

Tel: 2829 4840 Fax: 2824 1302E-mail: hkas@itc.gov.hk

Website: http://www.info.gov.hk/itc/hkas/

Inspection and its accreditation

Inspection is a daily activity that we all do - when we go shopping,we invar iably inspect the purchased i tem before accept ing i t ; akindergarten teacher inspects the hands of the kids for cleanliness everymorning, etc. Inspection is also commonly performed for trading andregulation purposes. For example, a buyer may employ a professionalinspection body to inspect the facilities and capability of a factory beforeplacing an order. The buyer may utilise the service of an independentinspection body to inspect the finished products before shipment.Regulatory authorities may request an inspection of a building, a factory,a vehicle or machinery before authorising their use.

The objective of inspection may vary, but in most cases, the objectiveof an inspection is to ascertain the conformity of a product with somespeci f ied requirements of ten re lat ing to safety, per formance oraesthetics. As the product is actually checked, inspection is a veryeffective way of ascertaining its conformity with the specifications. Toadd to its flexibility, an inspection may be tailored made specifically tothe needs of the client. Clients can commission an inspection body tocarry out inspection work according to their requirements and mayrequire the inspection body to, for example, place emphasis on thoseareas which are of particular interest to them.

Inspections are mostly conducted on site. The work often includestesting, measurements, functional checks, visual checks, interviewing,document examinations and sample collection for laboratory testing orfor record purpose. Unlike laboratory testing, an inspector often has tocarry out the inspection under an environment unfamiliar to him andwhich he has l i tt le or no control over. Indeed, in most cases, theenvironment and, to certain extent, the facilities and equipment usedare out of his direct control. Repeating an inspection for confirming theresults is also not practical generally.

Another distinguishing featureof inspection is that decisionsoften have to be based onvery limited information. It isoften impractical to carry outextens ive test ing or otherinformation col lect ion workon-site, due to limitations ofresources l i ke equ ipment ,expertise or time. To assurethe qua l i t y o f i nspec t ion ,qua l i t y assurance method

Inspection and itsaccreditation

New and Revised PublishedDocuments

Seminar on “Why UseHOKLAS Accredited

Laboratories”

Seminars on AccreditationServices Provided by HKAS

Seminars introducing theaccreditation programme on

construction productsinspection

Accreditation of MedicalTesting

APLAC MRA EvaluatorCourse

APLAC MRA Council andBoard of Management

Meetings

Meeting with CertificationBodies for Harmonisation of

Practices

IAF Survey of Acceptance ofAccredited Certificates 2001

IAF Welcomes CloserCo-operation with ISO

Cooperation between ISO/CASCO, IAF and ILAC for

Protecting Image andIntegrity of Conformity

Assessment

Staff Changes

Accreditation Update

Proficiency Testing Update

Upcoming Training Courses

Pre-shipment inspection to ascertain the finishedproducts conform to the specifications of the contract.

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often used in laboratories or in factories havet o b e s u b s t a n t i a l l y m o d i f i e d a n d n e wapproaches tailored to the needs of inspectionhave to be devised. Because of the difficultiesin supervision of site activit ies, much moreemphasis has to be placed on staff training andtheir competence appraisal. As many partiesare often involved in an inspection, specialattention must also be paid to the protectionof independence and integrity of site staff.Ensuring the safety of inspection personnel issometimes a complicated issue.

As important decisions are often based oninspection results, the reliability of such resultscannot be overemphasised. Inspection, like anyother business, is under a keen competitiveenvironment and some unscrupulous serviceproviders may choose to cut corners in orderto lower costs . Ident i f ica t ion and formalrecognition of competent inspection bodies isthus very important to all users of inspectionservice.

Hong Kong Accreditation Service launched theHong Kong Inspect ion Body Accreditat ionScheme (HKIAS) in December 2000. The aimsof the scheme are to upgrade the standard ofinspection service, to provide formal recognitiono f competent inspect ion bod ies , and topromote the acceptance of inspection resultsof accredited inspection bodies by local andoverseas clients and regulators. Moreover, thescheme can provide a means for users ofinspect ion serv ice to ident i f y competentinspection bodies.

Accredited inspection bodies may issue resultsin reports and certificates bearing the HKIASaccreditation mark (shown below). Participationin HKIAS is voluntary and the accreditationcriteria are based on an international standardISO/ IEC 17020 “Genera l c r i te r i a fo r theoperation of various types of bodies performingi n s p e c t i o n ” a n d t h e r e l e v a n t H K I A SSupplementary Criteria. HKIAS Supplementarycriteria and the accreditation procedure are

available from the HKAS website athttp://www.info.gov.hk/itc/hkas.

To facilitate mutual acceptance of inspectionresults worldwide, international and regionalcooperations of accreditation bodies such asthe Internat ional Laboratory Accreditat ionC o o p e r a t i o n ( I L A C ) , t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a lAccreditation Forum (IAF) and the Asia PacificLaboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC)a r e d e v e l o p i n g m u t u a l r e c o g n i t i o narrangements for inspection body accreditation.In fact, an ILAC/IAF joint working group is nowworking on an interpretation document for ISO/IEC 17020. HKAS is actively involved in suchactivities.

T h re e i n s p e c t i o n b o d i e s a re c u r r e n t l yacc red i t ed f o r i n spec t i on o f consume rp r o d u c t s . D e t a i l s o f t h e i r s c o p e s o faccreditat ion can be found from the HKASw e b s i t e . H K I A S i n i t i a l l y o n l y p ro v i d e daccred i tat ion for inspect ion of consumerproducts, including electrical and electronicproducts, textiles and garments, shoes, tools,utensi ls, furniture, packaged food and giftitems. Recently, demands from the constructionindustry for inspect ion serv ice have beenidentified and, in response, the scope of HKIAShas been extended to cover inspect ion ofconstruct ion mater ia ls , inc luding bui ld ingproducts, highway products and waterworksproducts. Inspect ion of welds is now alsoc o v e re d . H K I A S w i l l f u r t h e r e x t e n d i t saccreditation scope to cover other types ofinspection should the need arise. Interestedpersons are welcome to contact Mr. S. S. Chan,Senior Accreditation Officer responsible for thes c h e m e o n 2 8 2 9 4 8 0 4 o r v i a e m a i l a tsschan@itc.gov.hk.

HKAS Supplementary Criteria

The HKAS Supplementary Criteria No. 1 "Useof HKAS accreditation marks and claims ofaccreditation status" has been revised. Major

changes include a relaxation of the size of theaccreditation marks on name cards, use ofco lou rs o the r t han the ones p rev ious l yspecified, etc. The main purpose of the revisionis to facilitate the use of the HKAS accreditation

New and Revised Published Documents

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marks for promot ion of an organisat ion'saccreditation status whilst preventing abuseand misinterpretation of accreditation status.

HOKLAS Supplementary Criteria

Two new HOKLAS Supplementary Criteria haveb e e n p u b l i s h e d . T h e y a r e H O K L A SSupp lemen ta r y C r i t e r i a No . 21 "Food -Detection and quanti f icat ion of Genetical lyM o d i f i e d O r g a n i s m s ( G M O ) i n f o o d b yPolymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)" and No. 22"Textiles and Garments".

In addition, HOKLAS Supplementary CriteriaNo. 7 "Qual i ty Audits and Qual i ty SystemReview" has been revised. There are no majorchanges except for those re la ted to thealignment of terminology with ISO/IEC 17025as well as changes necessary for bringing it inl ine wi th the guidance g iven by the As iaPacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation(APLAC).

HKIAS Supplementary Criteria

Two new HKIAS Supplementary Criteria haveb e e n p u b l i s h e d . T h e y a r e H K I A SSupplementary Criteria No. 2 "ConstructionProduct Inspection - General Products" and No.3 "Construction Product Inspection - WeldingInspection".

HKIAS Supplementary Criteria No. 2 is for useby inspection bodies seeking accreditation forinspection of building products (e.g. door, gate,window, cladding, glazing, facing stone, tile,partition wall, false ceiling, fire shutter, passive

fire protection products, draining and plumbingworks, etc.), highway products (e.g. rai l ing,fenc ing, dra inage p ipes, br idge bear ing,vehicular parapet, fabricated movement joint,street furniture, etc.) and waterworks products(e.g. tap, water meter, water pipe and fitting,stopcock, storage cistern, valve, hydrant, hosereel, sprinkler, drencher, etc.).

HKIAS Supplementary No. 3 is for inspectionbodies seek ing accred i ta t ion for we ld inginspection. The welding inspection includesinspection of welding procedures, welderstesting, welding processes and welds quality.

HOKLAS Information Notes

HOKLAS Information Notes No. 2 "Safety in theLaboratory - List of References" has beenrevised to update the references to laboratorysa f e t y . I t shou ld be no ted t ha t , un l i k eSupplementary Criteria which are mandatory toaccredited organisations, HOKLAS InformationNotes are for the laboratory's reference onlyand are not mandatory.

HOKLAS 008

HOKLAS 008 "Guide for Assessors" has beenrevised. The main revisions involve inclusion ofguidance for assessors for inspect ion andgeneral updating of procedure as a result ofchanges in the accreditation standard (ISO/IECGuide 25 to ISO/IEC 17025) and assessmentprocedure. The circulation of this document isrestr icted to assessors for laboratory andinspection.

The capt ioned seminar was organised for theEnvironmental Protection Department (EPD) on 7May 2002. The seminar was presented by Mr. W.W. Wong, Senior Accreditation Officer, HKAS. Theseminar aims at explaining the benefits of usingtest ing and cal ibrat ion serv ices f rom HOKLASaccredited laboratories. It is one of the series ofactivities aiming at promoting the use of testing andca l ibrat ion serv ices f rom HOKLAS accred i tedlaboratories. It was attended by over 70 EPD staffmembers.

The main topics covered include an introduction ofHKAS and HOKLAS, accreditation criteria, benefits of

Seminar on “Why Use HOKLAS Accredited Laboratories”

The seminar on "Why use HOKLAS Accredited Laboratories"was attended by more than 70 EPD staff members.

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using HOKLAS accredited laboratories, HOKLASendorsed test reports, scope of accreditation, mutualrecognit ion arrangement (MRA), etc. Technicalcompetence of accredited laboratories was highlightedduring the seminar. Questions and queries wereanswered after the presentation. It is hoped that theseminar can give EPD staff a better understanding ofthe benefits of using HOKLAS accredited laboratories.Similar seminars will be organised for other main usersof HOKLAS accredited laboratories. A staff member of EPD asking a question during the seminar.

Seminars on AccreditationServices Provided by HKAS

On 21 June and 17 July 2002, Mr. C. K.Cheung, Senior Accreditation Officer, HKAS,presented two seminars to the staff of BuildingsDepartment. The seminars were attended byprofessional structural engineers and buildingsurveyors of the Buildings Department. Theaims of the seminars were to introduce thevarious accreditat ion services provided byHKAS, to highlight the benefits of using testing,inspection and certification services providedby accredited organisations and to explain howaccreditation helps to improve the standard andquality in the construction industry.

The seminar heldon 27 April 2002attended by over 70participants fromcertification bodies,laboratories,governmentdepartments, etc.

Seminars introducing theaccreditation programme on

construction products inspection

HKIAS has expanded to cover accreditation of

inspection bodies for construction products

inspection. Two seminars were held to introduce

the programme to the construction industry. Both

seminars were presented by Mr. C. K. Cheung,

Senior Accreditation Officer of HKAS responsible

for the programme. The first seminar was held at

the Civil Engineering Building seminar room on 27

April 2002. Interested parties including certification

bodies, laboratories, government departments,

regulatory authorities, etc., were invited to attend

the seminar. The response was good. Over 70

participants attended the seminar. The second

seminar was held on 17 July 2002, also at the Civil

Engineering Building seminar room. This seminar

was specifically organised for the members of the

Precast Concrete Products Association.

Accreditation of Medical Testing

The Accred i tat ion Adv isory Board (AAB)Working Party on Medical Testing has beenformed. The chairman of the Working Party isDr. R. J. Collins. Representatives from a diversegroup of stakeholders were invited to join theWorking Party. As at August, the Working Partyhas met four times.

A seminar on the accreditation criteria wasorganised for medical testing Working Partymembers and other interested persons on 27Apr i l 2002 . The sem ina r was a gene ra l

introduction to the standards for accreditation,i.e. ISO/IEC 17025: 1999 and ISO/DIS 15189:2002. It was presented by Mr. W. W. Wong,Senior Accreditation Officer, and was attendedby more than 50 participants.

One major task of the Working Party is toformulate Supplementary Criteria for differentdisciplines of medical testing. Five Task Forces,namely, Immunology, Clinical Microbiology andInfect ion, Anatomical Pathology, ChemicalPatho logy, and Haemato logy, have been

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formed. Other issues that need to be dealt withinclude qualifications and training of assessors,identif ication of suitable proficiency testingprogrammes, etc.

The accreditation criteria will generally be basedon the international standard ISO/IEC 17025:1 9 9 9 – “ G e n e r a l r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r t h ec o m p e t e n c e o f t e s t i n g a n d c a l i b r a t i o nlabora to r ies” and the dra f t i n te rna t iona lstandard ISO 15189 - “Medical laboratories -Pa r t i cu l a r requ i remen ts f o r qua l i t y andcompetence”. HKAS is delighted to say that,with the dedicated support and work frommembers of the Working Party and Task Forces,

Seminar on the accreditation criteria for medical testingheld on 27 April 2002.

Applicants to the APLAC MRA are requiredto be evaluated by a team consisting normallyo f fou r members , each f rom a d i f f e ren teconomy. Existing signatories to the APLACMRA are required to be evaluated once everyfour years in order to ensure their continuingcompliance with the MRA requirements. As thefamily of the APLAC MRA grows, so is the needfor MRA evaluators.

27 participants from 15 economies attended the 3-day APLACMRA Evaluator Training Course held in Hong Kong.

APLAC MRA Evaluator Course

In view of this, the APLAC Training Committee,in association with the APLAC MRA Council,organised a 3-day training course for MRAevaluators. The course was hosted by the HongKong Accreditation Service (HKAS) and held inHong Kong during the period 17 to 19 June atthe YMCA Hotel. The course was partly fundedby the Asia-Pacif ic Economic Cooperat ion(APEC). It was attended by 27 participants from15 economies. The presenters of the coursewere Mr. Peter Unger, President of A2LA, alsothe Chairman of the APLAC MRA Council, Dr.Helen Liddy, the Secretary of APLAC, and Mr.Jeff Horlick of NVLAP, NIST.

The course was exhaust ing for both thepresenters and the attendees but, looking atthe smiling faces in the picture taken after thecourse, attendees must have found the courseenjoyable.

Judging from the smiling faces of the participants, they musthave enjoyed the course very much.

the progress has so far been on schedule. Theexpected launching date of the programme ismid-2003.

Course presenters introducing themselves. Standing from the leftare Dr. Helen Liddy , Mr. Peter Unger and Mr. Jeff Horlick.

Board of Management Meeting.

Members of the APLAC MRA Council working hardon the agenda of the meeting.

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The APLAC MRA Council and the Board ofManagement (BoM) meetings were held on 20and 21 June respectively in Hong Kong. Acocktail reception was organised in the eveningof 19 June to welcome representatives fromdi f ferent economies. Amongst the issuesdiscussed in the meetings were recent changesin signatories to MRA as well as changes of theprocedure for evaluation of signatories to MRA.

Some members of the APLAC MRA Council - a photo taken at thewelcoming cocktail reception. From the left are Mr. A.P. Liu of CNACL,Mr. L. Richards of IANZ, Dr. Helen Liddy, Secretary of APLAC, Dr. L.H.Ng of HKAS, Mr. Tony Russell of NATA and Mr. Peter Unger of A2LA.

APLAC members enjoying the HK cross-habour ferry ride.

APLAC MRA Council and Board of Management Meetings

The International Accreditation Forum (IAF)Technical Committee met on 15-17 May 2002in Denver, USA. Mr. Tommy Fung representedHKAS to attend the meeting. Issues of interestto cert i f ication bodies as well as the latestdevelopments in accreditation practice thatwere d iscussed dur ing the IAF Technica lCommittee meeting were presented to HKCASaccredited certification bodies by Mr. Fung on3 June 2002. The meeting was attended byeleven representatives from the accreditedcertification bodies. Mr. C. K. Cheung of HKASwas also present. Some of the more importantpoints discussed are reproduced below.

Transition to ISO9001:2000

The concern of HKAS Executive about the slowup-take rate of ISO9001:2000 was mentionedin the previous two issues of HKAS News. It isnow less than a yea r-and-a ha l f be fo recert i f icat ion to the 1994 vers ion expi res.Certification bodies were once again remindedto monitor the situation closely and to actaccordingly. If the situation is not addressedproperly, a sudden surge in workload near theexp i r a t i on da te may s t r a i n aud i t o r s o fcertification bodies. Certification bodies werereminded that any compromise in standard willnot be tolerated.

Certification scope limited by project value

HKAS Executive noted that some scopes of

Meeting with Certification Bodies for Harmonisation of Practices

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certif ication specify an applicable minimumpro jec t va lues e .g . cons t ruc t ion o f s i t eformation works (over HK$100M in value). Thisis ambiguous because it is unclear whether thevalue refers to the tender sum, the contract sumor the final settlement amount. Furthermore, aproject could be below the minimum valuestated in the scope at the time of entering intoa contract but with, for example, variation orderor claim, the final value of the project couldexceed that minimum value. In such cases, thecertif ied quality management system (QMS)might not have been implemented for theproject.

There would also be practical difficulties in theimplementation of the QMS. For processes likeresponding to enquiries, training, purchasing,etc., it would be difficult to determine whethersuch activities are within or outside the scopeof certification since they are not directly relatedto a specific project. In view of these practicalproblems, nearly all representatives present inthe meeting agreed that they would not allowsuch a description of scope.

H K A S E x e c u t i v e c o n s i d e r s t h a t s u c hdescription of scope is highly undesirable andshould be avoided as far as possible. I f anorganisation wishes to have its certif icationrestricted to projects above a certain minimumvalue, the scope of cer t i f icat ion sha l l bed e s c r i b e d c l e a r l y , a v o i d i n g a n y o f t h eambiguities mentioned above. The audit teamis also expected to pay particular attention tohow the QMS is being implemented. The auditorman-day for each visit would, therefore, beexpected to be more than the average asrecommended in the IAF Guidance.

Scope extension based on projects handled by“another” organisation

The fol lowing case concerning extension ofscope of certification was discussed. It is notuncommon to f ind a group of employeesworking concurrently for two organisations. Forexample, a group of employees work for XYZConstruction Company and, at the same time,also work for XYZ Engineering Company. WhilstXYZ Construction Company handles buildingworks, XYZ Engineering Company handles civilengineering works.

XYZ Construct ion Company is cert i f ied for“construction of building works”. It applied foran extension of scope to include constructionof civil engineering works. When the audit teamasked for records of civi l engineering worksp e r f o r m e d , t h e r e w a s n o n e f o r X Y ZConstruction Company but instead the auditteam was shown records of civil engineeringworks performed by XYZ Engineering Company.Although the works were carried out by thesame personnel, the works were done underthe name of another company.

The quest ion is, in such case, should theextension be granted? After some discussions,it was unanimously agreed that the extensionshould not be granted based on the workcarried out by a different company, even thoughthe pe r sonne l i n vo l ved and t he qua l i t ymanagement system are the same.

Mr. Scott Richter, Director, Planning & Development ofRegistrar Accreditation Board, USA, delivering an openingspeech during the IAF Technical Committee Meeting.

IAF Technical Committee meeting held at Denver,USA on 15-17 May 2002.

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The International Accreditation Forum, Inc.(IAF) announces the release of the results of asurvey of the extent to which certif icates ofconformity to the ISO9000 series of QualityManagement System standards were acceptedby customers in international trade, conductedfrom May to July 2001.

The primary purpose of the survey was to checkthe progress in ach iev ing acceptance o faccredited certificates since the previous surveywhich was conducted in 1997. The 1997 surveyindicated that in 99.9% of cases in internationaltrade, accredited certificates were accepted bythe customer.

The Executive Committee of the InternationalAcc red i t a t i on Fo rum, I nc . ( I AF ) me t i nVancouver a t the end o f May 2002. TheE x e c u t i v e C o m m i t t e e r e - a f f i r m e d i t scommitment that IAF wil l work t irelessly toensure that conformity assessment activitiesmee t t he expec ta t i ons o f i ndus t r y andconsumers and operate wi th the h ighestintegrity and competence.

The Execut ive Commit tee we lcomed therelease of a Communiqué by the Joint WorkingGroup on Image and Integrity of ConformityAssessment (shown below). The Joint WorkingGroup, made up of representatives of IAF, theI n t e r n a t i o n a l L a b o r a t o r y A c c re d i t a t i o nCoopera t ion ( I LAC) and the Con fo rm i t yAssessment Commi t tee (CASCO) o f theInternational Organization for Standardization(ISO) was formed in December 2000 with thetask of suggest ing measures which wouldprotect the customers and users of conformityassessmen t se r v i ces f rom une th i ca l o rinappropriate practices.

The Executive Committee also welcomed thedecision by the ISO Council at its meeting on25-26 April in Geneva (Council Resolution 11/2002), on ISO cooperation with IAF. The ISOCouncil welcomed the agreement between IAFand ISO to exchange in fo rmat ion aboutcomplaints received by ISO and/or IAF relatingto certification/registration to ISO 9000, ISO14000 and other ISO related documents, and

IAF Survey of Acceptance of Accredited Certificates 2001

The 2001 survey results showed that, where theaccredited certificate was covered by the IAFMulti lateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA),less than one certif icate in 300,000 was notaccepted by the customer. As the 2001 surveycovered approximately 67% of al l ISO9000certificates in existence, the results are credible.

IAF welcomed the results of the survey whichshow that the IAF MLA was achiev ing i tsprimary purposes of enhancing the credibilityof accredited certi f icates and of faci l i tat inginternational trade.

IAF Welcomes Closer Co-operation with ISO

to share information and closely monitor actionstaken in response to the complaints, and notedthat IAF and ISO “share the same goal toimprove the integr i ty of accredi tat ion andconformity assessment to eliminate malpractice,unethical and dishonest practices.”

The IAF Executive re-affirmed its view that thereputation of the conformity assessment systemrelies upon the integrity and competence ofa c c re d i t a t i o n b o d i e s . I A F r e q u i r e s i t sAccreditation Body Members to apply ruleswhich are designed to identify and stamp outany activity by accredited organisations whichcould damage the in tegr i ty o f accred i tedactivities.

IAF Members are required to comply strictly withthe International Standards or Guides relevantto their operations and to guidance issued byIAF on the application of those Standards orGuides. IAF Accreditat ion Bodies conductregular surveil lance of the operations of theorganisations they accredit to ensure that theservices they provide to industry and consumerscontinue to meet their needs and are providedwith integrity. Members of the IAF MLA are alsosub jected to regu lar surve i l lance of the i raccreditation activities by IAF itself to ensurethat their activities continue to meet the highstandards IAF requires.

IAF warns consumers and industry against usingthe services of organisations which purport to

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be accred i tat ion bodies or cer t i f icat ion /registration bodies but which are not Membersof IAF or of ILAC, or accredited by Members ofIAF or of ILAC, as they may not adhere to thehigh standards of integrity required of Membersof IAF and ILAC.

IAF and i ts Members work t i re less ly andcontinually to ensure that the activities of itsMembers and the organisations they accreditenhance the conf idence o f indust ry andcustomers in the outcomes of accredi tedactivities. IAF will continue to review the IAFGuidance documents where experience hasshown that changes are needed to ensure thatthe integrity of certification is maintained andenhanced. IAF constantly reviews its strategicpo l i c ies on accred i ta t ion to ensure tha taccreditation policies prevent malpractice.

IAF requires all it’s Accreditation Body Memberst o h a v e i n p l a c e e f f e c t i v e c o m p l a i n t sprocedures to ensure that all complaints thata r e m a d e t o t h e b o d y a re t h o ro u g h l yinvest igated and correct ive act ion taken.Accreditation Body Members of IAF are requiredto ensure that the bodies they accredit alsohave in place effective complaints procedures.

In that regard IAF i tse l f has an e f fect iveComplaints Procedure. All complaints lodgedwith IAF are ful ly invest igated, and, whereinappropr iate act ions by any Member aredemonstrated, action to prevent repetition ofi n a p p ro p r i a t e a c t i o n i s t a k e n . B u t I A Frecognises that complaints procedures can onlydeal effectively with inappropriate behaviourwhen it is reported, and evidence sufficient toj us t i f y ac t i on i s made ava i l ab l e . IAF i sconcerned that unsubstantiated criticism is toooften made publicly without any evidence tojustify the criticism.

IAF encourages any person or organisationwhich has evidence of inappropriate behaviourby any conformity assessment organisation toprovide that evidence either to IAF itself or toany Accreditation Body Member of IAF. IAFassures al l persons with information whichsuggests inappropr ia te behav iour by anorganisation accredited by a Member of IAF,or certif ied by a body accredited by an IAFMember , that act ion wi l l be taken on a l linformation provided. IAF is determined toe l im ina te any p rac t ice wh ich b r ings theconformity assessment system into disrepute.

The Communiqué:

Co-operation between ISO/CASCO, IAF and ILAC forprotecting Image and Integrityof Conformity Assessment

Background

Represen ta t i ves o f the I n te r na t i ona lA c c r e d i t a t i o n F o r u m , I n c . ( I A F ) ,Internat ional Laboratory Accredi tat ionCooperation ( ILAC) and the ConformityAssessment Committee (CASCO) of ISOformed the IAF-ILAC-ISO/CASCO JointWorking Group on Image and Integrity ofConformity Assessment in December 2000,to discuss what contribution IAF, ILAC andCASCO could col laborat ive ly make top ro tec t the cus tomers and use rs o fconformi ty assessment serv ices f romunethical or inappropriate practices. TheJ W G re c o g n i z e s t h a t , w h i l s t t h o s econformity assessment bodies accreditedby Members of IAF and ILAC are committed

to operate ethically and in accordance withISO/IEC Guides and Standards, there aresome conformity assessment bodies thatdo not operate ethically and so damage thei m a g e a n d i n t e g r i t y o f c o n f o r m i t yassessment.

In this regard, the JWG has identified threekinds of problems:

• malpractices (unethical and dishonestpractices) of conformity assessmentbodies

• misleading advertising of the status ofc o n f o r m i t y a s s e s s m e n t r e s u l t s ,including misuse of marks of conformity

• confusion in the market place between“certification “ and “accreditation”

and also identified a number of measuresto help users of conformity assessmentservices to select conformity assessmentbod i es wh i ch ope ra t e e t h i ca l l y andcompetently. The implementation of themeasures identif ied is in progress. This

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communiqué is to highlight the commoncommitment o f ISO, IAF and ILAC toensur ing that the users of conformi tyassessment services are able to find andemploy ethical and competent conformityassessment bodies, and to draw attentionto existing systems for handling complaintsrelating to conformity assessment services,which is one of the measures proposed todea l w i t h t he i den t i f i ed p rob l em o fmalpract ice by conformity assessmentbodies. Further communiqués and otherpubl ications wil l be issued as the workbeing undertaken by the JWG progresses.

Common View

ISO, IAF and ILAC share the same goal tohe lp users o f conformi ty assessmentservices to select conformity assessmentbod i es wh i ch ope ra t e e t h i ca l l y andcompetently, and to eliminate malpracticein conformity assessment.

Existing Systems for handling Complaintsrelating to Conformity AssessmentServices

Accredited conformity assessment bodiesmust have complaint handling systems,based on relevant ISO/IEC Guides and

Standards . Cus tomers o f con fo rm i tyassessment services dissatisfied with theservice they receive are encouraged tolodge their complaints with the relevantconformi ty assessment bodies. Whenaccreditation bodies have proof that anaccredited conformity assessment bodyhas behaved inappropriately, they will takethe necessa r y ac t i on , i nc l ud i ng t hesuspension or withdrawal of accreditation,according to their documented complainthandling procedures.

IAF and ILAC together with their Membersand ISO have procedures in place to receivec o m p l a i n t s a b o u t t h e p r a c t i c e s o fAccred i ta t ion Bod ies and accred i tedc o n f o r m i t y a s s e s s m e n t b o d i e s , t oinvest igate these compla in ts (v ia therelevant Accreditat ion Body where thec o m p l a i n t i s a g a i n s t a n a c c re d i t e dconformity assessment body) and advise onthe appropriate action to be taken.

In particular, ISO and IAF have agreed tosha re i n fo rma t i on abou t comp la i n t sreceived by ISO and/or IAF relating to ISO9000 certification/registration and to shareinformation on actions taken by ISO and/or IAF in response to the complaints, asappropriate.

Staff Changes

After working for HKAS for almost four years,Ms. Sandra Ho was posted back to theGovernment Laboratory in May 2002. I am surethat everyone who has worked with Ms. Ho willagree that she is very conscientious and alwayshelpful and share our gratitude to her for herhard work during the time with HKAS.

Ms. Ho’s position is taken up by Dr. Ng Ping-ch ing. Dr. Ng is a lso seconded f rom theG o v e r n m e n t L a b o r a t o r y . H i s m a i nrespons ib i l i t i es i nc lude acc red i ta t ion o fchemical tests in the Test Categories of “Toysa n d C h i l d re n ’s P ro d u c t s ” , “ F o o d ” a n d“Miscel laneous”. Dr. Ng obtained his BSc(Hons) degree in Chemistry. He also holds aM a s t e r s d e g re e a n d a P h D d e g re e i nBiochemistry from the Chinese University of

Hong Kong. Dr. Ng has extensive experiencein consumer products testing, environmentaltes t ing , food tes t ing , and rad iochemica lanalysis.

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Accreditation Update

New Accreditation Granted

HOKLAS

Five laboratories have gained accreditationsince the last issue of HKAS News.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, TextileManufacturing Technology Centre - Apparel andTextile Testing Laboratory is the first educationalinst i tute that appl ied for and was grantedaccreditation in the Test Category of “Textilesand Garments”. Tests accredited include careperformance tests, a colour fastness test anda flammability test. The Registration Number ofthe laboratory is HOKLAS 129. It offers testingservice to the public.

Reg is t ra t ion No. HOKLAS 130 has beengranted to the Sol Data (Asia) Limited – ControlDivision. This laboratory provides foundationp i les tes t ing under the Test Category o f“Construction Materials”. Its testing service isavailable to the public.

Drainage Services Department - StonecuttersIsland Laboratory (Registration No. HOKLAS131) was accredited for water and wastewatert e s t i n g u n d e r t h e Te s t C a t e g o r y o f“Env i ronmenta l Tes t ing” . I t i s the four thlaboratory of Drainage Services Departmenttha t i s acc red i t ed unde r HOKLAS. Thel abo ra to r y p rov ides t es t i ng se r v i ces togovernment departments and is normally notavailable for public testing.

The Ch inese Un ive rs i t y o f Hong Kong –Advanced Surface and Mater ia ls Analys isCenter (Registration No. HOKLAS 132) wasaccredited for coating thickness testing underthe Test Category o f “Misce l laneous” . I tprovides testing services to the public.

Mate r ia l s Eng ineer ing & Tes t ing L im i ted(Registration No. HOKLAS 133) was accreditedfor various tests under the Test Category of“Construction Materials” as well as calibrationof force testing machines under the “CalibrationServ ices” Test Category. Th is laboratoryprovides testing and calibration services to thepublic.

Accreditation Terminated

TUV Rheinland Hong Kong Limited (RegistrationNo. HOKLAS 073) voluntari ly terminated itsaccreditation effective 29 May 2002.

Env i ronmen ta l P ro tec t i on Depa r tmen t -E n v i r o n m e n t a l C h e m i s t r y L a b o r a t o r y(Registrat ion No. HOKLAS 023) voluntar i lyterminated its HOKLAS accreditation with effectfrom 30 May 2002.

Wasserbel Testing Laboratory Ltd. (RegistrationNo. HOKLAS 008) voluntari ly terminated itsaccreditation with effect from 7 June 2002.

Sunnic Research and Testing Laboratory Ltd.(Registrat ion No. HOKLAS 127) voluntar i lyterminated its accreditation with effect from 27June 2002.

Proficiency Testing Update

Construction Materials

The final report for the soil proficiency testingprogramme – HCM/2002/1 (Determination ofAtterberg Limits and Moisture Content) wasissued and the performance of laboratories wasgenerally satisfactory. Laboratories identified asoutliers have been requested to conduct aninvestigation and report the findings to HKAS.

Samples for the stee l prof ic iency test ingprogramme – HCM/2002/03 (Tensile Testing –Reinforcing Steel) have been distr ibuted toparticipants for testing and some test resultshave been received.

Sample preparation for the proficiency testingprogramme – HCM/2002/05 (Detection of thepotential alkali-reactivity of aggregates) hasb e e n c o m p l e t e d . S a m p l e s h a v e b e e ndistributed to participants.

Samples have been distributed to participatinglaboratories for the cement proficiency testingprogramme – HCM/2002/04 (fineness testingof cement) and testing is underway.

Hong Kong participants have completed thetesting on APLAC T031 – Cement ProficiencyTest ing Programme and results have beensubmitted to the organiser for analysis.

12

If you wish to contribute to the next newsletteror require further information on any of the

items in this newsletter,please contact the HKAS Executive,

36/F., Immigration Tower,7 Gloucester Road, Hong Kong.

Tel: 2829 4840 Fax: 2824 1302Website address: http://www.info.gov.hk/itc/hkas/

E-mail address: hkas@itc.gov.hk

StatusTest

Category Test Area/Scheduled

Dates

Construction

Materials

Calibration

Services

Final report

issued

Sample

dispatched

Postponed until

further notice

Final report in

preparation

Soil - Atterberg Limits and

Moisture Content)

Foundation Piles –

Sonic logging

Cement – Fineness Test

Reinforcing steel -

Tensile strength

Concrete – Diagnostic

Tests

Foundation Piles –

Pile dynamic test

Soil – Standard

Compaction

Bituminous Materials –

Air void content

Aggregates –

Potential alkali-reactivity

Calibration of

compression testing

machines

February 2002

August 2002

July 2002

July 2002

September

2002

September

2002

October 2002

August 2002

April 2002

Calibration Services

The f inal report for the cal ibrat ions for theCalibration of Compression Testing Machines -H C A L / 2 0 0 2 / 0 1 w a s i s s u e d a n d t h eperformance of the participating laboratorieswas genera l l y sa t i s fac tory . Labora tor iesidentified as outliers have been requested toconduct an investigation and report the findingsto HKAS.

An updated schedule of Proficiency TestingProgrammes organsied by HKAS under the“Construct ion Mater ia ls” and “Cal ibrat ionS e r v i c e s ” Te s t C a t e g o r i e s f o r 2 0 0 2 i ssummarised below:

Toys and Children’s Products

The final report for the APLAC T022 Toy SafetyProficiency Testing Programme - “Determinationof emission sound pressure level” was issued.

Others

Participants from Hong Kong have completedthe testing for APLAC T032 - Food ProficiencyTest ing Programme and results have beensubmitted to the organiser for analysis.

Upcoming TrainingCourses

• 2 days Training Course on the Evaluationof Measurement Uncertainty for ChemicalAnalysis 16 – 17 October 2002

• 1 day Advanced Workshop on theEvaluation of Measurement Uncertaintyfor Chemical Analysis 18 October 2002

• T h e Q u a l i t y M a n a g e m e n t i n t h eLaboratory Workshop25 – 27 November 2002

• The In te rna l Qua l i t y System Aud i tsWorkshop 28 – 29 November 2002

• 5 d a y s L e a d A u d i t o r C o u r s e i naccordance with APLAC Guidelines16 – 20 December 2002

• 3 Days Training Course on the ISO Guidet o E x p r e s s i o n o f U n c e r t a i n t y i nMeasurement (within the 4th quarter of2002, exact dates to be announced)

Interested readers should note that latest

information on training courses is posted on

our website at www.info.gov.hk/itc/hkas.