ESMA to accredit 12 conformity assessment bodies in the country

"The Emirates National Accreditation System (ENAS) aims to help local and foreign companies to obtain international standard certification and remove technical hurdles that hinder international trade," said H.E Waleed Al Mansouri, General Manager of ESMA. "These standards are universally recognized and will encourage international trading partners to deal with UAE companies," he added.

The procedures for accreditation are divided into four main stages. Companies must firstly fill in the application forms, attach documents detailing their quality procedures, make cost assessments and agree on detailed procedures. The second is the assessment stage, and this includes assessment of the documents and field visits by a team of national and international experts.

In the third stage, the technical accreditation committees including local and federal government parties from both private sectors and the academia will review the assessment reports. The final stage is periodical assessment and this includes regular visits to the accredited parties to ensure they continue to meet all the requirements. These committees are authorized to grant five-year accreditation.

Al Mansouri said that the accreditation process is based on a number of international criteria and standards set up by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission. He confirmed that the accreditation is an official acknowledgement by the ESMA of the adequacy of conformity assessment parties. This serves to minimize technical hurdles and save time and expenses on unnecessary tests and exams.

He noted that the system reflects the UAE's leading role in world trade, as well as ensures that accredited parties meet international needs.

ENAS was luanched earlier this year under the patronage of the UAE government and aims to consolidate the role of ESMA in developing and promoting the competitive ability of national products in addition to developing standards of quality in the country.

To be an accreditation body, the applicants must meet a number of international standards. The laboratories should have ISO/IEC 17025:1999(general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories). Parties that grant quality management system accreditations must have ISO/IEC 62: 1996 (general requirements for bodies operating assessment and certification/registration of quality systems). The parties granting products certificates need to have ISO/IEC 65:1996 (general requirements for bodies operating product certification systems), and bodies granting the environment management certification need to have the ISO/IEC 66:1999 (general requirements for bodies operating assessment and certification/registration of environmental management systems).