Product Certification in

Developing Countries

Testimony of Situation for Certification in Sri Lanka

Major B S de SilvaDirector (Quality Assurance)

Sri Lanka Standards Institution

Introduction

• Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI)

• Organization of SLSI

• Services provided by SLSI

Sri Lanka Standards Institution(SLSI)

The Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI),the National Standards Body of Sri Lanka, is a statutory organization established under the Bureau of Ceylon Standards (BCS) Act No.38 of 1964. This Act was repealed by the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) Act No.6 of 1984. The Institution presently functions under the purview of the Ministry of Small & Medium Enterprise Development and is governed by a Council of 11 members headed by the Chairman

Organization of SLSI

D ire c to r(L a b) D ire c to r(S ) D ire c to r(E S )

D D G

D ire c to r(T ) D ire c to r(D & I) D ire c to r(M & P ) D ire c to r(M )

D D G

D ire c to r(Q A ) D ire c to r(S C ) D ire c to r(L & A ) D ire c to r(F & S )

D ire c to r G e n e ra l(C E O )

C h a irm a n a n d M e m b e rs o f the C ou n c il

At present the activities of the Institution are handled by 9 Technical & 2 Non-technical Divisions headed by Directors.The Director General , who is the CEO, & the 2 Deputy Directors General co-ordinate & supervise the activities of the Institution. The total staff of the Institution stands at 350 of which around 110 members are professionally qualified scientists and technologists.

Services provided by SLSI

Standards Formulatio

n

Certification of Products & Systems

Product testing facilities

Standards Promotion

Inspection of Imported /Exported Products

Training Services

Information Services

Marketing & Promotion

of Services providedIndustrial

Measurement & Calibration

Services

Consumer ServicesInternational

co-operation

Operation of a National

Quality Awards Program

History of product Certification Scheme of SLSI

•Product Certification Programmes

•Standardization Marks Scheme (1971)

•Certification Marks Scheme (1980) - (Under the Bureau of Ceylon Standards Act No. 38 of

1964 )

•Certification Marks Scheme (1984) - (Under the Sri Lanka Standards Institution Act No. 6 of

1984 )

•Certification made compulsory (1993)

•Re-organization of the Product Certification Scheme (1996)

•Product Certification Mark – The National Symbol of Quality (2001)

Product Certification Programmes

Some of the commonly used product certification programmes employed is as follows;

Type testing - Where the samples of the product are tested for conformity to a particular standard specification.

This gives no assurance of ongoing conformity.

Type testing with surveillance of both market and production samples

This gives an assurance of the product quality at the point of production and the market for ongoing conformity to asses whether the conformity is affected during distribution and to resolve any non conformities.

Type testing and assessment of the quality system with surveillance of the quality system , production and the market

This system provides significant flexibility for the conduct of ongoing surveillance so that it gives room to the extent to which the three elements can be adjusted for a given situation.

Standardization Marks Scheme

(1971)In 1971 Regulations governing the “Standardization Marks Scheme” were framed and gazetted.

The following two Ceylon Standards were made compulsory.

CS 5:1970 Razor Blades

CS 9:1972 Asbestos Cement Sheets

Certification Marks Scheme (1980)

In 1980 regulations governing the “Standardization Marks Scheme” was repealed and was replaced by the regulations governing the “Certification Marks Scheme”

Under this new scheme 20 permits were issued authorizing, the 03 organizations manufacturing these 20 products, to display the “SLS Mark” (July 1980).

Certification Marks Scheme Re-launched (1984)

Under the New Sri Lanka Standards Institution Act No. 6 of 1984 the product “Certification Scheme” was given wider recognition and publicity.

Product Certification Mark made compulsory (1993)

In 1993 under the Consumer Protection Act No. 1 of 1979, for 12 items product certification mark was made compulsory.

8 Chemical & Cosmetic products

12 Food products

(at present there are 21 products under this category)

Product Certification Scheme Re-organized (1996)

The Product Certification Scheme was re-organized and upgraded with the inclusion of Quality Management requirements, in line with ISO 9000 standards, made mandatory for the grant of the certification.

Product Certification Scheme Re-launched (2001)

The Product Certification Mark of the SLSI was declared the “National Symbol of Quality” and the assessment/audit procedures, assessor/auditor qualifications and requirements were upgraded to be in line with the relevant ISO Standards requirements.

Product Certification Present Situation

Sri Lanka Standards Institution has already extended it’s Product Certification services for the grant of certification for manufacturers in foreign countries.

Under this extension of services to foreign manufacturers SLSI has already certified 2 Indian organizations for 4 products.

Ordinary Portland Cement ( SLS 107:2002) - 3

LP Gas Cylinders (SLS 1178:1998)- 1

MOU between BIS (India) and SLSI (Sri Lanka)

In an effort to further improve the Bilateral Co operation between The Bureau of Indian Standards and the Sri Lanka Standards Institution in the fields Standardization and related activities. A Draft MOU was drawn up and is under consideration mainly,to issue Certificates/Licenses/Marks of Conformity for Products and Management Systems according to their applicable standards and normative documents.

This will facilitate the better market access to both countries in the region as well as internationally in the future.

Grant of License to use the MarkManufacturer

Market

The Mark

Sri Lanka Standards Institution

App

lica

tion

for

the

Mar

k

Pre

lim

inar

y F

acto

ry

Insp

ecti

on

Dec

isio

n on

Gra

ntin

g th

e L

icen

se

By

SL

SI

Insp

ecto

rs

Per

mit

Sub

C

omm

itte

e

Rep

orts

on

Qua

lity

Sys

tem

Info

rmed

wit

h C

ondi

tion

s of

the

Sch

eme

Fac

tory

Ins

pect

ions

by

the

Sam

ples

for

T

esti

ng

Rep

ort t

o P

erm

it

Com

mit

tee

Man

ufac

ture

r A

gree

s on

C

ondi

tion

s

Gra

nt o

f L

icen

se to

us

e

SLSI and OtherIndependentLaboratories

Conform to Standards

Supervisory Control of Marked Products

Sri Lanka Standards Institution

Per

iodi

c S

urpr

ise

Insp

ecti

ons

Sam

ples

for

T

esti

ng

Sam

ples

for

Tes

ting

SLSI and Other IndependentLaboratories

Com

plai

nts

Consumer

MarketFactoryPermit Holder

Minor Failure

Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory

Continuation

Warned and

Continuation ofLicense

Cancellation or

Suspension of License

The Present System

The present system of Product Certification in operation in Sri Lanka gives the consumer a third party guarantee, by an independent certification body, regarding the quality of the product and assures that the product meets the requirements of the relevant Sri Lanka Standard Specification.

Product Categories - 1980

Food Chemicals & Cosmetics

Product Categories - 1989

Food Chemical & CosmeticsElectrical RubberEngineering

Product Certification1980 - 2004

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

1980 1989 1993 1998 2002

No.of Cetifications No. of Organizations

Product CertificationProgress 1980 -2004

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

1980 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1998 2000 2002 2004

No. of Certfiations No. of Organizations

Product CertificationWithdrawals 1980-2004

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Withdrawals