Voluntary certification. The voluntary certification system

In modern market conditions, the relationship between producers and consumers has reached a new level. The great abundance of different goods makes the buyer think and carefully weigh everything in order to choose a quality product. In such cases, the third independent party confirms that the products meet the stated requirements. It provides this mandatory and voluntary certification.

What is certification?

This is the procedure for proving the compliance of products with the conditions and norms established by law. Only an independent organization accredited by state ministries and agencies has the right to conduct such an audit.

The main objectives of certification:

• Confirmation of the quality level of the goods to the indicators declared by the seller or the manufacturer;
• Protection of the consumer against an unfair manufacturer;
• Control the safety of goods for the health and life of the buyer, as well as the environment;
• Increase of competitiveness of the goods;
• Stimulation of export and trade on the international market.

The result of certification is made in writing in the form of a document, called a certificate of conformity.

Types of certification

According to the legislation, there is voluntary and mandatory certification. Mandatory verification serves to find evidence of compliance with regulatory requirements. This type of verification is one of the ways of state control of safety and quality of products. If the product has been inspected, it must be marked with a special mark of conformity. The mark is applied to the packaging, packaging and accompanying documentation. Legislation establishes a nomenclature of products that is subject to mandatory research.

Voluntary certification is carried out only at the request of an individual or legal entity on a contractual basis between the applicant and the authorized organization. The object of such certification is tangible and intangible products, which do not fall under compulsory expertise.

Voluntary certification of products is carried out to confirm the compliance of the product with standards, regulatory requirements, specifications, recipes defined by the applicant. According to the law, in this case the applicant can be a producer, seller, supplier and even consumer of the goods.

Most enterprises decide on voluntary certification with the aim of promoting a new product to the market, increasing its competitiveness, since buyers prefer certified products. That is, voluntary certification is a way of positioning products in a market saturated with similar products of a different quality.

Voluntary certification systems

All existing systems of voluntary expertise are conventionally divided into the following major groups:

1. Product testing.
2. Analysis of work.
3. Study of the quality of services.
4. Checking the production quality system.
5. Certification of personnel.

Also, certification systems are classified by the number of registered objects. So, they are divided into:

• Monoobject systems - they are certified by objects of one kind (this group includes the majority of registered products);
• Polyobject systems - they certify two or more types of objects.

Documents for voluntary certification

Voluntary certification is carried out after studying the necessary documents. So, to conduct an audit, the applicant must present the following papers:

1. Certificate of ownership of the production premises, or lease agreement.
2. Passports for products in which its technical characteristics should be indicated.
3. Product Catalog.
4. SES permit for production.
5. List and evaluation of equipment used in production, room plans.
6. Technological regulations of goods subject to certification.
7. Test results.

If necessary , the certification body may request additional documents. For example, registered specifications. In some cases, the list of documents may differ.

Certification scheme

Under the certification scheme, a certain order of actions is required to assess compliance. Examination is always accompanied by costs. Therefore, the main criterion for selecting a certification scheme is the maximum provision of evidence of compliance with requirements at minimum costs.

In the Russian Federation there are about 16 schemes of certification. At the time of filing the application, the applicant proposes a scheme, which, at his discretion, is most suitable for conducting the audit. But the final choice is made by the certification body.

The procedure for conducting a voluntary examination

Voluntary certification is carried out according to a certain scheme, which consists of the following stages:

1. Apply to the certification organization. The applicant has the right to be an entrepreneur, a domestic or foreign enterprise, and so on.
2. Consideration by the body of the submitted documents and a primary inspection of the products.
3. Decision making, contract conclusion and certification scheme choice.
4. Creation of homogeneous commodity groups for the selection of a representative representative. Grouping of products occurs in accordance with the legislation specified by the rules for the systematization of products and commodity nomenclature.
5. The choice of the testing laboratory, accredited by state bodies.
6. Identification of each type of product from the presented homogeneous group.
7. Drawing up the conclusion and selection of samples, which is formalized by an act signed by the certification body and the applicant.
8. Researching. In the laboratory, samples of products are tested using methods provided for in regulatory documents. If even one indicator does not meet the requirements, the sample is considered not to have passed the examination. The results of the studies are in the protocol that the laboratory sends to the certification body.
9. Analysis of the results of the certified products and the decision to issue a certificate. If the certification organization has made a negative decision, the applicant receives a reasoned response.
10. In the case of a positive result, the organization issues a certificate and a license that allows the use of a conformity mark.
11. Putting products in the state register.

Issuance of certificate and marking

The system of voluntary certification is virtually identical to mandatory, because for the audit it is required to prepare the same package of documents. All norms and technical conditions, on the basis of which verification is carried out, are one basis. The only thing that distinguishes the voluntary and mandatory certification, the appearance of the certificate. So, for a binding document type a yellow form is used, and for a voluntary examination certificate - blue.

According to the law, the certificate should indicate the name of the product or service and the name of the recipient. Also, must be specified GOST or TU, for compliance with which the product was checked.

Another important distinction of certification is the marking. So, the sign of voluntary certification has a special inscription "Voluntary certification". The same mark can be used by the enterprise-customer on the packaging of products. The sign of voluntary certification on the goods always causes the buyer's confidence, which as a result positively affects the sales volumes.

Certificate validity period

The certificate has a limited validity. The certification body decides on the validity of the document, taking into account the state of production and the results of laboratory studies. It can not exceed three years or the period of validity of sanitary and epidemiological conclusions.

The validity of the goods lot certificate applies to the period of its sale, but not more than one year.

Thus, voluntary certification certifies the conformity of products to the quality parameters established by the highest state bodies, and is an integral part of modern production.