Choosing a Reliable Certification Partner

Indeed, as oversight increases in the market of technical regulation services, so does the accountability of the applicant. If a conformity assessment is not performed correctly and, as a result, its certificate is deemed invalid, the applicant will be the liable party and sustain losses. Finding a reliable and conscientious certification body (CB) is therefore vital when applying for conformity assessment services.

How does one know which certification body possesses the required skillset and keeps its documents in order, attracting no questions from oversight authorities and causing no issues at the customs or, indeed, with customers? ROSTEST advises you to consider the following five criteria when choosing a CB:

— Accreditation Certificate

This may sound obvious, but your first priority should be to check whether the certification body holds a valid accreditation status in the EEU unified register of conformity assessment bodies, and your product is within its scope of accreditation.

— Work Experience

An important clue is the timeframe: how long has this organization been in operation? Every certification body is subject to planned and unplanned inspections on part of the Federal Service for Accreditation (RusAccreditation) that, if passed, raise the credibility of this CB. In addition, operational experience means that the CB will confidently handle nonstandard products. Generally, the longer a certification body has been in the market, the more reliable it is.

— Own Testing Laboratory

A CB that has their own testing center is unlikely a shell company, and stands for an enterprise willing to invest time and resources into development. Such a company will surely value its reputation.

— Public Image

If you are looking for a reliable certification partner, pay attention to their public image.

What do we mean by it? Well, is the certification body a participant in conferences, exhibitions, and media events? Or maybe they even hold their own? What do the media have to say about them? Gathering this information will help you take stock of the accredited body and its public image, as well as understand their goals.

— Transparency

This is one of the pillars of certification. All processes and decisions of the certification body should be transparent and clear to you. Omissions and evasions are a bad sign. For instance, if you have a question about pricing and the CB refuses to address it – this is a red flag.

— Cost

As in any field, the cost of services should be up-to-date and proportionate to effort and quality of services. If you see that the service is clearly underpriced, this is a warning sign: the service could be provided to you only partially and without recourse to expert help.

In conclusion, pay attention to the following: is your certification partner ready to take responsibility after issuing the document? What support are they ready to offer you? This is an important indicator of whether the CB feels secure about their documentation