The Director General s Report

Transcription

1 Our lobbying activities have become a focus of our attention, in particular in the area of Consumer Product Safety, with the Greek Presidency of the EU having declared resolution of the Consumer Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package one of their key priorities. IFIA will continue to work in close partnership with CEOC in relation to this matter. IFIA s discussions with China s CCIC will continue during 2014, with a team from CCIC expected to visit Europe in the Spring. During this visit it is anticipated that milestones will be set for their eventual membership of IFIA. I am delighted to announce further growth in our membership. Germany s TÜV SUD has joined IFIA with effect from 1 st January. As an A member, TUV SUD is entitled to two Council seats. The primary TU V SUD seat will be taken by TUV SUD s CEO, Axel Stepken. Richard Nelson, President, IFIA The Director General s Report 2014 brings with it a new start for two IFIA committees that have undergone reorganisation. Both the Committee and the Committee are due to meet early in the year and each has already identified a number of common issues that will form the basis of their mandates. As a result of our increasingly close working relationship with CEOC, IFIA has agreed to cosponsor the November 2014 Safety Conference and will play an active role in the development and management of this significant sector event. It has been agreed to maintain IFIA membership subscriptions at their current levels, the tenth consecutive year without an increase. IFIA s membership continues to expand and we are delighted to welcome TUV SUD to the IFIA family. Roger Brockway, Director General (roger.brockway@ifia-federation.org) 1

2 Committee Updates The Upcoming results Events of the 2013 IFIA Consumer Products Survey showed a generally superior performance for third party tested products. Work continues in relation to the introduction of the Agricultural Inspector Certification programme for liquid cargoes. It is anticipated this will go live in The Agricultural Committee is in communication with the US Grain Exporters (NAEGA) regarding an opportunity to persuade the US Department of (USDA) to open up grain inspection for export to the private sector in at least one US state. If you would like further information regarding the activities of the Agricultural Committee please contact hre@ifia-federation.org. IFIA s reconstituted Committee has identified as its first task the lobbying of owners of the main standards who control the routes to certification of food supply chains. Committee members have identified how certain schemes do not make optimal use of TIC services, to the disadvantage of users of the schemes. If you would like further information regarding the activities of the Committee, please contact roger.brockway@ifia-federation.org. Consumer and Industrial Products () The results of the 2013 survey were launched in Brussels at the November CEOC-IFIA- EUROLAB Safety Conference This survey compared the safety and conformity results of CE marked consumer products subject to third party testing with that of similar products (reviewed in 2012) that carried CE marking based on Suppliers Declaration of Conformity (SDOC). The results demonstrated the overwhelmingly superior performance of third party tested products. A copy of the survey presentation is available on the IFIA website. If you would like further information regarding the activities of the please contact maarten.vanderdussen@ifiafederation.org. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has reached an agreement on trade facilitation that prohibits member states from requiring pre-shipment inspections in relation to tariff classification and customs valuation. Government contracts invoking the services of inspection companies have however been generally diversified, and IFIA members are now actively engaged in much larger numbers of consignment based conformity assessment contracts, which are not covered by the WTO prohibition. IFIA members will be audited against the new IFIA Code of Practice for this service for the first time to cover their operations in If you would like further information regarding the activities of the Committee, please contact roger.brockway@ifia-federation.org. 2

3 Committee Updates IFIA s Committee has now been reconstituted and is considering the scope for development of a Code of Practice. Following lobbying from this Committee as well as other affected sectors, Shell has currently withdrawn the onerous Supplier Qualification System (SQS) that had been identified as a major burden to this sector of our industry. The Committee is currently working on projects in the fields of the CE marking of pressure equipment and inter-operability between Smart Grid components. In both areas it is estimated that opportunities for the sector could result from joint activity. This Committee is also co-ordinating IFIA s input to a number of CEOC technical committees. If you would like further information regarding the proposed activities of the Committee, please contact roger.brockway@ifia-federation.org. The IFIA Committee has now been reconstituted and, in addition to reviewing the threats and opportunities that members could usefully address together, is addressing the scope for development of a Code of Practice to upgrade its current Guidelines. If you would like further information regarding the activities of the Committee, please contact roger.brockway@ifia-federation.org. A Code of Practice for members active in the sector is currently being finalised. An analysis of annual safety data collected from Committee members demonstrates that the safety record of the inspection part of this industry is no worse (as is frequently alleged) than in other parts. The on-line inspector certification programme is now operative virtually worldwide. If you would like further information regarding the activities of the and Petrochemicals Committee, please contact paul.harrison@melvcon.co.uk. Members of both the and Committees use their meetings for the exchange of experience on best practice. If you would like further information regarding the activities of the Committee, please contact hre@ifia-federation.org. The Committee has confirmed the continuing validity of the IFIA Code in light of new developments in anti-bribery that increase demands on due diligence. The Committee sees summary reports of members adherence to IFIA compliance requirements and is consulted on points of principle. For further information regarding the activities of the Committee please contact hre@ifia-federation.org. 3

4 Committee Updates IFIA currently has a seat on the Advisory Board to the European Co-operation (EA) and is using this position to modify the ill effects of not allowing a TIC organisation to engage a single accreditation body to provide it with multi-site accreditation across its European network. In ILAC, we have been reasonably successful in resisting imposition of requirements beyond those of the standard ISO/IEC In both the EA and ILAC we work in alliance with CEOC. If you would like further details regarding the activities of the Committee, please contact roger.brockway@ifia-federation.org. Social Auditing The Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and networking between IFIA member representatives, first established in the China region, is now being replicated in the Indian subcontinent. At the same time China representatives are updating the SOPs in the light of their experience. Separately, member company experts are drafting a Code of Practice to give better identity and protection to the service. The Social Auditing team has written to the Global Social Programme (GSCP) which develops Guidelines in this field without prior consultation with industry retailers. The GSCP then makes these Guidelines mandatory for TIC service providers. IFIA is aiming to become involved in GSCP s process so as to make these Guidelines more practical and more effective.. A Code of Practice is currently being drafted that will cover IFIA members Social Auditing activities. 4

5 Market Intelligence Lobbying Consumer Product Safety Regulation (CPSR) this proposal remains stuck in the EU Council due to disagreement amongst Member States regarding mandatory origin marking. Any impetus to unblock the deadlock on the proposal will have to come from a ministerial (political) level. Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) - A briefing was held in Brussels following completion of the third negotiating round. The EU negotiator has denied that TTIP would dilute EU consumer protection standards in the EU. Medical Devices Ministers meeting in the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) in early December held an exchange on the two medical devices proposals. The discussion showed divergent views among Member States regarding the role of notified bodies and the administrative burdens they face in dealing with medical devices. Safety In December the European Commission published a proposal for a Regulation on novel food. ISO/CASCO There was a revised format for the 29 th ISO/CASCO plenary meeting which took place in Beijing in October After the working groups presentations on the first day participants were split in to seven groups to discuss a number of critical issues for conformity assessment, share experience and ideas. It was agreed that the ad hoc task force for the revision of CASCO PAS documents containing the common elements in ISO CASCO standards should pursue its work in The next ISO/CASCO plenary will take place in Geneva, Switzerland during the week of 22 September WG 21 (revision of ISO/IEC 17021:2011) An expert group met in Geneva in November 2013 to consider comments collected during the WG consultation. This group has decided to produce a further revision with final publication due by the end of WG 30 (common terminology related to competency of persons) The WG agreed to develop a separate Technical Specification which has been renumbered ISO/IEC TS The draft TS was approved in October A drafting group met in November to review comments collected during the ballot. The document was considered during a WG meeting in December WG 32 (revision of ISO/IEC Guide s 28 and 53, ISO/IEC 17026, model scheme for certification of manufactured products) Following the publication of ISO/IEC 17067:2013, this WG continued its revision of Guides 28 and 53. A drafting group submitted a first Working Draft to experts. The group held its first meeting in December 2013 to address the experts comments and develop a Committee Draft (CD). The CD will be open for ballot for three months in early WG 36 (Revision of ISO/TS 22003, food safety management systems) The ballot for the DTS closed in September 2013 and yielded positive results. A drafting group meeting was held in September to address comments and prepare for the last Joint Working Group meeting which took place in Australia in November JWG 39 (ISO/EC TS , competence requirements for auditing and certification of asset management systems) the ballot on the Draft Technical Standard closed at the end of October 2013 with positive results. The document was finalised at the end of

6 Market Intelligence IAF/ILAC The ILAC Executive Committee embarked on a process to revise the ILAC strategic Plan and a brainstorming session took place during the ILAC General Assembly in Seoul in October ILAC has published a brochure entitled Recommended Guide for Engaging with Governments and Regulators. A UKAS survey entitled The Economics of has estimated the contribution of accreditation to the UK economy at in excess of 600m. For more information please visit the ILAC website at CEOC The joint CEOC-IFIA-Eurolab Safety Seminar Safer Products and Industrial Installations in a Globalising World took place in Brussels in November EU Commissioner Neven Mimica was presented with the joint CEOC-IFIA-EUROLAB position paper in response to the European Parliament s proposals seeking to enhance product safety in Europe, with particular reference to European product safety marking. IFIA Chair Gitte Schjotz presented the findings of the 2013 IFIA Consumer Products Survey. Both the position paper and presentation can be found on the IFIA website For further information about CEOC please visit the CEOC website at 6

7 Membership and Admin Update Membership TUV SUD has joined IFIA with effect from January 2014 as an A member. The membership of IFIA stands at 44 following the resignation of Inspecta International (Abu Dhabi), a C member. A number of other companies are actively considering IFIA membership. Administration Update IFIA s Code Implementation Guidelines have been updated. You can find a copy of the updated Guidelines on the IFIA website at In order to facilitate our EU lobbying activities, IFIA has been listed on both the Transparency Register and the Civil Society Dialogue database. 7

8 Upcoming Events please note all IFIA events are shown in blue ILAC Inspection Committee IFIA Agricultural Committee IFIA Consumer Products Lobbying Group IFIA Committee IFIA Committee IFIA Committee IFIA Committee IFIA Committee EA Advisory Board IFIA AAE TR Committee ILAC/IAF semi-annual Meeting IFIA Committee IFIA Committee IFIA Council Meeting ISO General Assembly ISO/CASCO Plenary Meeting EA Advisory Board FOSFA Annual Dinner IFIA Council Meeting 22 January, Brussels 30 January, London 4 February, London 6 February, Geneva 7 February, Geneva 6 March, Cologne 18 March, London 25 March, Houston tbc 3 April, Brussels 8 April, London April, Frankfurt 29 April, Paris 2 June, London 26 June, Washington September, Rio de Janeiro w/c 22 September, Geneva 22 October, Brussels 6 November, London 18 November, Cologne tbc FOSFA Oils and Fats Dinner 4 December, London CEOC-IFIA-EUROLAB Safety Seminar 27 November, Brussels 8