On November 13, Dmitry Gogolev, Deputy Head of RusAccreditation, spoke at the interdisciplinary session "Laboratory tests are the basis for confirming product quality" as part of the online forum "World Quality Day 2020". He said that this year accredited laboratories issued more than 6.7 million test reports, on the basis of which more than 65 thousand certificates of conformity were issued and more than 650 thousand declarations of conformity were registered. Accredited testing laboratories that independently assess the performance of products to the established requirements, including to ensure the safety and health of citizens, play a major role in the procedure for assessing the conformity of products.
The main element of quality assurance of conducted tests is the quality system, which encompasses functional, administrative and support subsystems. Another important factor is the quality control of laboratory tests. It ensures that the test is done correctly and that reliable results are obtained. The Deputy Head of the Service noted that membership in ILAC and IAF was a quality mark for the work of accreditation bodies and the first step towards free movement of goods through the recognition of research protocols and certificates of conformity. The accession of RusAccreditation in 2017 as a signatory to the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement gave the testing and calibration laboratories accredited by the Service the right to use the symbols of this multilateral Arrangement in the form of the combined ILAC MRA mark on the test reports and calibration certificates issued by them. At the moment, about 40 Russian laboratories have received permission to use the combined ILAC MRA mark, of which 19 are reference laboratories.
In the spring of 2021, RusAccreditation is to undergo another assessment by international auditors in order to confirm the status of a signatory to the multilateral international ILAC MRA Agreement in the field of testing and calibration laboratories. In the course of the assessment, it is planned by RusAccreditation to expand the scope of recognition in the areas of accreditation of product certification bodies and management systems, inspection bodies and proficiency testing providers.
"This is an assessment not only of the activities of the Service, but also of all participants in the national accreditation system, including a direct assessment of the work of assessors. We expect that the participation of RusAccreditation in the activities of international accreditation associations will allow to increase the prestige of the national accreditation system and the level of confidence abroad in Russian documents on conformity assessment," - said Dmitry Gogolev.