Functions of a Standards and Conformance System
28. Most of the products and processes in the economy are affected by the standards and conformance system. There is a huge variety of standards which exist, or are being created, covering many sectors of the economy. Requirements and techniques in measurement, conformity assessment and accreditation are similarly diverse.
Figure 1: Functions of a Standards and Conformance System (Infrastructure Functions in Bold)
The Scope of Standards and Conformance
29. A lot of the work of standards and conformance bodies relates to voluntary standards and supports private trade. Standards directly cited by regulators are a smaller segment of the total.3 Regulations affecting products and processes exist in a number of areas, primarily concerning health, safety and environmental risks.
30. Each product or process type has its own path through the "system" of standards, measurement, accreditation, conformity assessment and regulation. Not every aspect of the system will be involved in every case. For example, many industry standards exist in the information technology area, with no regulation involved. Equally, some purchasing groups such as European supermarkets have enough market power to dictate the level of conformity assessment which goods must reach, beyond regulatory levels.4 Some regulations are administered directly by the regulator, with no third-party accreditation or conformity assessment services.
31. This means that each industry sector, firm or organisation, consumer or regulator will have different needs from the standards and conformance system. There is no one standard user of standards and conformance.
32. The following section defines the different functions of a standards and conformance system and provides some information on the relevant infrastructure bodies. The five infrastructure bodies under review undertake the functions of developing standards (SNZ), measurement (MSL and MAPSS) and accreditation (IANZ and JAS-ANZ).
33. In considering how the infrastructure works to deliver on the Government's objectives for the economy and the community and how outcomes might be improved, it is also necessary to consider the functions of regulation and conformity assessment, although regulators and conformity assessment services are not part of the infrastructure. The government's objectives for the standards and conformance system will only be met if the whole system functions well.
Standards
34. Standards are agreed technical specifications for products, processes, performance or services. Most standards are voluntary, but when referenced in legislation they should be considered as one component of "technical regulations". A regulator may also accept a Standard as a means of compliance without it necessarily being referenced in legislation.
35. Standards (with a capital "S") refer to formal Standards, developed by committees and formally adopted. The process for undertaking this is set out by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), along with the requirements of the Standards Act 1988. The wider term "standard" (lower case) can also refer to a level or norm which is adopted by a regulator without using the formal Standards committee process, or de facto or informal standards such as proprietary designs that win a position of market dominance.
36. The Standards Council is a user-funded autonomous Crown entity, continuing in existence under the Standards Act 1988.5 The primary statutory functions of the Standards Council are:
- to develop Standards and;
- to promote, encourage and facilitate the use of Standards in New Zealand, with the object of:
- improving the quality of goods and services;
- promoting standardisation and encouraging and facilitating industrial development, trade and commerce; and
- promoting public and occupational health, safety and welfare.
37. The Standards Council carries out these functions through its operational arm, Standards New Zealand. There were 2,808 Standards in New Zealand in 2005.6
Measurement
38. Metrology - the science of measurement - has two branches which are fundamental to the ability to trade: legal metrology and physical metrology.
39. Legal metrology seeks to ensure that goods are exchanged on the basis of recognised, informed and accurate weights or measures by promoting effective market practices and ensuring compliance with those practices. The Measurement and Product Safety Service (MAPSS) in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has responsibility for legal metrology and enforces the Weights and Measures Act 1987.
40. Physical metrology seeks to provide for the use of uniform units of measurement of physical quantities and for the establishment and maintenance of Standards of physical quantities. The Measurement Standards Laboratory (MSL), a unit in the Crown Research Institute, Industrial Research Limited (IRL), has responsibility for physical metrology and is responsible for providing New Zealand's national measurement Standards. MSL thus holds the most accurate measurement in the country in these areas, and trade measures are traced back to these through IANZ accreditation.
Accreditation
41. Accreditation agencies assess the competency of other bodies to carry out conformity assessment. They use methodologies developed by international organisations and have their competence assessed through a system of peer review. Accreditation agencies are "third-party" independent assessors.
42. Two organisations supply accreditation services in New Zealand: The TLR Council (through its operational arm, IANZ) and JAS-ANZ.
43. The TLR Council is a Crown entity established under the Testing Laboratory Registration Act 1972. Its primary statutory functions are to promote the development and maintenance of good laboratory practice in testing and good quality assurance practice and to keep registries of organisations that comply. The Council is a user-funded, not-for-profit autonomous Crown entity, and receives no direct Crown funding for its operations. It maintains three separate operational units:
- International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ), an operational arm of the Council, responsible for laboratory and inspection body accreditation;
- Telarc Limited, a limited liability company accredited by JAS-ANZ that provides certification services alongside other private sector certification bodies throughout New Zealand; and
- The New Zealand Quality College, an educational arm of the Council.
44. In 1991, the Governments of Australia and New Zealand signed a Treaty to establish the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ). The primary functions of JAS-ANZ are to act as an accreditation agency for certification bodies providing quality and environmental management services (ISO 9001 and the ISO 14000 series), product and personnel certification and inspection services.
45. The Treaty was amended in 1998 and a Governing Board was established to oversee JAS-ANZ's operations, comprising six members appointed by Australia, three from New Zealand and the tenth member is the Chief Executive of JAS-ANZ.
Conformity Assessment
46. The term "conformity assessment" is a general term which covers a range of activities. It is generally accepted that "conformity assessment" is the "demonstration that specified requirements relating to a product, process, system, person or body are fulfilled".7 It covers testing, inspection, and certification. Suppliers' declarations of conformity are sometimes included in the definition.
47. Conformity assessment is supported by metrology and accreditation. Conformity assessment allows the manufacturer of a product, service provider or regulator to demonstrate that the particular characteristics of a product or service comply with domestic or international regulatory requirements or standards.
48. Conformity assessment services are carried out in both the public and private sector. It is generally accepted internationally that competition in these services helps to improve and maintain the quality of services and imposes market disciplines on fees.
49. Conformity assessment began as laboratory testing and testing remains an important component of conformity assessment but other, complementary methods, of conformity assessment have evolved and are still evolving. These include:
- certification to confirm that the conformity assessments carried out do verify compliance with a technical regulation or standard;
- certification that the testing and other assessments carried out to verify adherence to a technical regulation or standard achieve that outcome;
- product quality control, which may include audits of compliance with management and environmental management systems and factory inspections to see that manufacturing processes will guarantee consistent quality;
- personnel certification to ensure that work is being carried out with adequate education, knowledge and experience; and
- inspections, which are usually a process that applies risk management techniques in addition to one or more of the methods described above.
Regulation
50. Regulators8 use various types of regulation and intervention to achieve their aims. Many of them cite Standards or rely on Standards in some way. It is important for this review to consider how regulators use (or do not use) standards and conformity assessment because this affects demand for the services of the standards and conformance infrastructure. How (and whether) regulators use Standards also matters for effectively achieving regulatory outcomes, primarily related to health, safety and the environment.
51. There is a wide range of diversity between the various regulators regarding their use of Standards. Some regulators do not use the infrastructure, but set "standards" or benchmarks of their own without following the internationally prescribed Standards development processes.
52. Some sectors, such as the electrical safety, electro-magnetic compatibility, and medical equipment sectors have adopted international Standards underpinning regional and international certification regimes with extensive recognition (including Mutual Recognition Agreements) in place.
53. Other sectors have more regionally-aligned regulatory regimes, such as the automotive sector. Some sectors have a domestically-focussed regulatory regime, such as building controls, which include criteria specific to New Zealand, for example, seismic designs.
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