The importance of product and service certification

Certifying a product is more than just meeting a regulation or safety standard. This activity adds value to the product and/or service and shall be considered since the viability assessment of an offer to the market. Today, society is more demanding regarding the quality, reliability, and performance of products and/or services. However, other factors are not revealed directly to the consumer, involving safety, environment, and health, which form the pillars for certification of products and/or services.

Certification is an activity for assessing the conformity of products and services, which considers different elements to compose a reasonable decision about their conformity, including, in general, assessment of the descriptive documentation of the product and/or service, use and installation manuals, laboratory tests, audit of the Organization’s Management System, treatment of complaints and other factors particular to each certification scope.

The ABNT NBR ISO/IEC 17000 standard defines that:

• Conformity Assessment – demonstration that specified requirements are met, and
• Certification – third-party attestation relating to a subject of conformity assessment other than accreditation.

Thus, an organization, when conducting certification, will be adding value to its product and/or service, which can be perceived by interested parties (customers, suppliers, regulatory authorities, and the consumer society), such as:

• Reduction of rework and production losses;
• Increased productivity;
• Greater engagement of its employees;
• Minimization of adverse effects, from injuries or damage to property, such as discomfort for the consumer, which can “stain” the organization’s image;
• Demonstration of confidence to interested parties in complying with a rule and/or regulation. See NCC certification services for different national and international scopes and regulations on our website.