Research on the Voluntary Certification Product Quality Grading Evaluation System for Fire Protection Products

Release Date:

2020-11-11 11:13

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Research on the Voluntary Certification Product Quality Grading Evaluation System for Fire Protection Products

On March 19, 2019, the seventh meeting of the Central Deepening Reform Commission reviewed and approved the "Opinions on Deepening the Reform of Firefighting Law Enforcement," emphasizing: "Deepening the reform of firefighting law enforcement requires innovating supervision methods, strengthening source governance, deepening streamlining administration and delegating power, resolutely breaking various unreasonable thresholds and restrictions, strengthening supervision during and after the event, standardizing law enforcement behavior, implementing full public disclosure of firefighting law enforcement matters to society, building a firefighting supervision and management system, and ensuring the continuous stable and positive trend of firefighting safety." This opinion clearly pointed out the principles and direction of firefighting law enforcement reform.

On July 28, 2019, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued the "Opinions on Deepening the Reform of Firefighting Law Enforcement," stating: "Relax market access restrictions for firefighting products, remove 13 categories of firefighting products from the mandatory product certification catalog, changing them to voluntary certification; open the firefighting product certification and testing market to society."

On July 29, 2019, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Ministry of Emergency Management jointly issued the "Announcement on Cancelling Mandatory Certification for Some Firefighting Products," officially requiring the cancellation of mandatory product certification for some firefighting products and the revocation of already issued certification certificates.

This marked the transition of the firefighting product certification and testing market from a single mandatory product certification model to a more diversified and market-oriented voluntary product certification model, ushering in a new era for firefighting product certification and testing.

Overview of Domestic Firefighting Product Certification and Testing

Since the implementation of the firefighting product certification system, a single mandatory product certification market access model has been used. Firefighting products listed in the mandatory product certification catalog are not allowed to be manufactured, sold, or used without certification; for firefighting and related products not listed in the mandatory product certification catalog, quality proof is generally provided through third-party testing, with little practice of product certification and low market awareness of voluntary product certification. Data shows that as of July 2019, more than 90,000 mandatory certification certificates for firefighting products had been issued, involving more than 10,000 certified enterprises. After the large-scale removal of firefighting products from the mandatory catalog, only more than 10,000 mandatory product certification certificates remain.

Although mandatory product certification has played an important role in regulating market behavior, safeguarding public interests, and improving product quality, its nature as a market access mechanism has led to a series of problems such as poor market adaptability and inflexible operation.

The certification standards are generally fixed national standards, and the pace of standard changes often cannot keep up with market changes. Once new products or technologies appear in the market, mandatory certification is difficult to adapt quickly, which to some extent hinders market development;

The single certification model and certification standards make certification certificates undifferentiated. High-quality manufacturers and products cannot be effectively distinguished, leading to blind market choices and insufficient internal motivation for manufacturers to invest in quality;

Certification and testing service awareness and level are low, processes are rigid, resulting in long certification cycles and heavy burdens on enterprises;

The certification and testing market lacks quality brand supply, and firefighting enterprises lack support in corporate culture and brand building.

Currently, the firefighting product certification system has shifted from a single mandatory product certification to a new model dominated by voluntary product certification, with some firefighting products retaining mandatory product certification. The firefighting product market expects a more flexible and market-oriented voluntary product certification system to play its advantages. This article explores the product quality grading evaluation system with the aim of providing solutions to the above issues.

Discussion on Product Quality Grading Evaluation System

Purpose and Significance

The design concept of product quality grading certification takes the situation and problems faced by voluntary certification of firefighting products as the entry point, deeply implements the relevant requirements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council to advance supply-side structural reform and the "streamline administration and delegate power" reform deployment, based on the guiding opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on attaching great importance to quality brand building and the "Opinions of the State Council on Strengthening the Quality Certification System Construction to Promote Comprehensive Quality Management," and implements the "Opinions of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on Printing and Distributing ." The purpose is to establish a differentiated grading evaluation system to increase the supply of firefighting product certification services, innovate the voluntary product certification system, promote high-end quality certification, reduce enterprise burdens, improve service quality, and further leverage market functions, thereby providing innovative ideas to promote the quality improvement of firefighting products and the development of voluntary certification of firefighting products.

Design Concept

Based on policy analysis, literature research, and market surveys, product quality grading certification is divided into three evaluation levels: Quality Level 1, Quality Level 2, and Quality Level 3. Different quality levels are established based on different certification needs and market roles, corresponding to differentiated certification evaluation models and certification risks, thereby conveying different trust levels to the market. The basic design concept is shown in Table 1:

Quality Level 3 certification model: type testing + factory quality assurance capability self-declaration + post-certification supervision. Focuses on product quality and certification timeliness, effectively controlling product conformity to product standards and product consistency, and deeply implementing the national "streamline administration and delegate power" reform by introducing the "self-declaration" method. Certification requirements: certify all applicable items in the certification standard to prove that the certified product meets product standard requirements; the certification organization conducts self-assessment of its quality control level and formally declares the conformity of its quality assurance capability to certification requirements and the consistency between produced products and type-tested samples.

Quality Level 2 certification model: type testing + initial factory inspection + post-certification supervision. Focuses on product standards, comprehensively controlling the conformity of certified products to product standards, product consistency, and the certification organization's continuous ability to meet quality assurance requirements. Certification requirements: certify all applicable items in the relevant product standards to prove that the certified product meets product standard requirements; the certification organization has stable quality control capability to ensure continuous production of qualified products that meet product standard requirements and have controllable consistency.

Quality Level 1 certification model: type testing + initial factory inspection + post-certification supervision. Focuses on product brands, building quality benchmarks on the basis of product standard requirements, promoting product brand building and high-quality product development. Certification requirements: certify all applicable items in the relevant product standards or other certification basis standards (national standards, industry standards, group standards, or combinations) or certification technical specifications after evaluation, proving that the certified product meets product standard requirements or exceeds product standard requirements to a certain extent; the certification organization has strong quality control capability to ensure continuous production of high-quality products that meet or exceed product standard requirements with stable consistency, and the certification organization has leading advantages in enterprise qualifications, R&D capabilities, production capabilities, and inspection capabilities. Certification requirements to be met before applying for Quality Level 1 are shown in Table 2.

Product quality grading certification conveys differentiated product quality trust levels to the market through differentiated certification models and certification requirements, better coping with complex and changing market environments and better undertaking and controlling risks.

At the same time, this plan can also provide service support in implementing quality grading, increasing quality brand service supply for small and medium-sized enterprises, stimulating enterprises' motivation to improve quality, promoting brand cultivation, and creating a good quality brand development environment.

Conclusion

Mandatory certification of fire protection products is deeply ingrained in the fire protection field. The introduction of voluntary certification will inevitably bring a transitional period. Unlike the market access nature of mandatory certification, voluntary certification has a stronger market attribute, requiring certification bodies themselves to participate in market competition. Therefore, certification bodies must find a balance between their own development in market competition and their main responsibility to guide the healthy development of the industry, recognize and be able to cope with the risk of passive withdrawal, and ultimately establish a stable market-serving model under market regulation.

The product quality grading certification system provides a brand-new experimental approach for the new development of voluntary certification of fire protection products. However, how fire protection product certification bodies can effectively participate in market competition under continuously open market conditions, while deeply implementing the "streamline administration and delegate power, improve regulation, and upgrade services" reform, better serve fire protection product enterprises, and guide the healthy and orderly development of the fire protection product industry, is a problem that certification bodies need to consider and face. Certification bodies positioned as technical service providers should find a balance point between survival and development and their main responsibilities. Under the guidance of national policies and industry departments, they should explore a development path that conforms to scientific laws and make due contributions to social and economic development.

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