Sweden hosts 12th IECEE annual meeting

Participants at the 12th IECEE Certification Management Meeting

This year’s IECEE CMC (Certification Management Committee) General Meeting took place in Stockholm, Sweden, on 24-25 June 2009. The meeting was hosted by Swedish IECEE Member Body SEK (Svensk Elstandard), with support from its associated NCB (National Certification Body) Intertek Semko AB, IKEA and Teknikföretagen (the Association of Swedish Engineering Industries).

Government official underlines how IECEE schemes promote free trade and protect health and safety of Swedish citizens

SEK Managing Director Thomas Korssell opened the 12th IECEE CMC meeting, welcoming participants and reminding them that SEK was among the founders of IECEE in 1985. He stressed the critical role of IECEE CMC in directing the efforts of the IECEE towards facilitation of global trade through mutual recognition of test data from participating CBs (Certification Bodies) and direct acceptance from the market place. Korssell then introduced Gunnar Wieslander, State Secretary in the Ministry of Trade, which is part of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under which standardization and CA (Conformity Assessment) fall.

In his address, Wieslander said that free trade is a cornerstone of Swedish foreign and commercial policy as Sweden vigorously pursues open, simple and fair conditions for international trade and investment, thus contributing to growth, employment and sustainable development. The country’s prosperity is built on international trade and the ability of Swedish companies to compete in the global market.

From left to right: CAB
Chairman Hiromichi Fujisawa,
IECEE Vice-Chairman Jun Xie,
IECEE Chairman Gösta Fredriksson,
IECEE Executive Secretary
Pierre de Ruvo and IECEE Treasurer
Fritz Beglinger

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Attendees at the IECEE annual
meeting

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IECEE Certification Management
Committee

Wieslander stated that there is a broad consensus in Sweden on the best way to open up global trade, namely through multilateral agreements, and membership in the WTO (World Trade Organization). He added that there is also agreement on the importance of pursuing a coherent policy for sustainable and equitable global development, a policy that implies, among other things, improved access to markets for developing countries. Trade policy can, and should, be designed to strengthen the ability of developing countries to become better integrated in world economy and to benefit more from growing trade.

Wieslander said that international standards and cooperation in the field of certification are essential to abolish technical barriers. Standardization, in particular in the electrotechnical field, has been an important and indispensable support to industrial development. Economy of scale, specialization and innovation would not be possible without efficient and industry-driven standardization.

As a governmental representative, Wieslander also recognized that standardization has greatly contributed to the health and safety of citizens and that IEC Standards are used all over the world as a basis for safety legislation.

He went on to say that, ideally, one set of homogenous International Standards accepted by all major countries is needed and that ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and IEC are the organizations that can develop and maintain these standards. With regard to testing and certification, the systems established by the IEC, in particular the IECEE System and its benchmark the CB Scheme, have been and are, efficient tools for the reduction of double testing.

Wieslander concluded by saying that the Swedish government acknowledges and welcomes the important work of the IEC and the IECEE and he wished great success to the IECEE CMC meeting.

IECEE decisions and recommendations

Following Wieslander’s address, the meeting focused on the agenda, dealing with a variety of topics and decisions of particular importance to all IECEE Members and stakeholders.

IECEE Chairman Gösta Fredriksson provided an overview of recent decisions made by the IEC CAB (Conformity Assessment Board), among others the approval of IECEE 2010 budget, the new set of criteria to be applied when one of the three IEC CA (Conformity Assessment) Systems is looking for a scope extension and the use of normative documents limited to IEC International Standards and ISO Standards in cases where no relevant IEC standard exists. (See also the December 2008 e-tech)

IEC CAB had also expressed concern regarding counterfeiting which is rapidly expanding to include electrical and electronic goods (see the July 2009 e-tech). Based on the recommendation of the IECEE PSF (Policy & Strategy Forum), the CMC agreed to establish a "Counterfeit" Working Group, which will be convened by Jean-Pierre Isnard of France and will include representatives from member countries. China, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States of America have already announced their participation. Other member countries had until the end of July to nominate a representative.

The CMC also agreed to an expansion of the PSF to include regions not yet represented to ensure a better geographical repartition of the PSF seats. Member bodies from countries not yet represented can nominate their representatives (two per country, one from the NCB, the other from industry).

Other items on the agenda included the maintenance and updating of the IECEE Basic Rules, the Rules of Procedures and the Operational Documents for the CB and CB-FCS (Certification Body-Full Certification Scheme) Schemes.

In the area of photovoltaics, the CMC noted the smooth transfer of ownership of the PV GAP (Global Approval Program for Photovoltaics) Mark and Seal to IECEE and its NCBs (National Certification Bodies), effective at the end of 2008.

New guidance and training workshops

The workshops on MEE (medical electrical equipment) and on software evaluation, held in April in Milan, Italy, were also reviewed.

The CMC approved the MEE Task Force recommendation to continue to develop guidance for the implementation of the risk management process complying with ISO 14971 within IEC 60601, Medical electrical equipment, with particular emphasis on the contents of the Risk Management File prepared by manufacturers. A specific training workshop for laboratory staff, manufacturer testing laboratories and technical assessors is to be organized in 2010. Testing against collateral standards should be carried out either by any specialized testing laboratory that will have to comply with the relevant IECEE CB Operational Document and become a registered SPTL or else the testing can be carried out by a laboratory holding accreditation from an Accreditation Body member of ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation) MLA (Multilateral Agreement).

On software evaluation, the CMC confirmed that the TP (Technical Panel) set up at the workshop would work closely with the IECEE’s CTL ETF 1 (Committee of Testing Laboratories’ Expert Task Force 1): Household appliances, noting that participation in the TP would still be open to software specialists willing to join. Future training in the field of software evaluation in household appliances should also be organized, the CMC indicated. (See also the June 2009 e-tech)

Cooperation with other organizations

IECEE Executive Secretary Pierre de Ruvo, in his capacity as Head of the IEC CAB delegation gave participants progress reports on the IEC CAB collaboration with IAF (International Accreditation Forum) and ILAC, with the IEC ACOS (Advisory Committee on Safety) in view of organizing future joint workshops on safety.

De Ruvo then spent some time reviewing the IECEE/APEC EE MRA (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Electrical and Electronic Mutual Recognition Arrangement) collaboration after the latest APEC EE MRA Seminar, which he attended last May. Michael Ong, Head of the Singapore delegation to the IECEE meeting and Chair of the APEC JAC (Joint Advisory Committee) for MRA was next to take the floor, presenting APEC. He said that APEC operates as a cooperative, multilateral economic and trade forum, promoting dialogue between members and making decisions on a consensual basis, giving equal weight to the views of all members. He further stated that the APEC EE MRA makes great use of the IECEE System by accepting IECEE CB Scheme as a prerequisite in Part II of the APEC EE MRA for the mutual acceptance of test reports and the IECEE CB-FCS Scheme as a pre-requisite in Part III for the mutual acceptance of certification. He concluded his speech by expressing appreciation for the IECEE Executive Secretary’s participation in the 2008 and 2009 APEC Seminars and for the invaluable and effective collaboration between IECEE and APEC EE MRA. (See the July 2009 e-tech)

The meeting closed with the announcement that the 2010 event would be hosted by the Israeli member body SII (Standards Institution of Israel) on 30 June-1 July 2010 in Tel Aviv, Israel.