conformance specification in procurement

This blog is written by Renaud Anjoran, an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer who has been involved in chinese manufacturing since 2005. article. Thus, quality of conformance equates to conformance to specifications within an acceptable tolerance range. "functional" and "performance" are used model numbers, or other designations that identify the specific specification is to provide a basis for obtaining a good or This is a document, parallel to but distinct from the official specifications, that contains a list of recognized extensions to the standard. criteria for the purpose of qualifying the bid document. The problem here however is the chance that the person who raised the requisition may well change their mind or refine the specification as quotes begin to arrive. Definitions - what is conformance (to a standard)? What should a certificate of conformity include? ISO/IEC TR 13233 defined conformance and conformity as "fulfillment by a product, process or service of all relevant specified conformance requirements." What is specification? 0000008579 00000 n 3. XSLT Test Suite NIST is working with W3C and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) to develop a comprehensive test suite for the Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) processors. For software developers, using conformance test suites early-on in the development process can help improve the quality of their implementations by identifying areas in which they conform as well as those areas in which they do not. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Here is one example. The Procurement cycle is covered extensively within the CIPS . QUALIFIED PRODUCT LIST (QPL): A Requisition 2 enables the buyer to go and research the market and benchmark against specific needs and where He/She can, achieve a cost reduction against the specification without delivering something that may not be fit for purpose. Falsification testing can only demonstrate non-conformance. (IUT) is the object that is being tested for conformance. For example, some testing programs may require a very formal testing and certification approach using an independent (i.e., third party), nationally accredited testing laboratory while other programs may be more appropriate for self declaration and demonstration testing. 2. The difference between the performance dimension and the conformance dimension is that the former is more forward-looking and the later backward-looking. Thanks! ~ F3!"c|?f0u{X)(oMU1H"Yq66fI1ar3f$cq. These extensions may eventually migrate into future versions of the standard. performance, quality or essential characteristics must be It is a neutral mechanism to judge a product against the criteria of a standard or specification. products, others may simply require that brands be tested under Here's why. The prevailing style of management conditions people to "conformance to specification" as the aim, writes Nigel Clements. Falsification testing can only demonstrate non-conformance. There are many assumed requirements that are real requirements from the users perspective. Portability is the ability to move software programs or applications among different computer systems with minimal change. What are the types of specifications when contracting? Lock Conformance testing (also called conformity assessment) is a way of verifying implementations of a specification to determine whether or not deviations from the specification exist. BRAND-NAME SPECIFICATIONS: The The alternative is falsification testing, a strategy that results in a level of confidence that an implementation conforms. In essence this is less rigid than conformance specification. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Developers/Customers often complain that Scope Creep occurred during a project. Generally, there are two main types of specification, conformance and performance Conformance specification; In this case the buyer details exactly what the product must have, as in what they want the product to be like!. Reference method tests and PEMS drift tests are conducted to determine conformance of the PEMS with the specification. 0000003930 00000 n 0000002964 00000 n And just as important, why is this important? and more interested in what a product does. The test documentation describes how the testing is to be done and the directions for the tester to follow. Bidders offering an equal If errors are found, one can correctly deduce that the implementation does not conform to the specification; however, the absence of errors does not necessarily imply the converse. The developers might respond that those were not part of the requirements and this would be scope creep to the project. SPECIFICATION DEFINITIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS. This more common approach usually includes some additional, more specific, requirements in the conformance clause, along the lines of: One approach that has been used successfully is to have a register for extensions. This type of conformance testing makes use of publicly available test suites or tools and is not associated with any formal validation or certification program. However, Materials used must be In contrast to the design approach, By definition, a The general definition for conformance has changed over time and been refined for specific standards. The advantages afforded by testing (and certification) are fairly obvious: quality products, interoperability, and competitive markets with more choices. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. have expertise in every sphere of College of Charleston academic Conformance Specification (Technical) which focuses on inputs and provides specific details of what the product/service should consist of, and how the product should be manufactured as well as what materials and process should be followed. Hit the button below: Filed Under: Certifications Tagged With: certificate of conformity, coc, critical products, customs, high risk products, product conformity, standards. Not all specifications or standards need a testing program. DOM Test Suite - NIST has developed a comprehensive set of tests that will check for compliance with the Document Object Model (DOM) Level 1 Recommendation. These requirements are specified in a standard or specification as either part of a conformance clause or in the body of the specification. Procurement serves as the primary According to the EUs own guidance, your EU DoC should contain the following information: For imported products, theimporter must ensurethat the product is accompanied by the DoC and must keep a copy of it for 10 years after the product has been placed on the market. Certification is the acknowledgment that a validation has been completed and the criteria established by the certifying organization for issuing a certificate, has been met. It assumes responsibility for insuring that the components of the program are in place and becomes the centralized source for information about the program. Written by Lewis Hutson - Thank you for taking the time to read my first of hopefully (dependant on the first ones reception)many articles. Ready to get your copy? It should be possible to know where the Specification originated. Paper combination is: 3 layers carton (Layer1 is Kraft liner of 125GSM + Layer2 is Test/Recycled liner of 100GSM + Layer3 is Kraft liner of 125GSM) with mentioning Flute type and total GSM. Without a CoC, products may be impounded, confiscated, and in some case destroyed. Speaking generally, one is the specification that product will meet an intended need, there are at least ten However, this is generally impossible for implementations of nontrivial specifications. A specification becomes an essential contract management document which is used to ensure that the chosen supplier provides what is specified. Requirements Work that matches what was requested in requirements. https://www.nist.gov/itl/ssd/information-systems-group/conformance-testing, Martha Gray, Alan Goldfine, Lynne Rosenthal, Lisa Carnahan National Institute of Standards and Technology. Departments using design by vendors to add products to the QPL. A conformance testing program usually includes: A specification/standard that includes a conformance clause and a test tools are essential to defining and measuring conformance. When there is enough time to assess the functionality of the product as proposed, Confirm Sign Up via the Email you provided, Get WEEKLY updates on Business, Finance & Legal aspects, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), CIPS L5M4 Advanced Contract and Financial Management, CIPS LEVEL 3 ADVANCED CERTIFICATE IN PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLY OPERATIONS, Cips level 4 DIPLOMA IN PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLY, Legal aspects in entrepreneurship (Mini EBook), Pricing arrangements in commercial agreements, Proposing solutions to customers problems, WELCOME TO THE ZERITE NETWORK TAX TRAINING PROGRAM, The efficacy of specifications does not depend on technical knowledge of the buyer, Supplier can use their creativity to develop the products. Procurement is responsible for final editing of A good specification should do four things: (1) Identify minimum requirements, (2) allow for a competitive bid, (3) list reproducible test methods to be used in testing for compliance with specifications, and (4) provide for an equitable award at the lowest possible cost. legitimate but limited place in public purchasing. The test software, consisting of a set of test files (i.e., data, programs, or scripts) checks each requirement in the specification to determine whether the results produced by the implementation match the expected results, as defined by the specification. Conformance to specifications means to meet any requirements defined for the product, not only regulatory. Validation with certification is often used as a prerequisite for procurement. But what are specifications? When validation is coupled with certification, successful completion of conformance testing results in the issuance of a certificate (or brand) indicating that the implementation conforms to the appropriate specification. However, this is generally impossible for implementations of nontrivial specifications that are written in a natural language. The testing program should strive to be as impartial and objective as possible, i.e., to remove subjectivity of both the procedures and the testing tools. Some may require that committees test the Once the item is delivered the specification can be used to compare the delivered item to what was ordered. Conformance is how well realities match specifications, rules, principles and plans. This button displays the currently selected search type. means of attempting to satisfy the requirement, its use The conformance clause may specify sets of functions, which may take the form of profiles, levels, or other structures. It will be super helpful to build on that. The ECMAScript suite allows the user to select a category of tests from a drop down menu. Determining whether a product faithfully implements a standard or specification is essential to creating robust, interoperable solutions. 3) The car shall have a red custom paint job with chrome accents. It would then be up to a purchaser to decide the criteria (how many or what kinds of errors) it wishes to use to make implementations eligible for purchase. There is sometimes confusion between the two terms, however, in most cases, these two terms mean exactly the same thing and often comes down to the personal preference of the company that needs the certificate. Marketing teams and customers view quality in terms of satisfying customer needs and meeting customer expectations. broad groupings are more particular types, including: brand-name Some importers choose to purchase components for their new products that are already certified to avoid needing to go through the testing and certification process. 6. The specification must: Be set out in the relevant Procurement Documents clearly describe what is required detail the characteristics required not refer to the following: brands or trade names The level and formality of the conformance testing is determined by the buyer, an organization acting on behalf of a community of buyers, or by regulation (e.g., safety, health, national security concerns). R3XF5h{o9gkz1p!i[$KQt?I$o:hdSisA4e3Dm9,Hhj4@`h$&!!r" BH$@4$"Jz"H,*Mc18/,1 #c7n~ "/[#J Product to be packed in this carton box is Shampoo bottles, dimension of 1 bottle is 180mm height x 50mm width & weight of one bottle is 50ml. Does a KitchenAid have a juicer attachment? With any standard or specification, eventually the discussion turns to "how will we know if an implementation or application conforms to our standard or specification?" Accompanying the actual test files is an XML test description file that contains pertinent information for each of the tests included in the distribution. ANSI/BIFMA standards are go-to references when evaluating the safety and durability of furniture products during the specification and procurement process. Enter a Melbet promo code and get a generous bonus, An Insight into Coupons and a Secret Bonus, Organic Hacks to Tweak Audio Recording for Videos Production, Bring Back Life to Your Graphic Images- Used Best Graphic Design Software, New Google Update and Future of Interstitial Ads. Some standards have no official testing organizations. 7 What is the definition of quality of conformance? One approach, adopted most famously by Ada, forbids any extensions whatsoever; each product must be a precise implementation of the complete specifications. John Spacey, May 01, 2017. In such a case, the conformance clause should specify whether or not an implementation is considered to be conformant if it does not implement each approach? this would be prohibitive. The other group call for ready-made, off-the-shelf commercial Examples of Conformance to specifications in a sentence. Depending on the nature of the electronic device being imported, you will either need to go through a more comprehensive FCC certification or can submit your own Suppliers Declaration of Conformity. Lets look at the difference between the two: For RF Devices with the greatest potential to cause harmful interference to radio services like smartphones, Bluetooth speakers, earbuds, etc, that emit radiation a self-declaration is not acceptable to comply with FCC regulations and they must be certified by an FCC-recognized Telecommunication Certification Body (TCB) based on an evaluation of the supporting documentation and test data submitted by the responsible party (e.g., the manufacturer or importer) to the TCB. Correct implementation and utilization of standards leads to portability and interoperability. Conformance involves two major components: (1) a test tool and (2) a testing program (e.g., certification or branding). The test suites are available athttp://xw2k.nist.gov/xml/index.html. There are two main types of specification when contracting namely: With this type of specification the buyer says what they want and how they want it and the supplier has to meet this. In general, the . There are 2 main & simple types of specification, Sharing specification sheet that stats needed item details like (materials, dimension, tolerance, weight & others). Others have qualified third party testing laboratories that apply the test suite according to the established policies and procedures. I like the point about cost only .. Contracting officers must assess the adequacy and applicability of any standards, specifications, including client-developed specifications, or purchase descriptions included by a client in the requisition. eliminates, items that are outside the boundaries drawn. Its use is called for where a structure or The objective is to produce tests for as many of the specification's requirements as feasible and use these tests to find errors in the implementation. If you do not use a third party laboratory, you may label this section N/A. If the mattresses being certified are for cribs or childrens size mattresses, please see the requirements for issuing a CPC. Conformance quality is the production of products and delivery of services to specifications. 0000066380 00000 n Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Design specifications are an interpretation of what the customer needs. 1.2 Upon request by the Owner, the Manufacturer at its expense shall provide proof of conformance with any or all requirements of this specification. In fact, specification writing should begin very early on in a project lifecycle. %PDF-1.2 The meaning of the words "shall," "should," and "may," in the context of the given standard, could be defined in the conformance clause or be as defined by organizations such as ISO. Software that is tested to ensure that it meets the requirements detailed in the specification can improve the quality of the software and the likelihood of achieving interoperability. The initial version of the test suite will not include the formatting objects part of XSL; however research is underway to determine how NIST can make a contribution to this part of the specification. brand-name specifications has the effect of limiting the bidding Well also examine in more detail the type of CoC you need to import consumer and electronic products into the USA and EU, as well as covering some other points on the topic, too. Dont forget that in order to affix the CE mark to your product and get the EU DoC you will need to create and submit the technical documentation that demonstrates that your product complies with EU regulations. They often refer to particular documents, and/or particular information within them. 3 What steps lead conformance to specification? For example, statements indicating that an implementation "shall," "should," or "may" implement a certain feature. Quality Assurance, Product Development, and Purchasing Strategies in China. For software specifications it is the software that has 'implemented' the specification. An example would be a recipe for a food . As a user I may legitimately have an issue that while testing a prototype I discover that I cannot steer the car and it has no braking system. Its use will not be permitted unless only one 0000001477 00000 n /Filter /LZWDecode `d 0@90@AA= .5@2:6: 12@7 KK;+MD 4p$? k9S:>P("hb YUE#5K>,46SCL- The conformance clause identifies what must conform and how conformance can be met. 0000009883 00000 n To this end, Identification of any third-party laboratory on whos testing the certificate depends: Provide the name, full mailing address, and telephone number of the third-party laboratory. These criteria may or may not require implementations to pass 100% of the specifications. This reflects the thinking of the "IOR School" (Insti- tute for Operational Research). What makes a good specification in procurement? What refers to product conformance with standards and specifications? Java and all Java based marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc., in the United States and other countries. (3) list reproducible test methods to be used in testing for In the marketplace, conformance test suites and consequently conformance testing provides a vehicle for exchanging information between buyer and seller. substantially equivalent to those named are considered for award, Get in touch with me and I will give you a tailored recommendation or quotation. Procurements primary role of taking a business requirement (specification) finding a supplier/suppliers , negotiating a deal and then ordering the item is all hinged on that first step! It is generally inspected during customs clearance if the product being imported requires it. [Importers Guide], What is a certificate of conformity (CoC). A specification is often a type of technical standard. Chartered MCIPS. The ECMAScript test suite contains over 800 tests and covers the fundamental, extended, and HTML interfaces of the DOM Level 1 Recommendation. Good thoughts Diaa..Performance specifications focuses on supplier partnership. Brand-name-or-equal specifications have a 0000003127 00000 n The conformance clause identifies what must conform and how conformance can be met. A lock ( 1. Development of the test suite may well be the costliest part of the conformance program. Departments using performance Early supplier involvement can reduce evaluation time in performance based contracts. An XSL stylesheet is used to generate an XML Conformance Test Report, which includes background information on conformance testing for XML and information that is useful in determining that each test is traceable back to the Recommendation. Here, you may receive totally different proposals which includes totally different solutions, however all of them may be accepted as they all will be achieving the required performance. procurement program and to evaluate the implementation of quality assurance (QA) program requirements that ensure that the appropriate structural concrete meeting approved concrete specifications is used in the UPF construction activities. requirements. Identify minimum requirements, (2) allow for a competitive bid, interchangeably to designate an approach to specifications that approval for the product offered before bid opening. Such an implementation provides a proof of concept of the standard and also provides a tool for the developers of the conformance test suite (by generating expected values, testing the test suite, etc.) Click here for Terms & Conditions. legitimate needs. The conformance clause is a part or collection of parts of a specification that defines the requirements, criteria, or conditions that shall be satisfied by an implementation in order to claim conformance. Some standards have subsequent documentation for the test methodology and assertions to be tested. It here unfortunatley all to often a stage where procurement are left out and not involved from the very begining stages. Barbara Shayan, M.A, Six Sigma Green Belt Certified. Two sets of test suites were built, one for DOM with an ECMAScript binding and the other with a Java binding. Extensions shall follow the principles and guidelines of the standard they extend, that is, the specifications must be extended in a standard manner. Depending on the type of specification (e.g., application programming interface (API), protocol, programming language, metafile), there are various methodologies that can be used in developing conformance test suites.

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