CertAlarm is fully operational as of May 17.
During the winter the potential test laboratories and certification bodies of CertAlarm were subject to pre-acceptance audits. Peter Vermaercke as lead auditor and CertAlarms General Manager Lucien Coletta have performed these audits. Peter is a freelance auditor and is working for several accreditation bodies. The CertAlarm Board has reviewed in their 5 May meeting the pre-acceptance reports. The decision was taken to designate ANPI as well as Telefication as Contracted Certification Body and Recognised Test Laboratory. The (limited) scopes of both partners can be found on the website of CertAlarm. More partners are expected.
The website and the online database of CertAlarm are finalized and tested during the last months. Half May the online database was capable to produce certificates and to publish the registration of certificates on the website. The Board decided that as of 17 May 2010 the CertAlarm partners are allowed to issue CertAlarm certificates. At the moment the first manufacturers are registered and the first certificates will be published on the website (see www.certalarm.org) within weeks.
Europe is ready for CertAlarm.
First of all the European Commission recently published some regulations, which are changing the structure of the mandatory and voluntary product certification in Europe. Mandatory certification (to the Product Directives of the EU) is brought under the quality umbrella of the European co-operation for Accreditation (the EA). It is encouraged that voluntary certification on pan-European level is done per sector under endorsement of the EA. The exclusion of Security devices in the BER for the Insurance Sector is deleted per 1 April 2010. Secondly the development of European standards (ENs) for the Fire and Alarm sector is almost complete (and will stay due to innovation almost complete for ever). Thirdly we see increasing competition in testing and certification for Fire and Alarm components and systems caused by the CPD and the availability of ENs. Fourthly two recent published studies (the ESRIF and a DGE study) propose the creation of a European Security Label.
Last but not least CertAlarm AISBL is founded, owning and operating a pan-European EA endorsed certification Scheme for Fire and Alarm components, systems and services completely in line with these major developments.
The future is for CertAlarm and as we all know our future starts today!
Guest report from:
Wouter Blom
President of CertAlarm