TURKAK (TURKISH ACCREDITATION AGENCY)*
OBJECTIVE
In recent years, determining the conformity of products and services to relevant standards and technical regulations has become an important issue in the relations between modern economies.
In parallel with this development, in addition to the elimination of existing trade barriers such as quotas and customs duties, the negative impact of non-tariff barriers on international trade imposed by standards and technical regulations prepared by countries for consumer safety and environmental protection has emerged as a phenomenon that needs to be prevented.
To prevent the emergence of technical barriers, international standards organizations are developing measures and policies to prevent the creation of different standards and technical regulations for the same products. On the other hand, regulations are under consideration to ensure that testing, inspection, and certification processes, aimed at determining product conformity to relevant standards and demonstrating that they meet consumer expectations, are carried out without qualitative differences from country to country.
The World Trade Organization (WTO), along with the European Union, APEC, and NAFTA economic blocs, have taken a series of measures to ensure that testing, inspection, and certification activities, collectively referred to as "conformity assessment," are carried out in accordance with international criteria. Among these, the WTO's Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) is noteworthy, requiring signatory countries to establish accreditation systems to ensure that conformity assessment service providers operate according to relevant international criteria. Furthermore, the European Customs Union Agreement, to which we are a party, also mandates compliance with relevant EU legislation and practices regarding standardization, certification, and metrology.
The primary objective of the Turkish Accreditation Agency is to ensure that goods produced in our country circulate in the markets by undergoing reliable and transparent conformity assessment procedures and preparing the relevant reports and documents, as stipulated in the agreements mentioned above .
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Question 1: Are calibration and testing laboratories, as well as organizations that certify products/services, systems, and personnel, required to be accredited?
Answer 1: National and international regulations regarding accreditation do not impose any obligation in this regard. Accreditation is entirely voluntary. Generally, free market economies where conformity assessment services are provided encourage laboratories and certification bodies to become accredited. Accreditation enhances the reputation of a laboratory or certification body. If certification bodies and laboratories believe they can survive, find customers, and satisfy customers without accreditation, they can continue to provide services without it. In free market economies, public authorities may make accreditation a mandatory practice in some areas.
Question 2: For certificates issued by certification bodies operating in our country but accredited abroad to be valid in our country, do these certification bodies also need to be accredited by TÜRKAK (Turkish Accreditation Agency)?
Answer 2: Organizations of foreign origin operating and conducting certification activities in our country; if they are accredited by a national accreditation body that is a member of the European Accreditation Cooperation Program (EA), and the Turkish branch of the relevant company is also specified within the scope of this accreditation, there is nothing to criticize about these certification bodies serving their clients in Turkey. Similarly, if
a certification body operating in any country outside the EA's area of responsibility has conducted certification work in Turkey, and the accrediting party is a member of a regional accreditation body with which the EA has a mutual recognition agreement, there will be no problem regarding the competence of the certification body.
However, compared to accreditation from abroad, accreditation obtained from our existing accreditation system will certainly have advantages in terms of cost and speed of implementation. Therefore, in the near future, certification bodies operating in our country will find it easier to return to TÜRKAK and obtain accreditation from there.
Question 3: What is TÜRKAK's role in CE marking?
Answer 3: The European Union's New Approach Directives mandate CE marking for risky products. For risky products, it is essential that the test, inspection, and certification results of the authorized bodies (Notified Bodies) are positive. The regulations prepared for the implementation of Law No. 4703 on CE marking stipulate that organizations authorized for CE marking must have ensured compliance with the standards used for accreditation.
Question 4: When will the accreditations made by TÜRKAK gain international validity?
Answer 4: The time required for an accreditation body located in European countries to sign a mutual recognition agreement with the European Economic Community (EA) is approximately 2-3 years from its establishment. TÜRKAK has also set itself the goal of signing a mutual recognition agreement within this timeframe. An accreditation body must have completed a certain number of accreditations to become a member of the EA. Following its accreditation processes, TÜRKAK applied to EA on October 17, 2002, and became a full member of EA on November 27, 2002. After achieving full membership, TÜRKAK's goal is to sign a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MLA) in the second half of 2004.
Question 5: How will the auditors assigned to accreditation work be selected?
Answer 5: Auditors will be selected through their own applications in an organized manner, based on the inventory we are preparing. If deemed suitable, they will become candidate auditors. Additional training programs needed by these candidate auditors will be provided through TÜRKAK's organization. Candidate auditors will have the opportunity to increase their knowledge and experience through experience sharing by being part of the same team as foreign auditors we will invite for TÜRKAK's initial audits. TÜRKAK has prepared a regulation for external assignments in this regard. Auditors will perform their duties according to the procedures and principles of this regulation.
Question 6: What will be the role of the National Metrology Institute (UME) in the accreditation studies to be carried out by TÜRKAK? Answer 6: It is foreseen that auditors will be obtained from UME, especially in the accreditation of calibration laboratories. UME's capacities will be utilized in the test comparisons and benchmark measurements required for laboratory accreditation. Since UME is an institute at the highest point of the traceability chain of measurements in our country, TÜRKAK will require that the upper end of the traceability of the measurements included in the scope of accredited activities be linked to UME . Question 7:
What will TSE's position be after the accreditation system is established?
Answer 7: Since accreditation is based on a voluntary principle, organizations and laboratories engaged in certification activities are not obligated to be accredited. As TSE (Turkish Standards Institution) is one of the organizations operating such laboratories and certification systems, the necessary procedures will be carried out if it applies to TÜRKAK (Turkish Accreditation Agency) for accreditation.
Question 8: What is the flow of TÜRKAK's accreditation processes?
Answer 8: Click here for a simple flowchart explaining the accreditation processes .
*This page is for informational purposes only and has been compiled from the Turkish Accreditation Agency (TÜRKAK) website.
Agency website: turkak.org.tr