Luiz Cláudio de Oliveira Pereira

4th MARS-Group Meeting on Market Surveillance

Bratislava/SK - September 2006

Luiz Cláudio de Oliveira PereiraNational Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality

Inmetro - Brazil

MARKET SURVEILLANCE ON CONFORMITY ASSESSED PRODUCTS

The Brazilian Experience



NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF METROLOGY, STANDARDIZATION

AND INDUSTRIAL QUALITY

INMETRO - Brazil



INMETRO:

Founded in 1973

Governmental

Institution

1,150 employees

60 laboratories

100,000 m2

(built area)



INMETRO’s Activities:

• Scientific, Industrial and Legal Metrology

• Focal Point for WTO Agreement on Technical

Barriers to Trade;

• Accreditation of Certification Bodies, Calibration and Testing Laboratories;

• Conformity Assessment.



MARKET SURVEILLANCE IN BRAZIL



Market Surveillance on Ordinary Products and Services

Governmental Agency Acting Field Product andSurveillance Focus

National PetroleumAgency (ANP)

Petroleum and itsderivatives

Biofuel

Gasoline - Aspect, color, vaporpressure, specific mass, lead,sulphur, ethanol, benzene and

other hydrocarbons content etc.National Agency of

Sanitary Surveillance(ANVISA)

People’s Health(food, medicine,cosmetics etc)

Medicine: labeling, validity,legality and registering,counterfeit medicines,

importation etc.National Agency ofTelecommunication

(ANATEL)

TelecommunicationServices

Telephony: taxes and prices,accounting etc.



Market Surveillance on Conformity Assessed Products

Conformity Assessment Mechanisms used in the Brazilian System of Conformity Assessment - SBAC:

Certification

Declaration of Conformity by the Supplier

Labeling

Testing

Inspection




In Brazil, there are two ways to follow up compulsorily conformity assessed products in the market and they both are run by INMETRO:

Inspection (based on the package information checking)

Conformity Verification (based on the product intrinsical

analysis)




It’s executed by police officers through a network of public bodies delegated by Inmetro: Brazilian Network of Legal Metrology and Quality (RBMLQ).

The inspection is aimed at verifying whether products available in the market bear the SBAC conformity identification seal.

Inspection:




Inspection:

RBMLQ




Definition:

It is the verification of the permanence of the conformity of a product to the specified requirements, with the intention of proving the effectiveness of the Conformity Assessment Program, as well as the constant improvement of the Program.

Conformity Verification:




It means to periodically collect samples of conformity assessed products available in the place of their sale in order to verify whether they maintain the characteristics based upon which they were granted a license to bear the conformity seal.

The follow-up in the market, by means of this action, bears a preventive character.





Priorization of the Family Products to Be Analyzed:


Risks that the products offer; Products history on the market (particularly consumers xxxcomplaints and irregularity indicator on inspection activity); Conformity assessment mechanisms.



Conformity Verification Phases:

ConformityVerification Annual Plan

SBAC agents meeting (INMETRO,

RBMLQ, RBLE, Certification Bodies,

Manufacturers)

Market Survey by INMETRO

RBMLQ collects the

products

RBLE assays the products

INMETRO consolidates the results

INMETRO defines the corrective

actions within SBAC

System Feedback



RESULTS




Results about the Inspection:

In 2004, the following up about inspection has considered only the number of inspected units and 2006 results are relative to Jan-Aug period.

Year 2004 2005 2006 Sale Point Visits - 86,632 59,963

Inspection - 304,218 201,096 Inspected Units 71.501,503 73.049,278 58.230,526

Irregularities 1,24% 1,41% 1,03%




Results about the Conformity Verification:

Family Products with Conformity Assessment 70Family Products under Conformity Verification 22

Manufacturers Involved 954Sales Points Where the Samples Were Collected 1,051

Units of Products Collected for the Sampling 18,357



DIFFICULTIES IN

BRAZIL



Territorial extension;

Low practice of demanding claims;

High operational character on the Conformity Verification process (hard job force demand).



IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES



To contract private institutions to handle the operational phase that is responsible for the major effort on the process;

Market Surveillance done by external agents (sectorial assossiations) - being systematized.



FOLLOWING UP PRODUCTS IN THE MARKET CONTRIBUTES TO MEET THE MAIN CONCEPT OF CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT:

“TO PROPITIATE SUITABLE DEGREE OF CONFIDENCE IN THE PRODUCT CONFORMITY, BY THE LOWER POSSIBLE COST FOR THE SOCIETY”



Inmetro’s Home Page:http://www.inmetro.gov.br

Call Center:0800 285 1818

Consumers Site:www.portaldoconsumidor.gov.br

Questions to Inmetro:[email protected]

Contacts of INMETRO

Documents

Luiz Cláudio de Oliveira Pereira