Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC) reports significant achievements in developing the quality infrastructure of Abu Dhabi, enhancing the emirate's regional and international competitiveness in various key sectors.
Releasing its annual report for 2022, QCC reports that achievements last year spanned preparing and implementing conformity programmes, reviewing and approving technical documents for partners, achieving consumer safety and market fairness, in addition to developing the metrology infrastructure, and enabling and developing laboratory tests for various products. Abdulla Ahmed Al Yazeedi, Executive Director of the Strategic Affairs at QCC said that the council's strategic plan (2021-2025) clearly defined objectives across sectors, organisational units, as well as performance indicators to develop and improve the entity’s main services as well as 16 sub-services. During 2022, the council’s tangible achievements supported vital economic sectors of Abu Dhabi by reducing production time and enhancing the competitiveness of local products in global markets. The achievements also included checking commercial frauds, ensuring the accuracy of measurement instruments to achieve commercial justice and contribution to increased quality of products available in the markets. In addition, the council also prepared and implemented conformity programmes and continuously developed the metrology infrastructure.
Abdullah Ahmed Al-Yazidi indicated that the 2022 report also reflected achievements in developing a sustainable quality infrastructure that meets all needs of key sectors, leading to attracting more investments into the economy which in turn helped raise the GDP of the emirate. In 2022, the Council approved 26 new technical documents, reviewed 22 draft specifications and technical regulations, evaluated 24 requests to harmonise technical documents, developed various conformity programmes, and prepared three studies on the impact of technical documents and conformity programme implementations.
The council also developed 50 conformity programs for goods and individuals, registered a 29% increase in the number of conformity assessment bodies, and a 15% increase in the issuance of certificates of conformity for individual services.
The report said that the council has conducted over 5 million laboratory examinations since 2014, 606 main services and over 2,394 sub-examinations. It also signed an agreement with G42 Healthcare to operate testing laboratories, provided more than 100 competence test programmes locally, and also launched an efficiency system for operational excellence with the help of artificial intelligence. In 2022, the council succeeded in expanding the scope of the approved examination methods by adding 275 more, adopting 30 new services to test food, construction and water. It also published three scientific papers, provided 12 technical consultations, conducted seven studies and research, organised two specialised training courses, and conducted 799 competency examinations for construction, chemical, environmental and medical materials. A database has also been provided for 178 evaluation agencies for the implementation of 622 calibration services in government and private sectors, 101 inter-comparison services, fitness checks, 32 technical metrological consultations, 9 technical training courses, 10 measurement and calibration capabilities. The report said that Council also implemented over 14,000 metrological verification operations on legal measurement instruments.
Last year the Council verified over 1,000 pre-packaged products, inspected more than 70,000 registered products in Abu Dhabi markets in addition to 7,300 products on online sales platforms.
