National accreditation body seeks global recognition
JAKARTA (JP): The National Accreditation Committee (KAN) is seeking global recognition by joining mutual recognition arrangements (MRA) with international accreditation bodies, its chairman said on Wednesday.
Currently evaluating KAN to join MRA is the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC), from which the committee expects its first international evaluation in February.
"Receiving global recognition is important to assure that our own evaluations comply with international standards," KAN chairman Herudi Kartowisastro said during a discussion on standardization at the Mangala Wanabakti building in Central Jakarta.
"A MRA certificate from APLAC will enable KAN to conduct its own laboratory tests for examinations that require recognition from countries in the Asia Pacific region," Herudi said.
KAN is part of the National Standardization Board (BSN), which formulates national policies on standardization.
BSN's director of standardization Bambang Supriyo Utomo said that APLAC's certificate would lower the costs of laboratory tests which required Asia-Pacific recognition.
"At present, we either bring foreign specialists to Indonesia or have the tests conducted abroad," Bambang said.
So far APLAC has 18 members, of which Singapore, the USA, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Taiwan have joined APLAC's MRA.
According to Bambang, KAN will strive to receive wider recognition from the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) by 2001.
Evaluations, he explained, would be based on KAN's consistency in applying standardization guidelines such as IEC Guide 61 issued by the International Standardization Organization (ISO)
KAN was established in January this year to conduct accreditation in various fields, including other national accreditation institutions issuing ISO certificates.
KAN's certificates are valid for three years during which it conducts regularly surveys on the accredited institutions.
Bambang said companies are not required to use KAN accredited institutions if their own accreditation works are already internationally recognized.
Last August, PT Mutu Agung Lestari (MAL), which issues standard certification, received an accreditation from the United Kingdom Accreditation Services for its ISO 9000 certificates.
KAN, on the other hand, has accredited 11 private and two state owned institutions that issue quality control certificates, as well as two institutions issuing certificates on environmental management.
The 11 private institutions are Agro-Based Industry Quality Assurance (ABIQA), B4T-Quality System Certification (B4T-QSC), BBK-Quality Assurance Certification Scheme (BBK-QACS), Balai Industri Semarang Quality Assurance (BISQA), Textile Industry Quality Assurance (TIQA-BBT), BBKKP-Quality System Certification (BBKKP-QSC), Balai Penelitian Tekstil Jakarta-Industrial Quality Assurance Certification (BPTJ-IQAC) and PT SGS Indonesia.
The two state-owned institutions are PT PLN Jasa Teknik Kelistrikan Quality System Certification (PT PLN JTK-QSC) and PT Biro Klarifikasi Indonesia (PT BKI).
The two accredited institutions issuing environmental management certificates are Sucofindo-International Certification Services (Sucofindo-ICS) and Mutu Agung Lestari Environmental System Certification (MAL-ECO). (03)