Safety Certification ('S' Mark) scheme is a third party Certification scheme in Electronics sector promoted by STQC Certification Services, Standardization Testing ,& Quality Certification Directorate(STQC), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology , Government of India. This scheme is intended to provide adequate level of confidence, by means of system assessment, product testing and subsequent surveillance, that the product conforms to the specified requirements of appropriate Safety standard published by International Electro-technical Commission(IEC).
Benefits of Certification
- Product certification as per international IEC standards.
- Provides one stop solution for issue of Indian safety mark(S-Mark) without any further product testing if request is based upon review and acceptance of IECEE-CB report and certificate .
- Enhance Export capability by reciprocal recognition.
- Improvement in Quality and Safety level of product.
- Provides marketing edge over the competitors even in domestic market.
- Makes easy to get international safety approvals like VDE, UL etc.
Why to Choose STQC?
'S' Mark represents mark of SAFETY granted under the National Level Safety Certification ('S' Mark) Scheme of STQC Directorate, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India. The scheme is intended to provide adequate level of confidence regarding safety of product by means of factory inspection, product testing (as per appropriate IEC safety standard) and subsequent surveillance of the manufacturer . The scheme is designed and conforms to ISO/IEC 17065 as per international requirements.
Salient Features
- Third party certification system
- Managed on International guidelines of ISO/ IEC 17065
- Testing at accredited test laboratories (preferably IECEE-CB approved labs).
- Test reports in Internationally approved IECEECB test report formats.
Certification Process
Route 1 : Requiring product testing
Pre-certification requirements
Client interested in obtaining certificate of approval under Safety Certification scheme, shall have established a documented quality system complying with the requirements of current version of the ISO 9001 standard and the applicable product standards.
Application: STQC Certification Services provides an application along with an offer based on defined criteria to its clients for initial information. The duly filled application along with applicable fee, product details/brochure, quality system documentation , certification agreement and Factory questionnaire needs to be submitted to STQC Certification Services
Evaluation of Documentation: STQC Certification Services reviews the submitted documentation and prepares a report detailing its finding. The deficiencies, if any, will have to be corrected prior to assessment. Certification Body forwards a copy of 'Standard Operation Procedure' (SOP) to the manufacturer. The documentation provided by the client and SOP will form a part of assessment criteria during assessment.
Factory Inspection and sample sealing: Following documentation review, factory Inspection is carried out which is a detailed on-site assessment that takes place at the applicant's locations(s) to determine conformance to the assessment criteria. Non-conformances, if any, found during the factory inspection, are reported to client objectively. During the assessment test samples of the products is/are also sealed and the client is advised to submit the sealed samples to designated test laboratory. At the end of the assessment, the factory inspection report is prepared and handed over to applicant.
Test Report : The sealed samples are tested at designated test laboratory. The report is received by the certification body directly. In case of any failures in testing, a copy of the report is provided to the client.
Corrective action: The applicant will be required to take corrective action for any non-conformances reported during the Factory Inspection and failures recorded in the test report before initiating the process of granting certification. The evidences of corrective actions shall be submitted to assessment team leader, for review and acceptance, within the committed time frame.
STQC is member of IECEE CB Scheme. It also issues safety certificate based on the review of CB Test Certificate and Report. Under this process the client will follow the application and Factory Inspection process as defined above. In addition the client is required to submit CB certificate and CB Test Report ( not older than one year) and one representative sample of the product. Certification body will verify the genuineness of the CB Certificate and CB Test report and get the CB Certificate and CB Test Report examined by its experts located at STQC laboratories. The examination comments (if any) will need to be resolved before certification. If requirement for additional testing is identified by the certification body then it will need to be satisfactorily completed before certification. The certificate is issued on satisfactory results.
Certification: STQC Certification Services will issue a certificate of approval / registration to the applicant once the certification process is completed satisfactorily and all other obligations are met. The certificate carries a validity of three years from the date of issue subject to satisfactory findings during surveillances. The certified client's are committed through signing of certification agreement to comply with the certification body's requirements
Surveillance: During the certificate validity period, two surveillance assessments are carried out at an interval of one year from the date of certification in the period of the certificate validity. The Certification Body also reserve the right to order unplanned and / or additional surveillances in case of complaints. In case of failure to accept surveillance, major non conformities, failure to take timely corrective actions or failure to fulfill financial obligations may lead to suspension of the certificate. Failure to take effective timely actions for revoking suspension may lead to withdrawal of certificate.
Renewal: The client's quality system is re-assessed and samples retested on sampling basis for the renewal of certificate. All actions related with renewal (including completion of corrective actions and testing ) shall be completed before expiry of certificate to ensure continuity of certificate. In case of renewal
- Suspension Withdrawal process(29 KB)
- SYS_P07-Appeals Issue 03
- SYS_P08-Complaint Disputes & Feedback-issue06_21.11.2016
- SYS_D05_Use_of_Logo_Issue 07 211116
- Expansion/Reduction of scope of certification(13 KB)
Status of Suspended/Withdrawal 350 KB
Certification Agreement 161.93 KB
Factory questionnaire 163.16 KB
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Contact Us
| Name and Designation | Address | Phone/Email/Fax |
|---|---|---|
| Atul Gupta, Scientist 'G' | STQC Directorate Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Electronics Niketan, III Floor, 6,CGO Complex, Lodi Road, New Delhi - 110 003 | Phone: 011 - 24301372 Email: atulgupta AT stqc.gov.in Fax: 011 - 24363083 |
