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Unfortunately, in Ukraine (compared to the European market), manufacturers formed the wrong opinion that carrying out production tests or product certification in the national system (till 2016 – the system of UKRSEPRO) and also – on compliance of production to the requirements of the Technical regulations (harmonized with the international Directives and standards) is sufficient for product sales. Such actions could be sufficient only for consumer grade products, and if only a brand or considerable costs for advertising campaign is available.

For the industrial output used in difficult technological complexes, the European investors, owners of the enterprises, general contractors of constructions universally consider the possible risks, connected with poor quality of the equipment, the refusals and their consequences (idle times, violations of safety conditions, insurance damages, etc.). In addition to obligatory confirmation of compliance to safety Directives, customers engage the authoritative (recognized) inspection bodies, which are notified in the EU, in order to decrease the similar risks and ensure the production quality of such equipment (product). Generally, the conditions of obligatory inspection of the ordered production and final acceptance are preliminary put in conditions and cost of the delivery contract, i.e. inmate in costs of production and are paid by the manufacturer (supplier). In the separate exceptional cases, connected, as a rule, with corporate culture or national safety requirements, the services of inspection are paid by the customer or the end user.

   At orders of equipment manufacturing at the Ukrainian enterprises, the inspection services are demanded in greater degree by representatives of the second party, namely:

- the operating organizations (NPPs) for ensuring quality of the replaced equipment, accessories and spare parts, the failures of which can cause significant material damage, lead to breakdown of object service or safety;

- general contractors at construction/modernization of large technological, industrial, power facilities for quality assurance, completeness and timeliness of the supplied equipment, components, materials, etc.;

- National regulation authorities under the terms of licensing of objects, systems or separate equipment in legislatively adjustable spheres of safety.

On the part of product manufacturers (first party) the services of inspection are ordered in smaller volume and only for ensuring trust to quality and competitive appeal of the production, accepted by independent body or under the terms of the Customer.  

Certainly, the demand of inspection services is influenced also by lack of objective information of applied practice and experience in the international projects of construction of large industrial facilities.

For remediation of a situation with insufficient awareness, we draw the attention of the Ukrainian manufacturers that the Agreement on mutual recognition signed by Ukraine and the International association on accreditation of laboratories (ILAC) (within the terms of Agreement on association with the European Union), establishes the unconditional recognition of accreditation results of the Ukrainian inspection bodies in EU within the stated area of accreditation (Information on the Agreement on NAAU website).

Independent conformity assessment and acceptance of the equipment for the NPP directly at Ukraine manufacturers is carried out by specialists of LLC CERTATOM for over than 30 years. According to terminology of ISO 17020, the works, performed by CERTATOM on purposes, methods and procedures of performance, belongs to the voluntary form of conformity assessment of industrial output, which is often applied in the European countries, namely – the compliance confirmation of production to the established requirements for results of inspection of the technological processes, which are crucial for quality assurance of manufacturing and final acceptance of each product. In general, such works are performed on orders of Customers, production end users (second party), rarely – by the initiative of manufacturers (Suppliers) of the equipment (the first party).

Due to accreditation completion, LLC CERTATOM can provide inspection services of conformity assessment of the power engineering equipment as the inspection body, accredited in NAAU to requirements of DSTU ISO/IEC 17020:2014 (news from 6/26/2017) not only for Ukrainian objects of nuclear power, but also for supplies to EU objects. The accreditation area of CERTATOM covers namely all nomenclature of industrial output (the equipment, accessories, materials, spare parts, etc.), including production of the general mechanical engineering supplying to the NPP and other industrial facilities, in particular: pump equipment, pipeline fittings, pipe production, electrotechnical production and ACS software, instrumentation.

Thus, the Ukrainian enterprises have a free opportunity to involve domestic inspection body CERTATOM in product inspection and acceptance works (the certificate of accreditation of NAAU-ILAC No. 7A199 from 6/9/2017) and/or other inspection bodies, according to their accreditation sphere (NAAU the Register of the accredited CAB).

The product inspection services could consist the terms of delivery, assumed or formulated by the product end user, namely:

1. If the supply contract is available – the analysis of contract requirements – directives, standards, specifications of the product customer (end user) to ensure quality. In the absence of the contract, at a stage of contract preparation – the recommendation to structure of the requirements to production and quality assurance included in terms of delivery.

2. The analysis of technological hazards of certain product on ordered (planned to manufacture) production, definition of critical control points (manufacturing inspection), development in liaison with the manufacturer of the quality plan (the inspection plan) at manufacturing and acceptance of production and its coordination with the Customer (if necessary).

3. Conducting inspection of product manufacturing technological processes on the critical control points, coordinated with manufacturers and/or the product customer (end user). Registration, management of the revealed constructive, technological and other nonconformities and decisions made on them.

4. Subsequent to manufacturing – conducting acceptance inspection by quantity, quality, support documentation, preservation, transport packing (before product shipment to the Customer).

The awareness and experience of product manufacturing inspection applied in the sphere nuclear energy use allows CERTATOM to provide preliminary consultations about minimum necessary documentation and actions providing supply of equipment and other industrial output according to practice of the EU and requirements of the international standards and Directives.

CERTATOM experts are the right carriers of engineering knowledge, standard requirements and production technologies of nuclear, energetic and general engineering of Ukraine in the former Soviet Union, and the lack of a language barrier provides full freedom of mutual understanding at all stages of manufacturing, conformity compliance and production acceptance on orders of foreign Customers. We hope that the inspection body, accredited and conforming to requirements of the international standard ISO/IEC 17020, CERTATOM will become the reliable partner and consultant for administrations of the foreign objects under construction on projects of the Russian Federation and also to the European customers in need of equipment which is manufactured in the Post-Soviet countries.

Ukraine has taken important steps on harmonization in the area of technical regulation with the European and international practice and has created favorable competitive conditions for the Ukrainian industrial output on the international markets, one of which is mutual recognition of the results of conformity assessment works.

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