Minutes of Working Group for Global Certification 2012-01-20

The 2 hour meeting takes place using SKN WEB facilities. Participants are:

e-mail list for copying / NAME / ORGANISATION / Category
; / Francois Xavier Ball / CERTITA / Certificationbody
; / Harald Drück / ITW / SKN Chairman
; / Jan Erik Nielsen / SKN / SKN Secretary
; / Mark Witt / TÜV Rheinland PTL / Test lab
; / Sören Scholz / DIN CERTCO / Certificationbody
; / Stephan Fischer / ITW / Test lab
; / Jaime Fernandez / AENOR / Certificationbody
; / Jim Huggins / FSEC / Observer/ overseas US
; / Hoang Liauw / CMC / Observer/CEN-CENELEC
; / Les Nelson / SEIA / US/IEA-SHC/TG43
; / Susanne Hansson / SP CERT / Certificationbody

Minutes:

  1. General review on needs for global certification:

Presentation of document, ON GLOBAL CERTIFICATION.General discussion and review of main elements necessary for a succesful global mark. See document attached.

  1. Stakeholders and their needs or views

Our working group represents different stakeholders, or groups of interest, so each one relates what they find is most important to them in the process:

a)ESTIF: proposes a pragmatic two steps approach:

1.Harmonize with the US SRCC scheme

2. Introducing/implementing “Solar Keymark like” certification schemes in significant markets with no existing / weak national certification, this could be e.g.:Non-European Mediterranean countriesand South American countries

b)CEN:

  • Requirement for all operators (certification bodies, inspection bodies, laboratories) to be accredited under family of ISO 17000 series. (This means that CEN could expand its European Mark by allowing non-european certification bodies to grant the Solar Keymark under these conditions)

c)Certification bodies:

  • It is important to assure competence, harmonization and a fair competition
  • Peer assesment (or equivalent) could be added to accreditation as a more specific requirement for all operators (laboratories, inspection bodies and certification bodies)- this would evolve into a requirement of acceptance by the SKN of laboratories, inspectors

d)Laboratories:

  • There could be a common procedure to acknowledge different laboratories. We see already in Europe different levels of quality so there is a worry that accreditation may not be enough for world wide laboratories

e)Externalcertificationbodies:

  • So far only USis present at the meeting, through SRCC.
  • Agrees that a possible way would be to be empowered by CEN and grant the Keymark but needs to analyze more deeply
  1. Pragmaticapproach:

After a discussion, the group finds that there are clearly two paths towards a Global certification:

  1. Expansion of CEN owned Keymark into a global KeyMark, where certification bodies from all over the world will grant the Keymark under common requirements
  1. Creation of a new global Mark, with another owner of the Mark.

In order to take a decision as to which path is more convenient, two questions arise:

  1. What are other successful international certification schemes like?
  1. What are other national certification schemes like for collectors in the world?

It is concluded that once we have an overview of the situation by answering these two questions, we may choose the best path to follow and may start working

There will be an international conference on solar heating and cooling for buildings and industry in San Francisco on July 9-10, which could be a good moment for a physical meeting with SRCC.

  1. Calendar and actions:
  1. SRCC will send feedback to the group after today´s meeting
  1. Preparation of fund for first step to be prepared by Jan Erik and Jaime. The working group will give feedback.
  2. From here on the meetings will be prepared. Possibly a working group meeting before the physical meeting in US in July. Reports on international schemes for other products and for national schemes for collectors could be ready by then to help make decisions.

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