The Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) sector consists of

conformity assessment Conformance testing — an element of conformity assessment, and also known as compliance testing, or type testing — is testing or other activities that determine whether a process, product, or service complies with the requirements of a specifi ...

bodies who provide services ranging from

auditing An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...

and

inspection An inspection is, most generally, an organized examination or formal evaluation exercise. In engineering activities inspection involves the measurements, tests, and gauges applied to certain characteristics in regard to an object or activit ...

, to

test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

ing, verification, quality assurance and

certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

. The sector consists of both in-house and outsourced services.

Definition of Testing, Inspection and Certification services

The

International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in Ar ...

(ISO) and the

International Electrotechnical Commission The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC; in French: ''Commission électrotechnique internationale'') is an international standards organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and ...

(IEC), international standard-setting bodies composed of representatives from various national standards organizations, define the different testing, inspection and certification services in the international standard series ''ISO/IEC 17000:2004 Conformity assessment -- Vocabulary and general principles'' as: * Testing: determination of one or more characteristics of an object of conformity assessment, according to a procedure. * Inspection: examination of a product design, product, process or installation and determination of its conformity with specific requirements or, on the basis of professional judgement, with general requirements. * Certification: third-party attestation related to products, processes, systems or persons.

History

The history of testing, inspection and certification services spans back several centuries. In the late 19th century, following the advent of the

industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

and the considerable risks involved with high-pressure steam

boilers A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central ...

, specialized institutions emerged across Europe which carried out periodical inspections of such vessels to assess their overall condition as a precautionary measure to avoid large and often deadly damages. Likewise, several of today's leading TIC companies started as

classification societies A ship classification society or ship classification organisation is a non-governmental organization that establishes and maintains technical standards for the construction and operation of ships and offshore structures. Classification societies ...

in the 18th and 19th century to provide information to shipping

underwriters Underwriting (UW) services are provided by some large financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and investment houses, whereby they guarantee payment in case of damage or financial loss and accept the financial risk for liabilit ...

on the condition of ships and equipment.

Independent Testing, Inspection and Certification services

As a result of globalization, supply chains are becoming increasingly more complex. Outsourcing and rising end user quality expectations have resulted in a higher demand for independent TIC services. Businesses are aiming to ensure that products, infrastructures and processes meet the required standards and regulations in terms of quality, health and safety, environmental protection and social responsibility reducing the risk of failure, accidents and disruption. This includes such services as the testing and inspection of

bulk carriers A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo — such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement — in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, ec ...

and their cargos possibly carrying commodities such as

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...

, grains or

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to anima ...

. Independent TIC companies also play a key role in aiding governments fulfill their mandate in protecting consumers against hazardous products. In the European Union, for example, under the New Approach directives, certain product categories require assessment by accredited independent TIC companies, known as Notified Bodies.{{cite web, title=Notified Bodies - European Commission, url=https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/goods/building-blocks/notified-bodies_en, website=European Commission, publisher=European Commission, access-date=16 January 2018 In the United States, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 stipulates that third-party testing and certification of certain products is mandatory prior to being placed on the market.

TIC associations

Several associations exist representing the TIC industry. An example of a TIC association is the

TIC Council A tic is a sudden, repetitive, nonrhythmic motor movement or vocalization involving discrete muscle groups.American Psychiatric Association (2000)DSM-IV-TR: Tourette's Disorder.''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'', 4th ed., ...

which represents roughly 90 of the world's leading TIC companies and organisations globally. In 2018 the Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine (CAIQ) and ZJ Bondi Labs Intelligent Technologies Co. Ltd. established the Chinese Testing, Inspection and Certification Education Association (CTICEA) to develop TIC qualification standards for the Chinese TIC industry.

References

External links