The Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC), the entity responsible for developing quality infrastructure and raising awareness on quality standards in the UAE capital, has highlighted the need for product certification schemes to help drive positive changes in the emirate’s built environment.

To create awareness on this concept, the QCC has been taking part in a series of conferences and workshops in the region. At these events, the council gives the participants an in-depth description of the certification process and requirements for each scheme.

The Exterior LED Luminaire Certification Scheme, which was launched by QCC in 2013, covers multiple aspects of design, manufacturing, installation, and energy efficiency of streetlighting fixtures, roadway tunnel light fixtures, general column fixtures, bollards, in-ground (buried) fixtures, floodlights, sports application floodlights, bulkheads, underwater fixtures and hazardous area luminaires.

The workshops also highlight how certification of products provides benefits to overall infrastructure quality and energy efficiency in the emirate, said the QCC in a statement.

Products covered by the schemes included exterior LED lighting, polyethylene plastic pipes for water and gas distribution, healthy dairy and bakery products and construction products which meet the requirements of the Estidama sustainable building rating system.

Developed in consultation with regulators and industry professionals, the scheme enables manufacturers and suppliers of exterior LED lighting fixtures to obtain certification of products that meet relevant quality, safety and performance standards in line with the requirements of the emirate.

Products that achieve the QCC certification, through formal evaluation against the scheme criteria, are issued a certificate of conformity and are licensed to carry the Environmental Performance Trustmark issued by the QCC in product promotion, stated the council.

At the recent Middle East Smart Lighting and Energy Summit, the QCC experts presented and analysed the extent of compliance by the current certification applicants with the various requirements of the scheme, including photometry, mechanical strength, safety and efficacy.

In addition, findings from the QCC market research and testing of exterior LED luminaires sold in Abu Dhabi were presented, and the implications and recommendations from this research for the next update to the certification scheme were discussed.

The QCC also hosted a workshop at The Big 5 Dubai to highlight the government programmes and policies related to quality and sustainability.

This included the latest updates on the QCC's product certification activities supporting Estidama such as insulation, glazing systems, solar water heating systems and air-conditioning schemes, aimed at improving the environmental performance of built environment.

Additionally, a presentation was provided by the QCC experts at the Gulf Plastic Pipes Academy International Conference outlining the requirements for the certification of plastic pipes used for distribution and interior plumbing applications.

Mohammed Helal Al Balooshi, the marketing and communications acting director at QCC, said: "The QCC offers a number of product certification schemes that define the requirements and guidelines stipulated by emirate regulators and designed to create a solid reference for the suppliers of construction products."

"The schemes articulate our priority to improve the overall understanding of the importance of quality in the industry, and the importance of using energy-efficient products in the emirate which will translate to significant savings in energy and maintenance costs," stated Al Balooshi.

"These schemes go a long way towards promoting innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing standards and setting specific quality goals for the industry," he added.-TradeArabia News Service