Governor of Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization's Speech, Dr. Sa'ad bin Othman Al-Kasabi,
on World Accreditation Day,
Saturday, June 9th, 2018
World Accreditation Day is an international occasion where international and national accreditation bodies try to highlight the importance of accreditation as a key activity supporting industrial and economic growth and development and enhancing consumer protection. Saudi Arabia, represented by the Saudi Accreditation Committee (SAC), joins world's countries in the celebration of this occasion under the theme" Accreditation: Delivering a Safer World".
The occasion comes as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is walking confidently into strengthening its economic and industrial capabilities to achieve the objectives of Vision 2030, emphasizing the necessity of supporting and consolidating consumer protection practices and providing guarantees that achieve the highest safety rates in commodities and products traded in markets. The accreditation activity is the cornerstone of the promotion of this concept through verifying the efficiency of conformity assessment bodies, which are considered to be one of the foundations to ensure the safety and security rates required in commodities and products.
On this occasion, I would like to refer to the efforts of SAC as one of the basic elements of the quality system in the Kingdom in the field of the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies. These bodies include commodities and products laboratories, measurement and calibration laboratories, and inspection points used by relevant bodies, such as the Ministry of Commerce and Investment, General Customs Authority, and General Directorate of Civil Defense, in the clearance of imported commodities and products and the facilitation of procedures of customs clearance, in addition to their pivotal role in the verification of the quality of products and services provided to the consumer.
During 2017, SAC completed the Digital Transformation project for the Accreditation Service. The service has become electronic in all its stages from the submission of the application to the issuance of the certificate, which helped to reduce the time needed for the accreditation process. This digital transformation has also enabled beneficiaries to apply easily and effortlessly, follow the status of the application electronically throughout the accreditation process, improve the efficiency of performance, and monitor performance transparently. Moreover, it enabled them to document business, govern procedures, analyze the process of accreditation, and identify critical points for continuous development and improvement.
Finally, SAC is keenly aware of the strategic role of the accreditation activity in establishing safety and security concepts in commodities and products traded in markets, and achieving economic growth targeted in Vision 2030 and the National Transition Program 2020. SAC will continue its strenuous efforts to make accreditation activity a main reason to achieve those lofty goals.
May peace and Allah's mercy and blessings be upon you…