MONDAY, JUNE 7, 1993
HONG
HKQAA PASSES ITS FIRST INT'L AUDIT
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THE SIGNING OF AN IMPLEMENTATION AGREEMENT OF A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE BRITISH STANDARDS INSTITUTE (BSI) AND THE
KONG QUALITY ASSURANCE AGENCY (HKQAA) SIGNIFIES THAT THE ORGANISATIONS REGARD THE STANDARD AND QUALITY OF EACH OTHER'S WORK EQUIVALENT.
TWO AS
THIS WAS STATED BY THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY, MR HAMISH MACLEOD, TODAY (MONDAY) AT THE SIGNING CEREMONY OF THE AGREEMENT.
MR MACLEOD SAID HONG KONG HAD REACHED A POINT WHERE THE WORK OF THE HKQAA NEEDED TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED AND ACCEPTED INTERNATIONALLY AND THAT THE AGENCY HAD SUCCESSFULLY PASSED ITS FIRST INTERNATIONAL AUDIT.
"THE AGENCY NEEDED ΤΟ DEMONSTRATE ITS COMPETENCE AND CREDIBILITY IN THE INTERNATIONAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION FIELD, HE SAID.
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FOLLOWING THE SIGNING OF THE AGREEMENT, BSI QUALITY MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATES CAN NOW BE AWARDED TO COMPANIES IN HONG KONG, BASED ON AUDIT WORK CARRIED OUT BY HKQAA AND SIMILARLY BSI CAN UNDERTAKE WORK FOR THE AGENCY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.
THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY OFFERED HIS
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE
FOR SUCCESSFULLY NEGOTIATING THIS AGREEMENT AND EXPRESSED HIS APPRECIATION TO BSI FOR HELPING THE AGENCY SO MUCH IN ITS FORMATIVE
HKQAA
YEARS.
HAS
BSI, AS THE UNITED KINGDOM'S OFFICIAL STANDARDS AUTHORITY, MAINTAINED A SPLENDID TRACK RECORD FOR MANY YEARS IN RELATION ΤΟ STANDARDS AND QUALITY. THE INSTITUTION HAS PIONEERED THE DEVELOPMENT OF QUALITY STANDARDS.
IN PLANNING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AGENCY AND IN THE SUBSEQUENT TECHNICAL WORK ASSOCIATED WITH ITS DAILY OPERATIONS, BSI HAS BEEN OF CONSIDERABLE ASSISTANCE WITH PROVISION OF TECHNICAL KNOW- HOW AND IN OVERSEEING SOME OF THE INITIAL AUDIT PROCESSES.
MR MACLEOD NOTED THAT FOR SOME YEARS THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT HAD VIEWED QUALITY AS ONE OF A NUMBER OF IMPORTANT FACTORS THAT WOULD FACILITATE THE UPGRADING OF INDUSTRY AND ITS ON-GOING DEVELOPMENT
HERE.
JUST OVER A DECADE AGO, WE BEGAN A PROGRAMME OF BUILDING UP A SOUND QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE IN SUPPORT OF MOVES TOWARDS BETTER QUALITY PRODUCTION IN OUR INDUSTRIES, HE SAID.
**A
SERIES OF GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED INITIATIVES RESULTED IN THE ESTABLISHMENT BY INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT OF THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT STANDARDS AND CALIBRATION LABORATORY, THE HONG KONG LABORATORY ACCREDITATION SCHEME AND THE PRODUCT STANDARDS INFORMATION BUREAU.
WITH THESE ESSENTIAL QUALITY SUPPORT SERVICES FIRMLY ESTABLISHED, THE GOVERNMENT BEGAN TO EXAMINE THE BROADER ISSUES OF QUALITY, MR MACLEOD SAID.
/"COMPANIES WERE