ENG-1993 — Page 118

INDUSTRY AND TRADE

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Calibration Laboratory holds Hong Kong's official standards of measurement and provides a calibration service to manufacturers to enable them to meet measurement standards required for their products. The laboratory has measurement capabilities for a wide range of electrical, temperature, mechanical, pressure, volume and humidity measurements. A new laboratory is being built to provide a force calibration service for the construction industry.

The department's Product Standards Information Bureau provides advice and infor- mation to manufacturers on both national and international standards affecting their products. The bureau also maintains a reference library of the national standards issued by Hong Kong's trading partners and the international standards published by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the International Electro- technical Commission (IEC). To improve the storage and retrieval of product standards information, a direct computer link with the databases of overseas standards institutions and a computerised information retrieval system have been established.

The department also operates the Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (HOKLAS), designed to improve the standard of testing and management in Hong Kong's laboratories and to provide official recognition for those assessed as competent. HOKLAS has so far accredited 47 laboratories for testing such items as toys, textiles, electrical and electronic goods, food and construction materials. Several laboratories are accredited in the environmental testing field. A number of mutual recognition agreements have been concluded with overseas laboratory accreditation schemes, including the National Measurement Accreditation Service of the United Kingdom, the National Association of Testing Authorities of Australia, the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation, the Testing Laboratory Registration Council of New Zealand and the Dutch Accreditation Board for Calibration Laboratories, Test Laboratories and Inspection Bodies. Under these agreements, Hong Kong products should not be required to undergo further testing in these countries if they have already been tested and issued with a HOKLAS-endorsed test report in Hong Kong.

Since March 1990, the department has been running a Quality Awareness Campaign. The basic message, disseminated through seminars and workshops, and through a range of promotional literature, is that investment in quality is profitable. Since Hong Kong's economy is heavily dependent on exports, higher quality in production will increase its competitiveness in the market place. The campaign is part of a wider quality improvement programme aimed at encouraging more manufacturers to adopt quality assurance in their companies. The other components of the programme include strengthening the department's existing range of quality services and developing a quality management certification scheme.

Under the certification scheme, government recognition is conferred on companies which adopt quality management systems conforming to the international standard ISO 9000. An independent subvented organisation, the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency (HKQAA), was established in 1990 to audit factories for the award of certificates. Response to the scheme has been very enthusiastic, involving both manufacturing and service sector companies. The HKQAA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the British Standards Institution (Quality Assurance) in June. Under this agreement, companies in Hong Kong can be awarded ISO 9000 certificates both from the HKQAA and the British Standards Institution (Quality Assurance), with the auditing being carried