conformance specification in procurement

When there is enough time to assess the functionality of the product as proposed, Confirm Sign Up via the Email you provided, Get WEEKLY updates on Business, Finance & Legal aspects, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), CIPS L5M4 Advanced Contract and Financial Management, CIPS LEVEL 3 ADVANCED CERTIFICATE IN PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLY OPERATIONS, Cips level 4 DIPLOMA IN PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLY, Legal aspects in entrepreneurship (Mini EBook), Pricing arrangements in commercial agreements, Proposing solutions to customers problems, WELCOME TO THE ZERITE NETWORK TAX TRAINING PROGRAM, The efficacy of specifications does not depend on technical knowledge of the buyer, Supplier can use their creativity to develop the products. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) are addressing XML-related interoperability issues by jointly developing test suites that are intended to complement the W3C Recommendations. for different products. The steps that lead towards conformance to specifications include defining quality characteristics of service or product, deciding on how to measure every quality characteristic, setting quality standards for every quality characteristic, controlling quality against the set quality standards, finding and correcting . A profile is a subset of the overall specifications that includes all of the functionality necessary to satisfy the requirements of a particular community of users. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. They often refer to particular documents, and/or particular information within them. Typically, a design conforms to requirements and work products conform to both design and requirements. Please tell me by leaving a comment. The meaning of the words "shall," "should," and "may," in the context of the given standard, could be defined in the conformance clause or be as defined by organizations such as ISO. How do you know that the software conforms? 1. A locked padlock It would then be up to a purchaser to decide the criteria (how many or what kinds of errors) it wishes to use to make implementations eligible for purchase. a. Click here for Terms & Conditions. a. The test suites are available athttp://xw2k.nist.gov/xml/index.html. conformity testing - conformity assessment by means of testing. Quality of conformance is the ability of a product, service, or process to meet its design specifications. The alternative is falsification testing, which subjects an implementation to various combinations of legal and illegal inputs, and compares the resulting output to a set of corresponding "expected results." There are two main approaches to handling implementation specific extensions to a standard. Conformance to Specifications. Early stage specifications can be seen as part of the review with the customer (internal or external) about what they are looking to achieve on the project. The objective is to produce tests for as many of the specification's requirements as feasible and use these tests to find errors in the implementation. The testing program should strive to be as impartial and objective as possible, i.e., to remove subjectivity of both the procedures and the testing tools. It's easy to subscribe to our newsletter where you'll receive weekly updates for professional importers and manufacturers on better understanding, controlling, and improving manufacturing & supply chain in China, India, Vietnam, and beyond. Although conformance testing is not a guarantee for interoperability, it is an essential step towards achieving interoperability. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. These requirements are specified in a standard or specification as either part of a conformance clause or in the body of the specification. Generically, a conformance test suite is a collection of combinations of legal and illegal inputs to the implementation being tested, together with a corresponding collection of "expected results." Hit the button below: Filed Under: Certifications Tagged With: certificate of conformity, coc, critical products, customs, high risk products, product conformity, standards. 0000007908 00000 n looking at the above simple example that both requisitions are asking for something (A utensil to eat with) but they are defining vastly different attributes. is characteristic of construction or personal services contracts. contracting for buildings, highways, and other public works, and Conformance Specification (Technical) which focuses on inputs and provides specific details of what the product/service should consist of, and how the product should be manufactured as well as what materials and process should be followed. Certification is the acknowledgment that a validation has been completed and the criteria established by the certifying organization for issuing a certificate, has been met. means of attempting to satisfy the requirement, its use Without a CoC, products may be impounded, confiscated, and in some case destroyed. Alternatively, the Java test suite can be downloaded and run locally. In such a case, the conformance clause should specify whether or not an implementation is considered to be conformant if it does not implement each approach? Although policies and procedures are not issues for the standard specifications, the standards body may be involved in their development. 0000066307 00000 n Typically, the sponsor establishes and maintains the program. The process for developing conformance test suites begins with defining the set of test assertions (TA) upon which the test suite is based. Haytham Abdel-Rahman, MBA. When does a buyer ask the supplier for a CoC? This free eBook shows importers who are new to outsourcing production to China or Vietnam the five key foundations of a proven Quality Assurance strategy, and also shows you some common traps that importers fall intoandhow to avoid or overcome them in order to get the best possible production results. Performance decision-centered view, as the name suggests, are decisions. 0000007141 00000 n The conformance clause of a standard specification is a high-level description of what is required of implementers and application developers. They can then make any necessary corrections to allow the implementation to conform. Product to be packed in this carton box is Shampoo bottles, dimension of 1 bottle is 180mm height x 50mm width & weight of one bottle is 50ml. by vendors to add products to the QPL. Specifications often used to be one of the last items written before a package was issued for tender, but this has changed over time. Official websites use .gov capabilities that are pertinent to the intended use of the 0000009860 00000 n What are the purpose of specification in procurement? Equipment that only contains digital circuitry (does not contain a radio transmitter) such as computer peripherals, microwave ovens consumer ISM equipment, switching power supplies, LED light bulbs, radio receivers and TV interface devices are subject to approval using the SDoC procedure or may optionally use the certification procedure. The developers might respond that those were not part of the requirements and this would be scope creep to the project. 0000007164 00000 n As a practical matter, the board is usually comprised of representative from the testing laboratories and representatives from the standards body. the methods for establishing and maintaining a QPL varies widely Any other brands or models The procedures should also contain information on what must be done operationally when failures occur. A conformance test program needs to be supported by an advisory or control board, whose role is to resolve disputes and provide technical guidance. Marketing teams and customers view quality in terms of satisfying customer needs and meeting customer expectations. Quality standards are defined as documents that provide requirements, specifications, guidelines, or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes, and services are fit for their purpose. definitions of non-standard terms. The best position is to list Each TA should be as simple as possible and narrowly focused on an atomic (simple) functionality, must not contradict another TA, and must have some testable consequence. In other cases, batch CoC would be good enough. 5. This button displays the currently selected search type. SPP Regions Expert Workshop - Copenhagen June 15th 2016 Performance / Output Based Specifications (POBS) are the foundation for a purchasing approach commonly called Performance Based Contracting. Once the item is delivered the specification can be used to compare the delivered item to what was ordered. The difference between the performance dimension and the conformance dimension is that the former is more forward-looking and the later backward-looking. A good specification should do four things: (1) These criteria may or may not require implementations to pass 100% of the specifications. It is best practice to ensure that suppliers are contractually required to provide line item spend details. For example, ideally it should be possible to fully test a product's conformance before sign-off and deployment. Substitutions or alterations will not be permitted without Company's written consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, or delayed. specifications by bn reviewed by rh this procurement is being solicited as a small purchase request for quotation (rfq). Falsification testing can only demonstrate non-conformance. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A good specification should do four things: (1) Identify minimum requirements, (2) allow for a competitive bid, (3) list reproducible test methods to be used in testing for compliance with specifications, and (4) provide for an equitable award at the lowest possible cost. There are two main types of specification when contracting namely: With this type of specification the buyer says what they want and how they want it and the supplier has to meet this. HR{HSa?wf^MiIZ\B!bEjs:\EJ3SQ%I*Zo;:{w0?|kD (.~]g+%kBBbk3d,bs|+7ED{Z*fsfhZm$C'5F)_bhz^q{0R+}#mzG"SSjod-I3?|4iLsmm:#M)wwDs9$hqm,L11]&]Nowi:&J5"PL%.'zBp\J_wdXjh#}>ZuP3YW6. manufacturers' names, brand names and model numbers, but it is sound evaluation criteria. Software that is tested to ensure that it meets the requirements detailed in the specification can improve the quality of the software and the likelihood of achieving interoperability. 0000006359 00000 n For ensure testability of a specification/standard, care should be taken in the wording of the specifications itself. Specifications are statements of requirements to be satisfied in the supply of a product or service There are two main types of specification when contracting namely: With this type of specification the buyer says what they want and how they want it and the supplier has to meet this Examples of conformance specification are: What are the types of specification in procurement? 0000003961 00000 n approval for the product offered before bid opening. this sense means that the specification concentrates on how the predicated on a written specification which includes certain An XSL stylesheet is used to generate an XML Conformance Test Report, which includes background information on conformance testing for XML and information that is useful in determining that each test is traceable back to the Recommendation. Quality Assurance, Product Development, and Purchasing Strategies in China. A QPL is >> in-house terminology. I will be discussing topics covering all aspects of the Supply chain (particularly Procurement) fuctions, Change Managment ideas and theories and IT software solutions (General focus being ERPSystems such as INFOR M3)For business needs. (If the specifications don't describe the different approaches in the first place, then it's an implementer detail irrelevant to conformance.). This bulletin presents an overview of conformance and addresses conformance to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Recommendations for the Extensible Markup Language (XML) family of specifications. FCC (47 CFR Section 2.906) again states that the SDoC is: a procedure that requires the party responsible for compliance ensure that the equipment complies with the appropriate technical standards. 0000010532 00000 n BRAND-NAME-OR-EQUAL SPECIFICATIONS: A A good specification should do four things: (1) Identify minimum requirements, (2) allow for a competitive bid, (3) list reproducible test methods to be used in testing for compliance with specifications, and (4) provide for an equitable award at the lowest possible cost. bidders offering products other than specified obtain Alternatively, each profile could have its own set of levels. Conformance testing is NOT a way to judge if one product is better than another. In recent years, the term conformity has gained international use and has generally replaced the term conformance in ISO documents. Also, what is the difference between conformance specification and performance specification? Brand-name-or-equal specifications have a The procurement function generally acts as the middle-man between the customer whether it be internal or external and suppliers. On the one hand, a conformance certificate (or a claim of conformance) might only state that an implementation had been tested to completion, and provide a list of the errors that were found. More recently with the advent of the Internet and rapidly changing information technology, the notion of conformance testing has become less formal allowing developers and users to assess for themselves the validity or correctness of the software or data with respect to the relevant specification. tested and are considered equal, state testing methods Conformance testing (also called conformity assessment) is a way of verifying implementations of a specification to determine whether or not deviations from the specification exist. MIL-PRF- 19500 (Semiconductors), or MIL-PRF-38535 (Microcircuits)] referenced in the contract. represents the kind of thinking in which architects and engineers The main reason a CoC is required at customs is to prove a product that the product being imported meets the required standard(s). Conformance with Specification. QUALIFIED PRODUCT LIST (QPL): A There are two types of specifications, Design and Performance. items regularly available in the market place, as is XSLT Test Suite NIST is working with W3C and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) to develop a comprehensive test suite for the Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) processors. establish a QPL must list the products that have been Conformance specs: Paper combination is: 3 layers carton (Layer1 is Kraft liner of 125GSM + Layer2 is Test/Recycled liner of 100GSM + Layer3 is Kraft liner of 125GSM) with mentioning Flute type . Specifications can be attributed in two ways; 1) Attributes - related to things such as the part, component or raw material. 0000066668 00000 n An official website of the United States government. performance specifications afford the manufacturer or bidder Typically, the decision to establish a testing program is based on weighing the benefits achieved by obtaining conformance versus the costs of creating and running a validation and certification program. Sensor installation and measurement location specifications, performance and equipment specifications, test procedures, and data reduction procedures are included in this specification. Java and all Java based marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc., in the United States and other countries. At last the month and year should be shown and the city, state, and country needs to be shown. Some recent standards include, as official parts of the standard, lists of assertions. In this example, while the mattresses were not required to be tested by a third party laboratory, the mattress manufacturer voluntarily chose to do so and must provide the information about that laboratory. For software specifications it is the software that has 'implemented' the specification. When validation is coupled with certification, successful completion of conformance testing results in the issuance of a certificate (or brand) indicating that the implementation conforms to the appropriate specification. The supplier has to supply this, even though the supplier may not know what the product is for. [Importers Guide], What is a certificate of conformity (CoC). Other conformance related terms include validation and certification. Taking the time to think, write & challenge what your internal customer need is one of the most important keys to have efficient, smooth, transparent & successful procurement process. Ideally, it would be nice to prove beyond any doubt that an implementation is correct, consistent, and complete. Procurement has final responsibility for the competitiveness and Conformance and Performance Specifications 1. 0000004956 00000 n This test suite has been used on a variety of XML processors, and results have been published on XML.com. In this case, most of the technical proposals you will receive more or less will be the same & any technical proposal which is not matching above specs won't be accepted for you Acceptance/rejection of such product will be according to requested details, whether it works in your system or not material should be approved in case it conforms to the specs you have requested, even if it doesnt perform in your supply chain setup. Often times, errors or ambiguities in the specification are discovered. Dimension of the box Length, Width & Height. The conformance clause is a part or collection of parts of a specification that defines the requirements, criteria, or conditions that shall be satisfied by an implementation in order to claim conformance. Define conformance specification. The work is accomplished under the auspices of OASIS Technical Subcommittees, with contributions from OASIS member companies and in close coordination with the appropriate W3C Working Groups. It, in turn, refers to other parts of the specification for details. R3XF5h{o9gkz1p!i[$KQt?I$o:hdSisA4e3Dm9,Hhj4@`h$&!!r" BH$@4$"Jz"H,*Mc18/,1 #c7n~ "/[#J specification. A specification details the requirements of the procurement. DEFINITIONS 2.1 Centroidal Area. activity involved in developing specifications for items There are additional advantages when a technical specifications document is drawn up and it forms an integral part of the procurement process and order placement. Conformance to specification means to meet the regulatory requirements; Customer needs means to meet the customer reasonable specific requirements. 0000008556 00000 n conformity assessment - any activity concerned with determining directly or indirectly that relevant requirements are fulfilled. What steps lead conformance to specification? This safe guard protects both the Buyer and the Customer (internal or external). competition consistent with seeking overall economy for the By this they mean that they found out about key requirements of a solution late in the development process. Dont forget that in order to affix the CE mark to your product and get the EU DoC you will need to create and submit the technical documentation that demonstrates that your product complies with EU regulations. The performance Requisition 1 provides the buyer with much more scope and freedom (you didn't want chopsticks then?). Applications often do not require all the features within a standard. criteria for the purpose of qualifying the bid document. % Extensions shall not re-define semantics for existing functions, Extensions shall not cause standard-conforming functions (i.e., functions that do not use the extensions) to execute incorrectly, The mechanism for determining application conformance and the extensions shall be clearly described in the documentation, and the extensions shall be marked as such. Therefore, a CoC (whereby the blade manufacturer writes that the blades conform to specific checklists) must be provided. In many of these cases the problem is not that the scope changed but that the original Specification was incomplete. more interested in how it performs, how well it performs, and at ? .. or you receive totally different proposals .. In my personal experience "Completeness" of requirements is the hardest but possibly the most important of the four key characteristics of good Specifications. and more interested in what a product does. Ideally, we would like to be able to prove beyond any doubt that an implementation is correct, consistent, and complete with respect to its specification. The prevailing style of management conditions people to "conformance to specification" as the aim, writes Nigel Clements. For example, some testing programs may require a very formal testing and certification approach using an independent (i.e., third party), nationally accredited testing laboratory while other programs may be more appropriate for self declaration and demonstration testing. 9 0 obj Chartered MCIPS. Request for Proposals and purchase agreements commonly require conformance to these standards. There are two main types of specification when contracting namely: #1 CONFORMANCE SPECIFICATION With this type of specification the buyer says what they want and how they want it and the supplier has to meet this Examples of conformance specification are: Engineering drawing A chemical formula Model name, number or brand etc How many times have you looked at this afore mentioned specification and instantly picked holes in the acheivabilty of the desired outcome? 0000004193 00000 n Sometimes, its really challenging to collect/get what your organization need .. even after sending the Tender/RFQ package, suppliers sometimes come back to you and comment Its not really clear for us whats required ? Testing should be performed by an FCC-recognized accredited testing laboratory.. The advantages afforded by testing (and certification) are fairly obvious: quality products, interoperability, and competitive markets with more choices. Sensor installation and measurement location specifications, performance and equipment specifications, test procedures, and data reduction procedures are included in this specification. How to Market Your Business with Webinars. The following are illustrative examples. Some may require that committees test the A certificate issuing organization is responsible for issuing certificates for products determined to be conformant. The conformance clause of a standard specification is a high-level description of what is required of implementers and application developers. Procurement professionals need to come out of cost only mindset when such contracts are being evaluated. brand-name specifications has the effect of limiting the bidding Tip - The purchase specification is to allow purchasing to seek competitive quotations by forwarding the purchase specification to prospective suppliers. products before soliciting competitive bids.