conformance specification in procurement

0000004431 00000 n The supplier has to supply this, even though the supplier may not know what the product is for. 0000004956 00000 n In fact, specification writing should begin very early on in a project lifecycle. 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. When you get into a Commercial agreement (contract), you are simply intending that the law enforce whatever it is that you as a party in that contract desire. This button displays the currently selected search type. This board should be a body of impartial experts. The test software, consisting of a set of test files (i.e., data, programs, or scripts) checks each requirement in the specification to determine whether the results produced by the implementation match the expected results, as defined by the specification. Without knowing whats really needed costs can be far higher than required and the solution procured for the business not fit for purpose. Typically, the sponsor establishes and maintains the program. Contact information for the individual maintaining records of test results: Provide the name, full mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number of the person maintaining test records in support of the certification. Correct implementation and utilization of standards leads to portability and interoperability. A good specification should do four things: (1) Depending on the type of specification (e.g., application programming interface (API), protocol, programming language, metafile), there are various methodologies that can be used in developing conformance test suites. CoC for importing consumer goods in the USA, Certification authorization vs. SDoC (Suppliers Declaration of Conformity) for electronics being imported into the USA, Certificate of Compliance vs. I like the point about cost only .. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. For software developers, using conformance test suites early-on in the development process can help improve the quality of their implementations by identifying areas in which they conform as well as those areas in which they do not. specifications, and ensuring clarity of language with jargon or Levels are nested subsets of the specifications. Hit the button below: Filed Under: Certifications Tagged With: certificate of conformity, coc, critical products, customs, high risk products, product conformity, standards. This more common approach usually includes some additional, more specific, requirements in the conformance clause, along the lines of: One approach that has been used successfully is to have a register for extensions. It, in turn, refers to other parts of the specification for details. 4 Examples of Conformance Quality. of function and cost. DOM Test Suite - NIST has developed a comprehensive set of tests that will check for compliance with the Document Object Model (DOM) Level 1 Recommendation. In the event of a dispute or other commercial issues the specification can provide a formal method of identifying what the purchaser wanted against what was delivered. this specification is used, tangible performance, quality developing your specifications, however, Procurement does not In general, the . Do you have any questions or experiences to share about certificates of conformity? QualityInspection.org does not present this information as a basis for you to make decisions, and we do not accept any liability if you do so. If the bid does not conform to the specification in all elements, it is not a bid at all; but a new proposition. Some may require that committees test the These criteria and should be limited and justified before solicitation. How to Market Your Business with Webinars. programs and staff activities. 0000003930 00000 n competition consistent with seeking overall economy for the The level and formality of the conformance testing is determined by the buyer, an organization acting on behalf of a community of buyers, or by regulation (e.g., safety, health, national security concerns). And, in some cases, specific documents are required for certification or to show the end user/customer, that the product is safe. sound evaluation criteria. Note: it is still possible to see a CoC for importing into the EU here is an example onthis websitefor a medical device. A specification is often a type of technical standard. What are the types of specifications when contracting? Its use is called for where a structure or "functional" and "performance" are used When a requisition does not include an existing standard, specification or purchase description, which the contracting officer considers . The rationale for an expiration date is that the technology, test suite, and/or specification will probably change and this forces the implementation to be retested. It, in turn, refers to other parts of the standard. @hA hbF`h`. Greater share of specification risk is borne by the supplier. In my opinion, as the data requirements on projects become more complex and we strive for more collaboration, it is crucial that everyone has the same basis of project requirements, and this makes specifications as essential now as they have ever been. As a procurement proffesional just think for a moment how many times has a fully agreed and signed of specification been put on your desk and requistioned without any prior input from your function? Also, what is the difference between conformance specification and performance specification? This is usually in a conformance clause or conformance statement, but sometimes some of the criteria can be found in the body of the specification. All Goods provided by Contractor to Company shall conform to Company's applicable specifications, drawings, samples or other descriptions. establish a QPL must list the products that have been 3. << Chartered MCIPS. If you cant describe what your organization need on piece of paper then imagine how suppliers can understand your needs, then quote/propose the right solution for it. a. These criteria may or may not require implementations to pass 100% of the specifications. model numbers, or other designations that identify the specific Lock This is the official blog of Sofeast.com. need. 3. Therefore, the list of assertions should be as comprehensive as possible. eliminates, items that are outside the boundaries drawn. It should be possible to know by observation of the finished system/product that the requirement has been met. Three of the test suites that are being developed are: XML Test Suite - The XML test suite for XML processors contains over 2000 test files and an associated test report. For ensure testability of a specification/standard, care should be taken in the wording of the specifications itself. 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. A lock ( Requisition 2 enables the buyer to go and research the market and benchmark against specific needs and where He/She can, achieve a cost reduction against the specification without delivering something that may not be fit for purpose. 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. means of attempting to satisfy the requirement, its use This test suite has been used on a variety of XML processors, and results have been published on XML.com. What are the purpose of specification in procurement? John Spacey, May 01, 2017. Elements that should typically be included in a CoC are: On the US CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) website, one can find several samples of CoCs. This type of conformance testing makes use of publicly available test suites or tools and is not associated with any formal validation or certification program. Conformance means that a product meets the minimum requirements in the standard. number of ways. 0000010532 00000 n Acceptance/rejection of such item needed will be according to the performance stated in the specification With performance specs, it will take more time for the procurement process as you may get totally different proposals and you need to discuss and validate them internally; however it opens the door for innovation as suppliers are free to suggest any workable solution which may improve functionality, cost & to be more sustainable option it's very suitable in case requesting department is not very well established so that you will be depending on suppliers' experience. It's important to have several calls/meetings with the requesting department to get more clarity about their needs, ask them to get piece of paper and write on it what they need whatever they can write! In other cases, batch CoC would be good enough. My company Sofeast, can probably help you. Define performance specification. characteristics of the item desired. b. be as non-restrictive as practicable, consistent with satisfying 7 What is the definition of quality of conformance? AnEU declaration of conformity(DoC) is a mandatory document that you as a manufacturer or your authorised representative need to sign to declare that your products comply with the EU requirements. approval for the product offered before bid opening. 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. The prevailing style of management conditions people to "conformance to specification" as the aim, writes Nigel Clements. It is the most traditional kind of 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. 0000007908 00000 n 9 0 obj 4) The car shall travel at speeds between 0 and 100 mph. 0000004999 00000 n broad groupings are more particular types, including: brand-name What are the types of specification in procurement? have expertise in every sphere of College of Charleston academic The advantages afforded by testing (and certification) are fairly obvious: quality products, interoperability, and competitive markets with more choices. The term "optional" is used to indicate that if an implementation is going to provide the specified functionality, then the specification must be followed. However, the responsible party or any other party marketing the equipment must provide a test report and other information demonstrating compliance with the rules upon request by the Commission. Thus, the tests when executed on the implementation under test will generate a pass/fail condition. The other group call for ready-made, off-the-shelf commercial All the profiles would include level 1; this is basically a core + optional module approach. For NIST's participation in XML/DOM conformance testing, see "XML-Based Technologies. Please tell me by leaving a comment. The validation process consists of the steps necessary to perform the conformance testing by using an official test suite in a prescribed manner. The test suites are available athttp://xw2k.nist.gov/xml/index.html. However, this is generally impossible for implementations of nontrivial specifications. The conformance clause identifies what must conform and how conformance can be met. This early stage work also provides an understanding of the performance requirements of the project, so that when discussions develop on complexes, entities, space, locations, elements, systems and products, these form part of the build-up of a specification. Identification of any third-party laboratory on whos testing the certificate depends: Provide the name, full mailing address, and telephone number of the third-party laboratory. An official website of the United States government. /Length 10 0 R Departments wishing to Tip - Never design and make a product if there is an 'off-the-shelf' part available. Without a CoC, products may be impounded, confiscated, and in some case destroyed. 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. The decision to establish a program is based on the risk of nonconformance versus the costs of creating and running a program. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. "Design" in Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. 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. 2. The conformance clause may specify minimal requirements for certain functions and minimal requirements for implementation-dependent values. described fully to include thickness, size, color, etc. 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. The conformance clause identifies what must conform and how Examples of conformance specification; Decisions are differentiated according to whether they concern day-by-day issues or broader plans. 0000066460 00000 n ! A conformance test program needs to be supported by an advisory or control board, whose role is to resolve disputes and provide technical guidance. Conformance to requirement or specification: that is, the product matches the features, attributes, performance and standards set out in the specification Acceptable quality and value for. products of a particular manufacturer as having the In addition, it requires high level of maturity of internal requesting customer department. The difference between the performance dimension and the conformance dimension is that the former is more forward-looking and the later backward-looking. should be put on notice that the criteria used to define 3 What steps lead conformance to specification? Extensions shall follow the principles and guidelines of the standard they extend, that is, the specifications must be extended in a standard manner. of Procurement has approved the use. If Sharing what is the required performance of this item without stating item details like (what is the required output of certain machine, which product will be manufactured by this required item, what is the challenge that company is facing & others). Who does the testing? sizable latitude in how to accomplish the end purpose. by vendors to add products to the QPL. Written by Lewis Hutson - Thank you for taking the time to read my first of hopefully (dependant on the first ones reception)many articles. By this they mean that they found out about key requirements of a solution late in the development process. award at the lowest possible cost. Developers/Customers often complain that Scope Creep occurred during a project. a. A specification becomes an essential contract management document which is used to ensure that the chosen supplier provides what is specified. 0000003127 00000 n have been trained. The general definition for conformance has changed over time and been refined for specific standards. specifications; performance specifications; and the Qualified For example, statements indicating that an implementation "shall," "should," or "may" implement a certain feature. 0000005693 00000 n 6. Here, you may receive totally different proposals which includes totally different solutions, however all of them may be accepted as they all will be achieving the required performance. Although there may be quantity scheduled purchases. qualified product list (QPL) is a specification based on Ready to get your copy? If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Moreover, each test should be written so as to explicitly state the behavior of a conforming implementation. met to be considered responsive. Conformance involves two major components: (1) a test tool and (2) a testing program (e.g., certification or branding). Ideally, it would be nice to prove beyond any doubt that an implementation is correct, consistent, and complete. As a procurement professional . Not all specifications or standards need a testing program. 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. Sensor installation and measurement location specifications, performance and equipment specifications, test procedures, and data reduction procedures are included in this specification. Thanks! Its use will not be permitted unless only one Specifications can be attributed in two ways; 1) Attributes - related to things such as the part, component or raw material. 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? What are Performance/Output Based Specifications? /Filter /LZWDecode What we wrote above is based only on our understanding of the regulatory requirements. How do you know that the software conforms? Do you face challenges of getting required specifications while creating Tender/RFQ package? specification sets limits and thereby eliminates, or potentially