(ASTM International: West Conshohocken, PA) -- Responding to increasing requests from suppliers and their customers, ASTM International has developed a new program, the Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity. Launched in April 2012, this latest offering is an outgrowth of ASTM International’s certification programs.
Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity provides manufacturers, purchasers, and consumers with the evidence that products in fact conform to ASTM test methods. Product test results will be registered with ASTM International, and supporting documentation will show the supplier’s registration and acceptance by an independent third party.
Sponsored and administered by ASTM International, the new program is available to any supplier, manufacturer, distributor, or private brand owner. In a typical scenario, suppliers having products tested to ASTM test methods will register specific information regarding their products, accredited labs, and the ASTM test methods. Once accepted by ASTM, suppliers can provide the documentation or request ASTM to provide documentation to their customers.
“Quality, safety, and precision are the hallmarks of ASTM test methods,” says Ken Pearson, senior vice president of operations at ASTM International. “Documentation supporting conformance to ASTM test methods will reinforce a supplier’s credibility as well as enhance regulatory, marketing, and sales efforts.”
Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity conforms to ISO/IEC 17050-1—“Conformity assessment—Supplier’s declaration of conformity—Part 1: General requirements” and ISO/IEC 17050-2—“Conformity assessment—Supplier’s declaration of conformity—Part 2: Supporting documentation.” The new ASTM program applies to ASTM test methods; it does not apply to ASTM specifications.
For further information on the Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity Program, contact Timothy Brooke, vice president of certification, training, and proficiency testing at (610) 832–9729 or email tbrooke@astm.org, or visit the Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity web page.
ASTM International, formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), is a globally recognized leader in the development and delivery of international voluntary consensus standards. Today, some 12,000 ASTM standards are used around the world to improve product quality, enhance safety, facilitate market access and trade, and build consumer confidence within R&D, product testing, quality systems, and commercial transactions. ASTM International meets the World Trade Organization principles for the development of international standards: coherence, consensus, development dimension, effectiveness, impartiality, openness, relevance, and transparency.
