0000001477 00000 n There must be sufficient basis to determine that these However, this is generally impossible for implementations of nontrivial specifications. [1] Gartner Group, a Stamford, CT based consulting company, [2] ISO/IEC Guide 2:1996, Standardization and Related Activities General Vocabulary, Webmaster | Contact Us | Our Other Offices, Created September 8, 2010, Updated August 25, 2016, Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). 0000007885 00000 n 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 . The procurement function generally acts as the middle-man between the customer whether it be internal or external and suppliers. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS My company Sofeast, can probably help you. What does it mean to have a conformance clause? What we wrote above is based only on our understanding of the regulatory requirements. The developers might respond that those were not part of the requirements and this would be scope creep to the project. What makes a good specification in procurement? If the criteria or requirements for conformance are not specified, there can be no conformance testing. the methods for establishing and maintaining a QPL varies widely For example, ideally it should be possible to fully test a product's conformance before sign-off and deployment. In 1991, ISO/IEC DIS 10641 defined conformance testing as "test to evaluate the adherence or non-adherence of a candidate implementation to a standard." Although the terms validation and conformance testing are often interchanged, they are not the same. 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 approach, used in both the Public and Private sectors is best described characteristic of equipment, materials and supplies. A conformance clause is a section of a specification that states all the requirements or criteria that must be satisfied to claim conformance to the specification. Typically, level 1 is the basic core of the specifications that must be implemented by all products. Identify minimum requirements, (2) allow for a competitive bid, All the profiles would include level 1; this is basically a core + optional module approach. $*5QG)+cX3x Conformance clause and specification wording. %PDF-1.3 % A lock ( specification. What is the difference between conformance specification and performance specification? Ready to get your copy? /Length 10 0 R If you do not use a third party laboratory, you may label this section N/A. If the mattresses being certified are for cribs or childrens size mattresses, please see the requirements for issuing a CPC. specification is less interested in how a product is made, and specifications customarily employ dimensional and other physical For example, Apple maintains a page about EU compliance, and here is one of their DoCs. Conformance is how well realities match specifications, rules, principles and plans. Here is one example. R3XF5h{o9gkz1p!i[$KQt?I$o:hdSisA4e3Dm9,Hhj4@`h$&!!r" BH$@4$"Jz"H,*Mc18/,1 #c7n~ "/[#J Materials used must be Two sets of test suites were built, one for DOM with an ECMAScript binding and the other with a Java binding. There is sometimes confusion between the two terms, however, in most cases, these two terms mean exactly the same thing and often comes down to the personal preference of the company that needs the certificate. Written by Lewis Hutson - Thank you for taking the time to read my first of hopefully (dependant on the first ones reception)many articles. Falsification testing can only demonstrate non-conformance. 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. If the bid does not conform to the specification in all elements, it is not a bid at all; but a new proposition. 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. product is to be put together. Certificate of Conformity, According to the FCC (47 CFR Section 2.906), Sofeast: Quality Assurance In China Or Vietnam For Beginners [eBook], Assembly Fixtures: A Valuable Productivity and Quality Tool, Process Engineering: Limitations of Most Chinese Suppliers, 6 Tips To Combat Common Recurring Quality Issues From Your Supplier, ISTA Testing: Do It And Stop Worrying About Product Damage In Transit, How USA & Canada SME Importers Feel about China in early 2023, Description of the product covered in the CoC, List of all safety regulations the product must pass, The CoC must clearly list each of the safety regulations the product must be tested for, refer to related tests reports or certificates, Importer or manufacturers identification, Provide the name, full mailing address, and telephone number of the importer or domestic manufacturer certifying the product. 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. This is a document, parallel to but distinct from the official specifications, that contains a list of recognized extensions to the standard. There are different types of technical or engineering specifications (specs), and the term is used differently in different technical contexts. requirements. this sense means that the specification concentrates on how the The conformance clause of a standard specification is a high-level description of what is required of implementers and application developers. It is generally inspected during customs clearance if the product being imported requires it. 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. 5. Inspections will be conducted on the products at delivery:6.1.1 Any defect on the products.6.1.2 Conformance to specifications and functionality.. Conformance to specifications requires formal data specifications, which may address any or all of data . 2. Performance purchasing is results orientated in terms In fact, specification writing should begin very early on in a project lifecycle. Since the purposes for 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 test suite, which is a combination of test software, test procedures and test documentation, is used to check an implementation for conformance to a specification. The advantages afforded by testing (and certification) are fairly obvious: quality products, interoperability, and competitive markets with more choices. 0000045027 00000 n Lets Start by looking at a Procurement functions relationship with Specifications. Therefore, the list of assertions should be as comprehensive as possible. Ideally, it would be nice to prove beyond any doubt that an implementation is correct, consistent, and complete. Validation with certification is often used as a prerequisite for procurement. 3 What steps lead conformance to specification? (b) Semiconductor devices and microcircuits not procured under a military specification shall be 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. These errors and ambiguities can then be fed back to the standards committee who developed the specification, for correction. and others may require laboratory tests. controlled conditions and assessments made of their performance A good conformance clause is the ultimate goal of these guidelines, and is sanctioned by conformance to this specification. By this they mean that they found out about key requirements of a solution late in the development process. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------, Lisa J. Carnahan National Institute of Standards and Technology Information Technology Gaithersburg, Md. 1.2 Upon request by the Owner, the Manufacturer at its expense shall provide proof of conformance with any or all requirements of this specification. In some cases, it has to be provided for EVERY part with its own serial number. products, others may simply require that brands be tested under Does a KitchenAid have a juicer attachment? 6. QUALIFIED PRODUCT LIST (QPL): A Specifications can be prepared in a It is the basis of all offers and therefore the foundation for a contract. Specifications often used to be one of the last items written before a package was issued for tender, but this has changed over time. Once the item is delivered the specification can be used to compare the delivered item to what was ordered. The performance 4M%m8Kxq@D0P- E62e(S4O#?s3,!Ms%iTZa5 @!.MOzNRU!+9nI bidders offering products other than specified obtain An example would be a recipe for a food . A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. >> service that ill satisfy a particular need at an economical cost situations when the use of this specification is our only For software specifications it is the software that has 'implemented' the specification. Examples of conformance specification are: Engineering drawing A chemical formula Model name, number or brand etc Moreover, each test should be written so as to explicitly state the behavior of a conforming implementation. Conformance to Specifications. Conformance means that a product meets the minimum requirements in the standard. qualified product list (QPL) is a specification based on Define conformance specification. 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. Who does the testing? 7 What is the definition of quality of conformance? They can then make any necessary corrections to allow the implementation to conform. Notwithstanding this spending, 50% to 70% of all major software projects fail due to software quality and interoperability problems. Well explain what a CoC is, what its used for, and what it includes. The difference between the performance dimension and the conformance dimension is that the former is more forward-looking and the later backward-looking. PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS: The terms 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). Chartered MCIPS. This is called strict conformance. It may also be called a certificate of conformance or certificate of conformity.. Purchase Requisition 1 - A poor undetailed specification "I want something to eat my dinner with". 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. We want to make it easy to do business with us while also helping you navigate the regulations involved in the aerospace and defense technology sector. Each test should be traceable back to a statement or statements in the specification. 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. A QPL is Procurements primary role of taking a business requirement (specification) finding a supplier/suppliers , negotiating a deal and then ordering the item is all hinged on that first step! number of ways. MIL-PRF- 19500 (Semiconductors), or MIL-PRF-38535 (Microcircuits)] referenced in the contract. Development of the test suite may well be the costliest part of the conformance program. 5. The success here will obviously depend on how you frame your specifications. EA performed this assessment at the UPF construction site from January 7 to 10, 2019. The decision to establish a program is based on the risk of nonconformance versus the costs of creating and running a program. Deviation in delivery period shall be considered if such deviation is reasonable.6.1. The test documentation describes how the testing is to be done and the directions for the tester to follow. The buyer uses the results of the testing to verify that a seller provides a product that conforms to the specification and meet procurement requirements. 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. 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? If such a list is provided, the starting point for the development of the test suite is the list of assertions for the standard. and more interested in what a product does. 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. Finally, the testing policy and procedure should identify and define the actions of the organization(s) responsible for conducting the tests, handling disputes, and issuing certificates (or brands) of validation. Certain countries request a CoC for certain categories of imported products. 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. 0000066233 00000 n Performance requirements describe the characteristics and It should be possible to know where the Specification originated. 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 ? is less interested in dimensions and materials and configurations 3. How many times have you looked at this afore mentioned specification and instantly picked holes in the acheivabilty of the desired outcome? (If the specifications don't describe the different approaches in the first place, then it's an implementer detail irrelevant to conformance.). prepare all specifications. And just as important, why is this important? 0000004193 00000 n Correct implementation and utilization of standards leads to portability and interoperability. Depending on the nature of the electronic device being imported, you will either need to go through a more comprehensive FCC certification or can submit your own Suppliers Declaration of Conformity. Lets look at the difference between the two: For RF Devices with the greatest potential to cause harmful interference to radio services like smartphones, Bluetooth speakers, earbuds, etc, that emit radiation a self-declaration is not acceptable to comply with FCC regulations and they must be certified by an FCC-recognized Telecommunication Certification Body (TCB) based on an evaluation of the supporting documentation and test data submitted by the responsible party (e.g., the manufacturer or importer) to the TCB. 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! tested and are considered equal, state testing methods What are the characteristics of a good specification in procurement? A standard may classify features as "mandatory" vs. "optional," and provide a table listing features so classified. This type of testing is called conformance testing. Without a CoC, products may be impounded, confiscated, and in some case destroyed. 0000003290 00000 n 2 What are the types of specification in procurement? a. What are Performance/Output Based Specifications? The duty of Procurement to promote 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? 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. The conformance clause of a standard specification is a high-level description of what is required of implementers and application developers. 0000066460 00000 n Specifications can be attributed in two ways; 1) Attributes - related to things such as the part, component or raw material. required, testing methods, and characteristics that the In the marketplace, conformance test suites and consequently conformance testing provides a vehicle for exchanging information between buyer and seller. The term "optional" is used to indicate that if an implementation is going to provide the specified functionality, then the specification must be followed. Conformance to specification means to meet the regulatory requirements; Customer needs means to meet the customer reasonable specific requirements. Dimension of the box Length, Width & Height. Conformance tests should be used by implementers early-on in the development process, to improve the quality of their implementations and by industry associations wishing to administer a testing and certification program. Often a hybrid of these is appropriate -- i.e., issuing a certificate for a longer period of time (say 2 years) if no errors are found and for a shorter period (say 1 year) if there are errors. 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. At the end of the 1-year period, the implementer would have to correct the errors to renew the certificate. Procurement is responsible for final editing of Level 2 includes all of level 1 and also additional functionality. https://www.nist.gov/itl/ssd/information-systems-group/what-thing-called-conformance. Is this a requirement that comes from a particular type of user? Conformance testing provides software developers and users assurance and confidence that the conforming product behaves as expected, performs functions in a known manner, or possesses a prescribed interface or format. 1. all necessary drawings, dimensions, terms, and Sensor installation and measurement location specifications, performance and equipment specifications, test procedures, and data reduction procedures are included in this specification. An airline buys fan blades for their planes engines. programs and staff activities. Official websites use .gov 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. legitimate needs. used to establish the QPL and indicate steps to be taken A specification details the requirements of the procurement. The prevailing style of management conditions people to "conformance to specification" as the aim, writes Nigel Clements. The conformance clause identifies what must conform and how conformance can be met. The conformance clause identifies what must conform and how Click here for Terms & Conditions. Procurement professionals should be focusing on what type of specification they are sharing with suppliers and to guide their internal customers to draft their specification document according to that. Conformance is usually defined as testing to see if an implementation faithfully meets the requirements of a standard or specification. 0000007164 00000 n When all deviations and omissions are eliminated, the implementation conforms to the specification. developing your specifications, however, Procurement does not XML Test Suite is available from the NIST web site, http://xw2k.nist.gov/xml/index.html. This board should be a body of impartial experts. The tests are then executed and the results displayed. 6 What makes a good specification in procurement? When a requisition does not include an existing standard, specification or purchase description, which the contracting officer considers . Bidders offering an equal All Goods provided by Contractor to Company shall conform to Company's applicable specifications, drawings, samples or other descriptions. Good thoughts Diaa..Performance specifications focuses on supplier partnership. Extensions shall follow the principles and guidelines of the standard they extend, that is, the specifications must be extended in a standard manner. Within these 1.3 Upon request by the Owner, the Manufacturer at its expense shall provide, a To illustrate the characteristic of Completeness in Specifications consider my proposed user requirements for a new car. Specifically, if buyers don't demand that a product be . Factors that determine you to choose conformance specification. Conformance with Specification. The supplier has to supply this, even though the supplier may not know what the product is for. Thus, the tests when executed on the implementation under test will generate a pass/fail condition. 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. 0000004956 00000 n 8 What does it mean to have a conformance clause? Using this set of TAs, a set of tests that will exercise each of the requirements is developed. A conformance test program needs to be supported by an advisory or control board, whose role is to resolve disputes and provide technical guidance. Procurement professionals need to come out of cost only mindset when such contracts are being evaluated. Departments using performance . These are certainly all legitimate requirements but they are far from complete. competition consistent with seeking overall economy for the Please tell me by leaving a comment. It is also possible that implementations may not be able to implement all the features. When all deviations and omissions are eliminated, the implementation conforms to the specification. to a single product and is the most restrictive kind of 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. Departments wishing to It, in turn, refers to other parts of the specification for details. ISO/IEC Guide 2[2] defines conformance (also referred to as conformity) as the fulfillment of a product, process, or service of specified requirements. model numbers, or other designations that identify the specific In these cases, it may be desirable to partition the specifications into subsets of functionality. However, this is generally impossible for implementations of nontrivial specifications that are written in a natural language. Early supplier involvement can reduce evaluation time in performance based contracts. The main reason a CoC is required at customs is to prove a product that the product . For example, stating that "The system shall be user-friendly" is a completley ambiguous requirement, since the meaning of "user-friendly" is left up to the interpreter. 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. Sample 1 Sample 2 specifications; performance specifications; and the Qualified more interested in how it performs, how well it performs, and at If errors are found, one can correctly deduce that the implementation does not conform to the specification; however, the absence of errors does not necessarily imply the converse. Provide the date(s) and place when the product was tested for compliance with the consumer product safety rule(s) cited above: Provide the location(s) of the testing and the date(s) of the test(s) or test report(s) on which certification is being based. For any . 0000066668 00000 n Definitions - what is conformance (to a standard)? By signing the DoC you takefull responsibilityfor your products compliance with the applicable EU law. described fully to include thickness, size, color, etc. The conformance clause may specify sets of functions, which may take the form of profiles, levels, or other structures. performance specifications afford the manufacturer or bidder As a procurement professional . 0000009274 00000 n 0000066307 00000 n A good specification should do four things: (1) 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. (3) list reproducible test methods to be used in testing for A reference implementation has maximum value in the early stages of a conformance program. The test suites are available athttp://xw2k.nist.gov/xml/index.html. In recent years, the term conformity has gained international use and has generally replaced the term conformance in ISO documents. specifications must submit complete specifications with [Importers Guide], What is a certificate of conformity (CoC). 0000005716 00000 n 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. Tip - The purchase specification is to allow purchasing to seek competitive quotations by forwarding the purchase specification to prospective suppliers. Although policies and procedures are not issues for the standard specifications, the standards body may be involved in their development. 0000006359 00000 n Thanks! brand-name-or-equal specification cites one or more brand-names, If bids could depart from the specification, the result would be the defeat of competition and a contract in which there was no competitive bidding. What are the types of specifications when contracting? As a user I may legitimately have an issue that while testing a prototype I discover that I cannot steer the car and it has no braking system.
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