The Certification Directorate is made up of three Departments, namely:
- Product Certification
- Management System Certification
- Industrial Support
Product Certification Department
The Product Certification Department provides assessment and impartial third-party attestation that fulfilment of specified requirement has been demonstrated. Specified requirements for products are generally contained in standards or other normative documents. Product certification is carried out by product certification bodies which should conform to ISO IEC 17065.
It is an established conformity assessment activity that provides confidence to consumers, regulators, industry and other interested parties that products conform to specified requirements, including for example product performance, safety, interoperability and sustainability (ISO IEC 17067: 2013).
Product Certification facilitates trade, market access, fair competition and consumer acceptance of products on a national, regional and international level. It involves the issuance of a certificate or mark (or both) to demonstrate that a specific product meets a defined set of requirements for that product. The certification mark is normally found on the product packaging (label) and may also appear on the certificate issued by the certification body. The mark carries a reference number or name of the relevant product standard against which the product has been certified.
The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) is mandated under the Standards Authority Act, 1973 to undertake conformity assessment activities. The GSA gives permission for a conforming product to bear a mark of conformity called the Standard Mark; providing evidence of compliance to specification. A product bearing this mark carries a third-party guarantee; an assurance that the product has been inspected, tested and conforms to the requirements of an accepted standard. Production has been supervised and controlled, assuring safety and value for money.
Consumers require the assurance that products and services conform and comply with national regulations. This confidence can only be realized through conformity assessment of products, processes or services to ensure fulfilment of requirements and relevant standards. Conformance to these standards offers protection by safeguarding consumer health and safety.
Management System Certification
The Management System Certification Department carries out third party certification of the management systems of organisations to applicable management standards.
The Department is accredited by Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle GmbH (DAkkS), a German accreditation organisation.
The scope of accreditation is the Quality Management System (ISO 9001:2015) and the technical areas are:
- Rubber & Plastics
- Chemicals
The Department’s scope of certification scheme covers:
- ISO 22000 (Food Safety Management System)
- Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point (HACCP)
- ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System)
- ISO 9001 (Quality Management System)
Companies, whose management system had been certified, by the Department, provide products/services in the following areas:
- Rubber & Plastics
- Chemicals
- Management of waste of mining companies
- Electrical cables production
- Building & Construction Companies
Industrial Support Department
The main focus of the Industrial Support Department is to help fulfil GSA’s mandate of promoting standardization for the improvement of the quality of goods, services and sound management, environmental and safety practices in industries and public institutions by providing training to industry.
We believe training and re-training is one of the important ways of keeping any institution/industry relevant in the 21st century.
Our tutors are seasoned practitioners with several years of experience. In several instances, these tutors have represented Ghana in the drafting of these Standards at international forums.
Our current areas of training include
- Quality Management Systems
- Food Safety Management System / HACCP
- Environmental Management Systems
- Occupational Health and Safety Management
- Laboratory Management
- Medical Laboratories Management
- Information Security Management Systems
- Basic metrology training for fuel pump mechanics
- Good Hygienic Practices in the food industry
- Tailor made training
Why The Need For Training
- Reduced turnover of employees
- Increased quality of employees
- Motivates employees
- Reduced wastage
- Reduced downtime
- Well trained employees improve profitability
- Improves competitiveness of company
- Helps fulfil regulatory requirements