Abu Dhabi - MENA Herald: Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC), the entity responsible for developing quality infrastructure and raising awareness on quality standards in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, conducted an inspection drive in outlets retailing air conditioning units across the emirate.
The move is in line with QCC’s ongoing efforts to ensure that all relevant specifications and mandatory requirements are addressed with regard to the sale of air conditioning units in local markets. The inspection also complements an awareness campaign launched by QCC in Q4 2015 to raise awareness among traders about the UAE specifications for home air conditioning units (UAE.S 5010-1: 2014).
Targeting electronic shops and large-scale retail outlets such as supermarkets and hypermarkets, the campaign inspected more than 200 air-conditioning units from over 40 different brands in markets around Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Those failing to comply with specific requirements were issued warnings and given time to take corrective action on non-compliant products. Traders were also asked to revisit QCC for a further assessment before commencing the sale of air conditioners.
Sultan Saeed Al Mehairi, Director of Information Service and Engagement at QCC, said: "Our latest inspection in outlets selling air conditioning units articulates QCC’s sustained efforts to improve the quality of products sold in Abu Dhabi markets and ensure they consistently conform to local and international standards and specifications.
“Our efforts are aligned to the leadership’s vision to develop a sustainable and highly diversified economy that is well integrated into the wider global economy. As part of this priority, QCC has previously collaborated with our stakeholders to announce several measures and initiatives that help reduce energy consumption and conserve precious natural resources. Our latest inspection drive targeted retailers and distributers of air conditioning units considering these are among the highest energy-consuming electronic devices in the market today.”
Al Mehairi added: “In encouraging traders and suppliers to sell products that consume less electricity, we aim to promote the use of high efficiency air conditioning units in Abu Dhabi. This will also help consumers achieve significant savings in energy and maintenance costs, besides meeting the sustainability requirements outlined in the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030.”
In 2015, QCC launched its Unitary Air Conditioners Certification Scheme to encourage manufacturers, suppliers and distributors to obtain voluntary certification of products for quality, safety and performance specifications earmarked by the Council. The requirements of the conformity scheme include high quality, safety of operation, high energy efficiency and zero impact on the ozone layer. Products that achieve certification and meet the QCC certification scheme criteria are granted a certificate of conformity and permitted to carry the Abu Dhabi Trustmark for Environmental Performance in product promotion.
The Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council was established in 2009 to raise the quality of the emirate’s exports and locally traded products while protecting the interests of consumers and supporting the UAE’s competitive economy. QCC’s mission is facilitated by empowering regulators to establish and implement product safety, legal metrology and conformity schemes. QCC also sets guidelines and benchmarks to identify and verify that the products manufactured and traded in Abu Dhabi conform to the highest quality standards.
