BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT, Oct 2
As many as 54 applications have been received by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) from private sector investors seeking approvals to set up testing 40 and calibration 14 laboratories at various locations around the Sultanate.
In line with Oman Vision 2040, the organisational level of the Accreditation Department at the Directorate General for Standardisation and Metrology in the Ministry has been raised to a level of Directorate instead of an accreditation office – a move designed to enhance the efficiency and quality of inspection and assessment of laboratories and certification bodies (management systems certification, halal certification, individuals and product certification systems).
Said bin Sultan al Busaidy, Head of the Directorate of Accreditation at the Ministry, stated: “The Directorate General for Standardisation and Metrology represented by the Accreditation Office registers the private laboratories in accordance with the Regulation of Registration of Testing and Calibration Laboratories, while the concerned regulation specifies a number of administrative, technical measurements and requirements for evaluating the laboratory, including requirements related to the legal status of the laboratory, its structure, facilities, its work environment, health, safety requirements, subcontracting, experience and competence of staff, specifications, testing methods, equipment used, and testing reports/calibration certificate issued by the laboratory.”
He further added: “The regulation classifies the private laboratories into three types, namely: first party laboratories, second party laboratories, and third party laboratories. While the first party laboratory is defined as a laboratory affiliated to an establishment or a producing company, its activity is limited to testing and/or calibrating of products related to the establishment or the company. The second-party laboratory is a laboratory that testing and/or calibrating a commodity in which it has an interest. The third-party laboratory is a laboratory that is not affiliated with any institution or producing company and It provides its services to all customers, whether governmental or private entities or individuals.”
