The Study of Quality Certification System of Lithuania

Abstract

This article analyses the quality certification, standardization, market and technical barriers to trade relations problems. Certification system and quality management tools development in Lithuania and international context are also analysed. It gives a study of the processes in place designed to normalise international standards, technical regulations and rules in the light of current global economic conditions. The models of Market, standardization and certification relations, Standardization space and typology and National quality certification system are presented in the article. The resultant generalisations and suggestions have been made based on the author‘s research of Lithuanian enterprises. Worldwide economic globalisation processes and the development of international trade have necessitated rapid quality internationalisation processes, as they are crucial in defining the quality of a product or company. These processes mean that more countries are keeping to unified standards and technical regulations, quality and environmental management systems, quality satisfaction evaluation and certification procedures. With their help, it is hoped that not only will the quality of goods and services be assured on an international scale, but that their implementation will lead to the elimination of technical barriers to trade. The main task of this article is to analyze and systemize quality certification, standardization, regulation tools that are used in the Lithuania and international trade, and to present the providence of the more effective usage of them. Technical barriers to international trade are becoming increasingly pervasive because there is a lot of variance in how these technical rules are applied in manufacturing and agriculture, where, in order to guarantee the production of pure and healthy food products, many countries have come up with especially strict and restrictive rules. Given the existing complicated and nonuniform rules, their systematisation is very difficult to achieve. The author suggests technical barriers to trade be divided into five groups. The certification system of Lithuania involves products, organizations and employees conformity assessment. Apart from “traditional” quality (ISO 9001) and environment (ISO 14001) management systems Lithuanian companies use other systems – ISO 22000, ISO/IEC 20000 GMP, ISO/IEC 17021:2006, ISO/TS 16949, ISO/IEC 27001, CMMI, BRC Global Standard, etc. Vehicle technical inspection and jewellery quality hallmarking performed by Lithuanian Assay Office are also a part of product certification activity. It must be highlighted that enterprises in Lithuania do not certify their products to the conformity of EU quality mark (Key Mark) requirements and not develop environmental management system EMAS yet. Nowadays quality management systems (QMS) are implemented no only in business enterprises, but also in hospitals, high education institutions, police departments, city municipalities and other public sector institutions of Lithuania. Although the amount of organizations that use quality management systems ISO 9001 is rising in Lithuania still there are some problems to be solved. However quantitative evaluation of noted indicator is not very informative. That is why the author uses the relative index – the number of ISO 9001 certificates per 1000 citizen for better comparison. According to this index in the number of QMS certificates Lithuania wins behind against the USA, China and India, however signally falls against other new European Union countries. To reach the EU average of this index, Lithuania has to have more than 2000 certificated QMS. Thus, business organizations and state governmental institutions have every reason for the concern. The author provides recommendations for the development of the effective QMS, to improve all certification system of country and introduce the providences of quality management science development.