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, has launched a ‘Quality Partner' programme to encourage businesses to conform to relevant quality, safety and technical standards and regulations through self-assessment and voluntary commitment schemes.

Launched at a forum that drew the participation of more than 100 owners of shops and business establishments throughout Abu Dhabi, the programme aims to boost the credibility of goods and services traded in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, protect the rights of both traders and consumers, and promote the overall competitiveness of the Abu Dhabi economy on a global level.

The programme targets suppliers, manufacturers, traders and importers of legal and medical measurement devices, as well as pre-packaged and regulated products from outside the UAE or free zones, commercial agents, factories that produce controlled or pre-packaged products and establishments that specialise in the sale of a certain type of controlled products such as games, electrical appliances and tyres.

Other targeted categories include general trade establishments that sell varied products, such as supermarkets, hypermarkets and general markets, as well as establishments that use legal or medical measuring instruments such as groceries, jewellery stores, air, land and sea transport establishments and pharmacies.

Mohammed Helal Al Balooshi, Acting Director of Marketing and Communications at Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council, said, "At QCC, we are committed to enhancing our partnership with stakeholders and owners of business establishments towards creating a safer and fairer marketplace. Through the launch of the Quality Programme, we seek to build a sustainable and diversified economy in the emirate that is supported by a sound and flexible industrial infrastructure. In line with the vision and objectives of the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, the programme will safeguard consumers from the use of substandard products that do not conform to the mandatory requirements and legal measurements."

The Quality Partner programme endorses a highly precise mechanism to ensure that all members adhere to the relevant quality and safety requirements of the programme. Additionally, the programme will offer participants privileges such as issuance of a thank you note, honouring committed members at official forums on a regular basis, providing members with technical consultations on sample products and goods before purchasing them in bulk quantities, as well as sending push notifications via e-mail and SMS messaging on products that do not conform to the quality specifications and have been withdrawn from the market.

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. This is achieved through 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.