Product certification
Product certification may be obligatory (e.g.: Certificate of conformity for CE marking purposes), and in this case, it is required in order to protect collective public interest. It may also be voluntary and therefore a free choice of the producer who may wish to add value to a particular product or category of products for the purpose of intensifying market interest. In this case, reference made to a product also includes the related service.
Being a Notified Body, RINA is currently able to offer all the certification services connected with the main European Directives and provide a wide range of voluntary product/service certification services for which it has obtained accreditation from the competent organisations (Quality Mark, BRC, EUREPGAP, FEE ITALIA, SWEDAC).
In the marine field, RINA boasts a long tradition in the certification of the equipment, fittings and plants that are essential to guarantee reliability and safety at sea, as well as the prevention of marine pollution according to its regulations for the Classification of ships and to national and international safety standards.
System certification
System certification is a procedure which assures conformity of the management system of an organisation according to established requirements. System certification is always voluntary and, unlike product certification, it is indirect in that it does not refer to specific product requirements, but guarantees that the organisation has made a systematic approach on the basis of different requirements (safety, traditionalism, sustainable development). RINA has been accredited by leading accreditation bodies (ACCREDIA, IATF, INMETRO, ISPRA, NABCB, SAAS, SWEDAC, UNIFE) for the certification of management systems.
Personnel certification
The certification of special processes, of the personnel used to carry them out and of the personnel used to control them is another important requirement that must be met by producers in order to guarantee the total conformity of production processes and the quality of finished products. In this field, particularly as regards welding and non-destructive testing, RINA provides certification services according to all the main European and international standards.
Certification of offshore plants and platforms
RINA provides certification of the design of offshore drilling structures and plants, and the treatment and transfer of oil and gas, for the purpose of verifying conformity with the standards especially drawn up by RINA for this activity (e.g.: RINA guidelines for the design, manufacture and installation of fixed sea platforms in steel) or with internationally recognised rules and standards, such as API, AISC, ISO, etc.. This certification covers all phases of the project, from plant construction to operation, throughout its expected lifetime and, following renovation, beyond its initially established lifetime if the hydrocarbon reserve proves to be productive.
In today's increasingly more attentive and demanding market, the certification procedure, in which a third party gives written assurance that a product/service of an organisation complies with specified requirements, is a tool of great economic and social utility. Certification, in fact, has a dual purpose: firstly, it allows consumers to choose on the basis of objective parameters and to facilitate their purchase decisions, and secondly, it helps certified organisations to use shared and unified reference standards in order to rationalise and simplify their activities and to add value to their overall activities.
