The compliance, accuracy, and validity of the reports and certificates we present are keys to our sustainable business development, as well as the bottom line for any third-party testing and certification services provider. Professional, independent and impartial, we truthfully report data, test results and other crucial facts, ensure that all reports issued are consistent with true survey data, and provide professional judgments or opinions. A complete quality control system has been established to maintain our core competitiveness. At CTI, quality control is taken charge by the QHSE Department, and enhanced by our business units, subsidiaries, and service stations with specific rules adapted to their respective operation features.

Our Performance in 2020

Quality Control in Laboratories

CTI Quality Management System has been set up under the ISO/IEC 17025, the ISO/IEC 17020, the Rules for the Examination of Qualification Accreditation of Laboratories and other provisions. All quality management requirements are put in place through quality review, special review, internal review, management review and other approaches, to guarantee the accuracy and truthfulness of our testing services. To reduce quality risks, we have been regulating quality supervision activities at CTI in accordance with the Group Quality Supervision and Management Measures and the Laboratory Quality Supervision and Management Measures, so that the testing/calibration activities performed by each laboratory comply with laws and regulations, as well as the guidelines and rules introduced by the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) and the China Metrology Accreditation (CMA),To avoid tampering with laboratory data.

CTI has employed a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) to ensure that all operations are completed online. On the one hand, samples are tracked via code/barcode during circulation (most product brands, manufacturers and other labels have been made invisible), so that the suppliers of products or customers are concealed from our employees, which prevents fraudulent behaviors such as data alteration. On the other hand, all original records/data are uploaded to the LIMS or automatically captured by it. Data cannot be tampered with once generated in a digital format. As each work stage is separated from another, data fabrication becomes impossible. Even if there is any change, an alteration record will be generated in the system, for the easy discovery and traceability of irregularities.

CTI values the continuous improvement of the expertise of our quality professionals, as a key measure of quality control. Our Measures for the Management of Quality Professionals has specified the job responsibilities, qualifications, training, assessment and selection of quality professionals. In 2020, we organized training both online and offline. At our E-learning platform, we delivered quality training courses including the Laboratory Quality Management Series – Reporting, Personnel, Equipment, Corrective Measures and Security, the Quality Leader Training Class, and the Laboratory Quality Supervisor. 35 online training sessions and 18 offline ones took place. All these contributed to a satisfaction rate of 96.43% among trainees in 2020.

 Quality Control in Certifications

Impartiality is the core of quality control in our certification activities. With the possible scenarios and conducts that may threaten the impartiality of certifications identified, we have formulated the Certification Impartiality Management Procedure, which includes specific measures to eliminate or reduce the factors likely to compromise the impartiality of certifications.

We have established an Impartiality Maintenance Committee to regulate and supervise the fairness of our certification services. The Committee monitors and reviews the certifications performed by CTI in accordance with the Operation Procedure of the Impartiality Maintenance Management Committee. It examines the fairness of the processes of audit/review/inspection and certification decision-making at least once a year.

Through regular training, our certification professionals are allowed to have a deeper understanding of certification regulations, as well as the professional ethics and code of conduct that bind them. Before employment, they are informed that they may be caught in a conflict of interest and have to prove that there is no such concern. Our Employee Handbook has also specified the sanctions for asking for or accepting bribes, kickbacks, or illegal benefits and other violations of discipline.