Information Booklet - Nrcs

1 Information BookletNRCS Information BOOKLET2 NRCS Information BookletBACKGROUND TO THE NRCS The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) was established on 1 September 2008, in accordance with the provisions of the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications Act, (Act No 5 of 2008) NRCS Act. It emerged as an independent organisation from the original Regulatory Division of the South African Bureau of Standards and falls within the area of responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti). The NRCS mandate includes promoting public health and safety , environmental protection and ensuring fair trade. This mandate is achieved through the development and administration of technical regulations and compulsory specifications as well as through market surveillance to ensure compliance with the requirements of the compulsory specifications and technical regulations.

2 NRCS stakeholders include the South African government, industry and SAcitizens. NRCS VISION The vision of NRCS is to collaborate with our strategic partners to contribute to a safe, competitive and prosperous South Africa. NRCS MISSION The mission of NRCS is protecting the interests of South Africans by developing and ensuring compliance with compulsory specifications and technical regulations. NRCS Value ChainNRCS Information Booklet3 LEGISLATIVE MANDATES The legislative mandate of NRCS is derived from the following legislations: The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications Act, ( Act No 5 of 2008) The Trade Metrology Act, ( Act No 77 of 1973) The National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act, ( Act No 103 of 1977)THE ROLE OF NRCSThe NRCS role as a regulator is to ensure that businesses produce, import or sell products or services that are not harmful to consumers or the environment or that fall short of the declared quantity of measurement.

3 The NRCS is also tasked to provide a regulatory function for the building industry to ensure building safety , health, structural stability and uniform interpretation of the NBR & BS Act and Regulations. THE NRCS STRATEGIC GOALS ARE AS FOLLOWS: To develop, maintain and administer compulsory specifications and technical regulations To maximise compliance with all specifications and technical regulations To inform and educate our stakeholders about the NRCS To ensure an optimally capacitated institutionREGULATED PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES Automotive Products Built Environment Chemical Products, Mechanical Devices and Materials Electrical Products and Appliances Frozen Fish, Canned Fishery, Canned Meat and Live Abalone Legal Metrology4 NRCS Information BookletTHE NEED FOR REGULATION The role of NRCS is to preserve the safety of South Africans consumers against potentially hazardous non-compliant goods and ensure that they receive fair value for money.

4 The organisation is determined to enhance its services to ensure compliance at all levels. It continues to identify gaps in regulation, where necessary, to ensure consumer protection in an ever changing global market. The NRCS s specifications and technical regulations are meant to protect South African consumers from unscrupulous businesses that either trade in unsafe products or that don t subscribe to the principle of fair trade, across markets. The need for regulation emanates from the fact that consumers in the whole world are driven by price rather than safety as they go about in their daily transactions. This places a huge burden on the NRCS to ensure that the market is ridded of harmful products while at the same time protecting the interests of growing South African business.

5 Technical regulations prescribe the basic requirements of goods traded in our markets. These requirements need to be competently measured and such measurements must be compatible with country s other trading partners in order to facilitate trade. Very importantly, consumers need to be confident that the goods they purchase are accurately measured, safe for use and of appropriate quality for their needs. The environment within which South Africa trades and NRCS operates has been characterised by rapid and fundamental change. The global manufacturing base continues on the trend of migration from the West to the East, dramatically changing the traditional sources of products. This has contributed to the increased scale of regulatory challenges facing the NRCS.

6 In response to these challenges, the NRCS has had to reconfigure the way it conducts business by moving towards deploying more of its people at the ports of entry so that it can intercept non-compliant products before they enter the local market, and forming partnerships with organisations such as the South African Revenue Services (SARS) and the South African Police Services (SAPS). This with the view to achieve its mandate of protecting health, safety and the environment while ensuring fair trade. NRCS Information Booklet5 LOA APPLICATION PROCESS FLOWC omplete and submit LOAapplication form(AF)to NRCSAF acceptedClose the application and issue rejection letterReturn to client for redoYESNOR egister application and send for evaluation by inspector Application is evaluated for compliance Application compliesNOYESR ecommend approval Send non-compliance (NC) report to client NCcleared?

7 YESNOA pproval granted?YESI ssue LOA Register on database NONRCS receives and checks the application from Automotive Business Unit The Automotive is a market surveillance that ensures that vehicles and vehicle components that fall within the domain of the NRCS Act and the National Road Traffic Act (Act No 93 of 1996) comply with all compulsory requirements before they are offered for sale in South Information Booklet7 Automotive ProductsVC NRName of product/ serviceSampleIndustryPurpose for regulatingCritical safety AreaVC 8022 (Passenger carrying vehicles/cars) (LOA and Homologation certificate)Manufacturers Importers and Builders of Motor VehiclesPromote safety of occupants in the vehicle, other road users and environmental protectionBraking systems (to ensure stopping distances, emer-gency braking, park brake, ABS for trailers), seats and their anchorages (To ensure that seats are properly secured to the vehicle), safety belts (Keep vehicle occupants in their seating positions at all times), tyres, safety glass and windscreens (protect occupants from being thrown out through the windows and ensure that the windscreens do not severely cut the occupants during collisions)Rear-view mirrors (for the driver to be able to see objects behind and on the sides of the vehicle).

8 VC 8024 (Light goods carrying/Pick-ups/bakkies) Gross mass not exceed 3500 kg (LOA and Homologation certificate)VC 8023(Heavy passenger vehicles/busses, minibuses) (LOA and Homologation certificate)VC 8025 (Medium to heavy Trucks - Gross mass exceeds 3500 kg) (LOA and Homologation certificate)VC 8026 (Caravans and Light Trailers) (LOA and Homologation certificate)Manufacturers Importers and Builders of Motor VehiclesPromote safety of vehicle occupants, other road users and environmental protectionLights and their positioning (Illumination of the road ahead, give signals to other road users and ensure not to cause severe glare to oncoming traffic), engine emissions (ensure reduced pollution), electro magnetic interference (ensure compliance with Electronic Communications Act).

9 VC 8027 (Heavy trailers/interlinks) (LOA and Homologation certificate)VC 8057 Agricultural Tractors (LOA and Homologation certificate)VC 9098(Motorcycles, Motor Tricycles and Quadrocycles) (LOA and Homologation certificate)8 NRCS Information BookletAutomotive ProductsVC NRName of product/ serviceSampleIndustryPurpose for regulatingCritical safety AreaVC 8013 Hydraulic Brake and Clutch Fluid (Brake Fluid)Automotive components manufacturers and importersEnsure original braking performance of the vehicle is maintainedOperational temperature, viscosity, packagingVC 8053 Replacement Brake Lining Assemblies for Road Vehicles (Brake pads and shoes)Ensure original braking performance of the vehicle is maintainedTransmission of required braking forceVC 8016 safety Helmets for Motor Cyclists (LOA and Homologation certificate)Automotive accessories/components manufacturers and importersReduce the risk of head injury during collisionProtective padding, Riders vision, Head coverage and secureVC 8033 Child Restraints for use in Motor Vehicles (Child seats/baby seats) (LOA and Homologation certificate)Promote safety of children by restraining them on their seatsFlammability, ability to be secured on the vehicle while retraining the child in her seating positionVC 8048 Replacement Incandescent Lamps for Motor Vehicles (Globes) (LOA Required)

10 Automotive components manufacturers and importersEnsure sufficient illumination of the road and discourage severe glare to encroaching trafficAbility to illuminate the road without causing severe glare to other road users and to give signal to other road users of the driver s intentionVC 8049 Replacement Headlights for Motor Vehicles (Dipped and Main beams) (LOA Required)VC 8050 Replacement Secondary Lights for Motor Vehicles (Indicators, Stoplights, Rear position) (LOA Required)NRCS Information Booklet9 Automotive ProductsVC NRName of product/ serviceSampleIndustryPurpose for regulatingCritical safety AreaVC 8051 Replacement safety Glass for use in Road Vehicles (LOA Required)Automotive components manufacturers and importersEnsure occupants are kept safe in the vehicleAbility to give proper drivers vision, reduce injuries caused by windscreen breakage (it should be laminated)VC 8059 Pneumatic Tyres for Commercial Vehicles and their Trailers (Homologation letter)Promote safety on the vehicle s only contact with the surfaceSpeed handling, load carrying and dimensionsVC 8056 Pneumatic Tyres for Passenger Cars and Trailers (Homologation letter)VC 8080 Elastomeric Cups and Seals (Rubber seals) (LOA Required)