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Homologation Management Services

Homologation Management Services (HMS)

What is Homologation?

Homologation is the process of bringing a product into compliance with, and/or certified to guidelines established by a regulating authority, generally at a national level.  Homologation is typically a prerequisite to distributing or delivering products to a country or region.   The term Homologation, which has been used in the automotive industry for some time, can also be applied to regulatory compliance of non-automotive products, components, and systems.  We use the term because of its concise ability to describe the regulatory product certification industry.

Challenges with Global Homologation:

Manufacturers expanding into global markets, particularly developing markets, are faced with a growing number of regulatory requirements of which safety, EMC, wireless, energy, and environmental disciplines are becoming common.  As a result of the increased complexity of global homologation, manufacturers can experience multiple hurdles in attaining and maintaining market access for their products, including: 

  • In-house staff becoming overburdened; 
  • Excessive certification costs; 
  • Poor homologation advise from outside sources; 
  • Unexpected expiration of certifications; 
  • Loss of employee with all homologation knowledge. 

Navigating global certification processes with an expanding number of compliance disciplines has become a full-time job.  Instead of relying on one person within the organization to muddle through this ever-changing maze of compliance, it may make sense to partner with an organization that specializes in product certification services.  

Insourcing Homologation Management:

Whether you require additional support or you need someone to oversee all homologation activities, as part of our Homologation Management Service (HMS), G&M provides an industry expert to fill the necessary role.  This person works as part of the team to manage and streamline internal compliance related processes.  They not only rely on their own knowledge but leverage the collective expertise of the G&M team. What makes us a good fit for serving in this capacity is our technical experience and knowledge of global homologation schemes.  Our experience and knowledge, coupled with our autonomy from certification bodies, makes us an ideal homologation management partner.  This service is similar to certification consulting but designed to be integrated within a company’s infrastructure for more seamless results.  The following are examples of how an experienced homologation team working as your in-house partner can provide value: 

  • Development of effective certification programs, maximizing models per certification, and reducing overall costs 
  • Management of outside vendors, ensuring their certification efforts are efficient, which improves time to market 
  • Removal of homologation tasks from company staff, allowing them to be more productive  
  • Tracking certifications with G&M CATS system to avoid unexpected expirations, minimizing loss of market access 
  • Having an established company manage homologation improves consistency and reduces the possibility of chaos due to employee turnover. 
  • Assistance in analyzing risk of homologation related business decisions can save both time and money 

Insourcing Vs. Hiring:

For companies fortunate enough to have competent personnel managing homologation activities, such people are a rare find.  We encourage companies in this situation to hold on to these folks as they are a valuable asset to the team.  In some cases where these individuals have a specific expertise (e.g. Tier 1 certifications), or are just too busy to keep up, G&M is happy to take on the role of augmenting their efforts.  Particularly in a supplemental role, we can provide quick, efficient service.  This model may be preferable to hiring on additional employees.

The question for many companies is: Can we continue to treat the impact of growing homologation requirements as an adjunct responsibility given to one or more existing employees?  If not, can we justify or afford a full-time employee?  Finally does it make business sense to hire specialized personnel who don’t contribute to the core competencies of the organization? 

For companies in the situation described above, G&M’s HMS is the perfect solution.  See figure below for an illustration of how homologation management and certification related responsibilities can be transferred to the Homologation Management Co., while some of the more basic responsibilities are maintained at the production/manufacturing co:

 

Graphical Representation of Division of Responsibilities

Key:

  • Homologation Management Activities
  • Certification Related Activities
  • Documentation and Internal Communication

The division of responsibilities illustrated above can provide for a more efficient process.  The following are some of the benefits of insourcing homologation management vs. hiring a full-time homologation engineer:

  • Demand for homologation related activities can vary, making it difficult to justify a full-time commitment. Insourcing homologation management allows for variations in commitment level depending on demand.
  • The hiring/acquisition process for the right compliance engineer can be an arduous one particularly if the first hire is the wrong fit.
  • Due to streamlining of processes, costs associated with a management company can be reduced over time vs fixed cost of an employee.
  • A qualified management company offers a pool of resources under one umbrella as opposed to relying on the “tribal” knowledge of one person.
  • The disruption of losing a homologation employee can be catastrophic but is reduced to a non-factor with a homologation management company in place.
  • Separation of tasks associated with the management company model improves process efficiency.

Project Cost Savings Provided by HMS Model:

To help keep costs low we are able to leverage our overall volume from our HMS customers, and we pass that savings back to them to ensure a win-win relationship.  We provide discount pricing to our HMS customers for homologation services that we offer on a project basis.  See below for an example of some common certification types that are discounted for our HMS members:

Certification Type:

  • CCC – China Safety & EMC
  • SRRC – China Wireless
  • BIS – India Safety
  • WPC – India Wireless
  • EAC – Russia Safety
  • KC – Korea Safety & EMC
  • NOM – Mexico Safety & EMC

Risk Assessment of Homologation Related Business Decisions:

Most business decisions when broken down are comprised of a risk vs. reward analysis.  The reward may be in the form of increased revenues or a reduction in costs, both having the same effect on the bottom line.  In the homologation world, having access to sell products into new markets provides the increase in revenue, however each additional certification required to enter or remain in a market adds significant cost as well.  The trick therefore is to add key products or maintain them in important markets while minimizing certification costs.  As implied above the up-side of minimizing costs may come with some inherent risk.

In some instances, there may be opportunities to reduce cost or even improve time to market that involve little risk but are not widely known.  In other instances, organizations may be engaging in high risk, minimally beneficial practices without realizing it until it’s too late.  Having an effective homologation strategy requires a process to identify beneficial opportunities, and then be able to accurately assess that the risk vs benefit ratio meets an acceptable tolerance.  In order to accurately assess these parameters, assessment must be conducted by one whom has intimate knowledge of a discipline’s technical requirements, overall product knowledge, and familiarity with associated surveillance events.  As your Homologation Management Team, G&M can help with this analysis to keep certification costs low, and market accessibility high.  Please see illustration below for a common HMS risk analysis process:

HMS Risk Analysis Process

Key:

Input – Homologation decision involving risk.  See below for examples:

AHR – Actions overall impact on homologation requirements (technical)

VR – Repercussion of a resulting variance if identified by market officials

LV – Likelihood of a variance occurring (i.e. certification officials identifying discrepancies)

L – Low risk decision

H – High risk decision

Risk Factors:

AHR1 – Action has negligible impact on pass/fail criteria

AHR2 – Action is likely to increase the possibility of a failure in testing or a constructional aspect

VR1 – Repercussion is of minor significance (e.g. must be corrected in allotted time frame)

VR2 – Repercussion is of major significance (e.g. all company certifications are subject to cancelation)

LV1 – Likelihood of variance is low (e.g. difficult to detect, or lack of certification surveillance)

LV2 – Likelihood of variance is high

*Homologation Decision Examples:

  • Should we use a single model designation for a product line having some configuration differences?
  • Should we re-certify a product after a revision?
  • Should we get certification testing done overseas where costs are lower, but quality is questionable?

Allow us to do what we do best so that you can focus on what you do best.  Let’s work together to design a customized solution for your regulatory product compliance / Homologation needs.

Please contact us at 714-628-1020, or info@gmcompliance for more information.