To secure the right to display an INDEPENDENTLY AWARDED Quality Mark a Supplier of goods and/or services must objectively demonstrate that it is adequately compliant with the relevant Quality Mark's regulatory criteria which, for the purposes of this MODEL Programme, is SGS/24.

The underlying rationale for all Quality Mark regulatory criteria is that BEFORE they purchase any products or services all prospective purchasers have the right to expect their Suppliers to provide them with cost-free access to clearly defined "Terms and Conditions" and meaningful information about, for example, who owns the Supply organisation and details of the Supplier's underlying "Corporate" integrity.

For the benefit of consumer-friendly "Boardrooms" SGS/24 (notionally) sets out suggested guidelines about the type of non-confidential "Corporate" data that is most likely to satisfy the primary quality related concerns of their prospective customers and, of course, SGS/24 compliant Suppliers could (notionally) acquire the right to display the SPRINGS - International Quality Mark on their business letterheadings, promotional literature and other SGS/24 compliant marketing data.

The (illustrative) content of SGS/24 works on the simple and well established doctrine of "SAY what you do and DO what you say".

In practice, SGS/24 is not "rocket science" and can be summarised as follows:

Heading 1.0 merely invites Supplier organisations to make the following non-confidential data freely and readily available to their customers and prospective customers:

Requirement 1.1:

A Summary of Trading Status which includes details of the Supplier's Owners or other Executive Officers, its scope of trading activities and usual business contact data.

Requirement 1.2:

Documentary evidence to objectively demonstrate that the Supplier physically possesses locally relevant and CURRENTLY VALID compulsory trading credentials.

Requirement 1.3:

Documentary evidence to objectively demonstrate that the Supplier publishes its legally binding "Terms and Conditions" in an optimally legible and user-friendly format.

Requirement 1.4:

Documentary evidence to objectively demonstrate the honesty, accuracy and current validity of all or any claims made in the Supplier's marketing or other promotional material about, for example, product certification, warranties, guarantees, professional and/or trade qualifications, Institutional membership or other trading affiliations.

and

Requirement 1.5:

Evidence to objectively demonstrate that ALL currently serving members of the Supplier's "Boardroom" have signed a documented "commitment" to meet SGS/24's clearly specified and MINIMALLY ACCEPTABLE listing of environmentally protective and other "quality-related objectives".

The "Requirements" specified in Heading 2.0 and the "Licensing Regulations" specified in Heading 3.0 of SGS/24 are illustrative of the type of provisions that would normatively be incorporated where regulatory criteria is supported by an independently regulated Quality Mark Scheme.

In practice, in the Quality Assurance arena, regulatory criteria like SGS/24 appear under a wide variety of Titles e.g. "Codes of Conduct" or the even more familiar "Terms of Service" format.

To view AAQA's own Code of Conduct please click HERE and use your browser's BACK BUTTON to return to this Page.

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