Services
Intertek offers custom-made services for a broad variety of business lines. We support our customers on the global markets in areas of consumer goods, electric-/electronic appliances, mechanical engineering, textiles, chemistry, oil, minerals, agricultural products, food and pharmaceuticals. At present, Intertek services cover 4% of the world trade.
Intertek guarantees that the processes, strategies and business processes of its clients are optimized and are complied with the statutory regulations. Thus, the products are safe, for both clients and consumers on the markets.
Services
- Auditing
- Benchmark and Performance Tests
- Consultancy
- Evaluation
- Document Review/Verification
- Inspection
- Analytical and Mechanical/physical Testing
- Outsourcing
- Quality Assurance
- Risk Management
- REACH Services
- Workshops
- System Certification
- Supply Chain Management
- Technical Documentation
- Certification
Auditing of a process, a system or equipment reveals whether it complies with the valid requirements or not. Typical auditing ranges from the verification of simple business procedures to the execution of a complete external audit programme, and from the surveillance of a single process to the monitoring of a corporate social responsibility programme.
There has been an increasing demand for this service by companies of different business lines. These companies have understood that auditing can optimize business procedures and increase financial efficiency.
For more than 100 years Intertek has been performing audits for clients all over the world.
2. Benchmark and Performance Tests
Consumers have become more demanding and want quality for their money. Among the immense variety of products, the quality of low-priced products is not necessarily inferior to that of the expensive, seemingly high-quality products. Only by testing products’ usability performance and their suitability for intended purpose can the consumers identify high-quality products.
Consumer organisations, for instance, Stiftung Warentest (Germany), UFC Que Choisir (France). Which ? (United Kingdoms) and Verein für Konsumenteninformation (Austria), take this matter of fact into account and perform a wide range of testing on products under different brands, which not only cover the product´s safety, but also its usability performance and quality.
In response to the need of clients, Intertek has developed usability performance tests for a variety of product groups, as well as a test and quality mark, to prove the product’s quality to consumers.
The test parameters are dependent on product groups or on individual product and are derived from foreseeable use to possible misuse. Some common test parameters are:
- Life cycle testing
- Workmanship
- Handling
- Fitness for Use
- Energy efficiency
- Safety spot test
- Document Check/Review
- Benchmarking
In addition, trading firms want to distinguish themselves from competitors and/or brand companies, by marketing that the products under their own brand name are of equal quality, if not better.
For this purpose Intertek offers the benchmark testing service. This test compares products of identical product group. The test results thus allow our clients to rate their products’ quality within the assigned competitive environment, and act as an effective marketing tool.
Intertek offers a variety of high-quality consultancy and training services that cover a broad range of customer requirements. Our expertise of international standards, programs, processes and quality assurance activities along the supply chain, together with our ability to project our clients´ requirements, establishes the basis of optimized consulting service for each client.
Intertek evaluates and analyzes products, processes, procedures, systems and the supply chain of our global clients. Our services and strategies are performed in concordance with statutory regulations and individual customer requirements and/or adjusted accordingly for the optimization of business processes.
We support our clients not only in analyzing and developing processes, but also in implementation, monitoring and further development of business processes, aiming at creating positive brand awareness and enhancing business results of our clients.
Document Check/Review performed by Intertek experts enables the verification of potential product quality damage or of product’s conformity with regulations, standards, statutory regulations and customer specifications.
Document Check/Review, for example, verifies the material/component composition of the products, the up-to-dateness of applied test methods and the validity of obtained test results according to statutory regulations, standards of the target markets.
Intertek offers a broad range of inspection services for manufacturers, retailers and suppliers. They include, among others, manufacturer auditing according to quality standards, monitoring of the factory quality and the product quality, production check by random testing during or after production and pre-shipment loading supervision.
Subcontractor performance auditing with regard to:
- Processes
- Management
- Business processes
- Quality requirements
- Manufacturing processes
- Equipment calibration
- Procurement processes
- Raw material management
- Product management
For goods inspections, the following parameters are being checked (among others):
- Product safety
- Quality and quantity
- Workmanship
- Functionality
- Colors
- Size sets
- Marking
- Packaging
- Labeling
Intertek inspections assure product safety and the compliance with requirements of respective business lines, markets, and most important of all, clients.
7. Analytical and mechanical-physical laboratory testing
Chemical and/or mechanical-physical testing of products, raw materials and components is an essential instrument to guarantee customer product safety and to verify the safety of the tested product. Laboratory testing to detect harmful substances or to verify that regulations conformity will be performed on a wide range of materials, products, product lines and prototypes.
Intertek shares its expert know-how of the statutory regulations and different business lines requirements with clients and their suppliers. We assist our clients to detect potential errors in a process, to correct them and to monitor the processes continuously.
We test consumer goods, industrial products, food and raw materials under international methods, standards and regulations.
„Outsourcing" is a contractual agreement between the client and one or more suppliers with the purpose to subcontract services or processes that had been previously managed by client internally. “Outsourcing” with specialization, alliances and innovation is one of most widely used the management tools to create and maintain competitive advantages.
As a leading international provider of quality and safety assurance services for a wide range of global and local production industries, Intertek offers a variety of outsourcing options for different clients - including governments, companies, trading companies and manufacturers.
The quality of product is defined by consumers´ expectations. Manufacturers need to know consumers’ expectations well, take them into account and bring their system in line with them, in order to fulfil end-customers´ requirements.
Intertek performs tests, audits and certifications for various systems, processes, raw materials, prefabricated parts and finished products. In addition, we support manufacturers in designing effective quality assurance concepts and training programs.
Companies benefit from our wide range of services in areas of risk analysis and risk management. We assist our customers to identify and minimize any risk related to a product.
Our extensive database of mechanical, toxic and microbiological hazards and products with conspicuous defects offers valuable help to identify potential hazards.
Intertek assesses product design, product performance, consumer behavior and product application. Before a product will be launched, the client is informed on potential risks of the product.
Risk management also means optimization of processes and procedures. Intertek also offers services to evaluate potential or existing risk factors in the company and to design appropriate concepts to eliminate the risks.
The REACH Regulation of the European Community forbids the preparation and distribution of certain hazardous chemicals.
REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of CHemicals) means that all chemicals having been put on the market and also chemicals that will be designed, must not be marketed before registration and evaluation. Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) are either restricted or completely forbidden.
Intertek clients may use of our modular REACH solution for product conformity that also monitors manufacturers’, suppliers’ and distributors´ compliance.
The following modules may be combined with each other as required:
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Analysis / Evaluation / Setup of the REACH management system
To analyze degree of concern by product groups/ products evaluation
To develop REACH management system based on individual requirements
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Training / Support / Supplier Assessment
To provide On-site training for suppliers (with system and language flexibility, e.g. in Mandarin)
To support Supplier in (pre-)registration of substances at the ECHA
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Determination of preparation data and data of substances
To carry out chemical, toxicological analysis and scanning according to SVHC regulations
To verify safety data sheets and chemical composition
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Intertek IRIS database
To archive all products data, together with with their ingredients
To summarise all ingredients, classification based on manufacturers
To archive of all test reports and certificates
To (pre-)register chemical according to REACH requirements
Intertek workshops enable direct conversations with renowned technical experts, international lawyers, certification experts and scientists. Safety, auditing, quality and laboratory services are fundamental topics in today’s business and cover our clients´ needs. Our clients obtain fundamental information that increases their brand value, improves their market position and creates competitive advantages.
Workshops are tailored to our clients´ requirements. Thus, the best result is guaranteed for participants.
Independent Intertek system certifications prove whether a company´s management system operates effectively and improves continuously. Intertek is one of the most experienced and notable system certification companies. Our skilled auditors work accurately and act professionally. We provide time-and-cost efficient audits to our clients that meet exactly their individual requirements.
Intertek verifies if your management system complies with a variety of internationally accepted standards, including but not limited to:
- ISO 9001 quality management systems
- ISO 14001 environment management systems
- AS9100, AS9120 and AS9003 quality management systems in aeronautics
- ISO/TS 16949 quality management systems – special requirements if ISO 9001:2000 is applied for series production and spare parts production in the automotive industry
- ISO 13485 medical devices – quality management systems – requirements for regulatory purposes
- TL 9000 telecommunications quality management systems
- OHSAS 18001 for company health and safety management systems
- ISO 22000 (HACCP) Food safety management system – requirements for any organization in the food chain
- ISO 20000 IT services management
- ISO 27000 IT security management systems
- QC 080000 Hazardous substance process management systems
Intertek’s „Supply Chain Management“is a combination of several Intertek services. It interlinks a series of checkpoints along the supply chain and different quality assurance measures during a product’s life cycle, thus relieving the customer.
The following modules can be individually combined with each other to bundle a process based on clients’ needs.
- Risk analysis during the product development process
- Instruction manual creation
- Supplier auditing
- Random testing during the production process
- Laboratory regulatory testing
- Loading supervision
An international team of experts tests and provides instruction manuals, technical documentation, graphical designs and illustrations for all international markets and in all European and important Asian languages, according to relevant standards or specific customer requirements.
Intertek offers certification services for manufacturers and retailers that are based on a variety of international accreditations, recognitions and agreements, which are essential to allow our clients to act globally.
Product certification (as the result of a successful conformity check) is essential to sell a product on a certain market. Product certification is documented by a market-specific certification mark which is applied to the product. To name but a few: S-mark, GS-mark (in Europe: for electronic and mechanical products), the WH-mark, the ETL-mark (for North America) and the Intertek Eco-mark for clothing and shoes. In addition, Intertek is authorized to confirm if a company undertakes corporate social responsibility (CSR) and meets the related CSR programme requirements.
The certification by an independent third-party company such as Intertek confirms that a product or a company has fulfilled corresponding international requirements.
