Verification & Regulatory

Support licensing and startup

Simplify certification and compliance

Helping companies overcome licensing bureacracy

When you cook, you want to make sure the gas installation is safe. Hence be certified.

And when you are in the office, you want to have confidence that the air-conditioning air is filtered and of good quality. Hence the air-conditioning has to comply with specific rules.

And when you go to the restaurant, you want to make sure you consume quality products. Hence the restaurant has specific certification.

The examples are many, from small to large activities, but the truth is that we live in a world with many rules, with regulation. And if this legislation and regulation exists to help us all, it is a fact that sometimes meeting their requirements can be complex, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Tests, forms, processes, procedures, bureaucracy, time consuming and sometimes with errors that cost even more, especially when the focus of the company is on making progress in your business.

That is why we provide the Regulatory Services area, in which we support, in a simplified and transparent way, the companies to comply with the standards that apply to them.

Help in Licencing and Compliance

ISQ offers a wide range of regulatory services to help clients to meet their legal obligations as regards quality, environment and people safety, installations and equipment in compliance with the Portuguese and EU legislation and applicable directives.

We provide inspection and testing services of materials, components and products, installations and equipment in buildings, installations and industrial equipment for approval/adoption or to assist in industrial and environmental licensing.
We certify people and we carry out chemical analysis, environmental monitoring, occupational exposure and food safety.

These services are performed by qualified/certified technicians with wide experience and supported by a modern and well equipped network of accredited laboratories and further acknowledged skills through accreditation, notification and/or appointment by government bodies.

ISQ OFFER

NB - Notified Body

A Notified Body (NB) is an independent body providing conformity assessment services (a certification, inspection or testing body), designated by the notifying authority of an EU Member State to perform third-party conformity assessment and to attest the conformity of products (including its design, manufacture and, when applicable, installation and/or maintenance) according to EU New Approach Directives, to guarantee product compliance with safety standards and regulations.

The Notified Body is empowered to conduct the assessment of products to be placed on the EU market and also to provide the manufacturer or his authorized representative established within the EU, with an official Assessment Certificate, thus enabling him to apply a certification mark (CE Mark) to the product and issue a declaration of conformity, as legally required.

ISQ is formally recognised to supply services as Notified Body (NB nr.0028) for the following EU Directives:

Simple pressure vessels – 2009/105/EC
Lifts – 95/16/EC
Pressure equipment – 97/23/EC
Non-automatic weighing instruments – 2009/23/EC (ex-90/384/EEC)
Cableway installations designed to carry persons – 2000/9/EC
Low voltage directive – 2006/95/EC (ex-73/23/EEC)
Measuring instruments directive – 2004/22/EC
Electromagnetic compatibility – 2004/108/EC
Machinery – 2006/42/EC
Transportable pressure equipment – 2010/35/EU

CAB - Conformity Assessment Body

ISQ provides conformity assessment services of projects, products, installations, equipment, processes and people, enabling clients to prove their compliance with the legislation, standards and directives.

Among the services provided, we highlight testing and sampling, calibration, inspection and certification.

As a Conformity Assessment Body (CAB), ISQ skills have been formally acknowledged through its accreditation by IPAC (Instituto Português de Acreditação) – the national entity member and signatory of the Mutual Recognition Agreements of EA (European Cooperation for Accreditation), of ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation) and IAF (International Accreditation Forum).

The results of the compliance assessment provided by ISQ are also recognised or accepted in the remaining countries that have signed these agreements.

ISQ offers the following accredited compliance assessment services:

Certification body for persons – accredited according to EN ISO/IEC 17024

IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. D0004

Welders and welding operators
Brazors and brazing operators

Inspection body – accredited according to EN ISO/IEC 17020

IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. I0002

Pressure equipments
Simple pressure vessels
Transportable pressure equipments
Equipments for carriage of dangerous goods
Fuel warehouses
Fuel supply facilities

IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. I0015

Gas pipelines
Gas networks, distribution and supply gas facilities

IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. I0023

Electrical installations
Telecommunications installations

IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. I0061

Lifts, escalators and moving walks
Sports equipment
Machinery
Playgrounds (related equipment and surfaces)
Fairgroud and amusement park machinery and structures

Testing and Calibration Laboratories – accredited according to EN ISO/IEC 17025

Tests and sampling

Laboratory for Electrical Equipment – IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. L0002

Testing on electrical products
Testing of optical radiation emitted by artificial sources in the workplace

Laboratory of Electromagnetic Compatibility – IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. L0300

Electromagnetic compatibility testing, IT, radio and telecoms

Laboratory of Electrical Cables – IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. L0028

Testing of electrical products (cables and related materials)

Laboratory for Thermodynamics – IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. L0178

Testing of equipment for the carriage of perishable foodstuffs (ATP Agreement)

Laboratory of Non-Destructive Testing – IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. L0050

Non Destructive Testing (NDT)

Laboratory of Materials – IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. L0070

Mechanical, chemical and metallographic testing of materials and metalic alloys
Mechanical testing of plastics, rubbers and derivates
Testing of concrete

Laboratory of Chemistry and Environment – IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. L0077

Testing and sampling of waters
Testing and sampling of liquid effluents
Testing and sampling of stack emissions
Testing and sampling of the ambient air (exterior and in the workplace)
Testing of solid residues
Chemical testings of metals and metalic alloys
Testing of food and agri-food products
Fire testing

Laboratory of Acoustics and Vibration – IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. L0219

Testing of acoustics and vibration

Calibrations

Dimensional Metrology Laboratory – IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. M0009

Dimensional
Hardness
Velocity and acelleration

Calibration Laboratory for Physic Metrology – IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. M0046

Calibration Laboratory for Electro-Physic Metrology – IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. M0059

Electricity: direct current and low frequency (f ≤1MHz)
Time and frequency
Electricity: high frequency (f >1MHz)
Optical
Fibre optics
Acoustics
Vibration

Metrological tests

Physical Testing Laboratory – IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. L0268

Equipment and installations for environmental/climatic control (ex.: incubators, refrigerators)
Machinery and mechanical equipment (ex.: regloscopes)
Metrological and functional characteristics (ex.: gas analyzers and gas volumetric counters)
Engineering materials, machinery, structures and products

Laboratory for Dimensional Control – IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. L0342

Engineering materials, machinery, structures and products (ex.: components)
Acoustics and vibrations (percussion machines)

Laboratory for Clinical and Hospital Equipment – IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. L0610

Medical equipment

Laboratory of Testing and Calibration of Safety Valves – IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. L0375

Safety valves and devices

LABVOLUME – IPAC Accreditation Certificate nr. L0456, (for metrological verification)

Fixed storage tanks (vertical cylindrical/horizontal and spherical tanks)
Automatic level gauges
Road and rail tankers

Metrological Verification Body

Metrological control of measuring instruments is the part of legal metrology which aim is to guarantee the accuracy of the measurements results within national regulatory limits to ensure the credibility of measurements concerned with trade, tax operations and consumer protection, health and safety, and environmental protection.

A Metrological Verification Body is a non-governamental entity designed by the national authority to perform legal metrological control tasks on his behalf, including testing, examination and marking and/or issuing of a verification certificate attesting the conformity of the measurement instrument with the applicable regulation.

ISQ is qualified and formally designated as metrological verification body by IPQ – Instituto Português da Qualidade – the Portuguese authority for Legal Metrology, member and signatory of the OIML (International Organization of Legal Metrology) and WELMEC (European Cooperation in Legal Metrology) agreements.

In the scope of these designations ISQ provides metrological control services on the following measuring instruments:

Non-automatic weighting scales instruments
Mass measuring
Pool table and ping-pong time counters
Continuous totalizers
Measument of strength of testing equipment
Length measument instruments
Sound level meters
Gas counters and volume conversion devices for domestic, commercial and light industry use
Temperature registration devices for use in transportation and storage of deep freezed, refrigerated, freezed food products and creams
Automotive exhaust gas analyzers
Opacimeters
Continuous and dynamic measuring systems for use with liquids excluding water (combustible GPL measurement supply systems)
Fixed installation storage tanks
Automatic level gauges for measuring the level of liquid in storage tanks
Road and rail tankers

Professional Certification

Certification of welders and welding operators

ISQ provides certification of welders and welding operators in accordance with international standards, building and construction codes or customer specifications and issuance of certificates recognized in the European region and in many other countries.

ISQ is accredited as Personnel Certification Body according to EN ISO/IEC 17024 for certification of welders and welding operators, brazing operators and operators of welding brazing.

Is also Notified Body for approval of permanent joining personnel in the scope of EU PED Directive (97/23/EC Pressure Equipment).

Qualification of polyethylene welders (butt welds/electro welding) and management of qualification expiry dates.

Analysis of welding specifications
Assistance to welding and samples
Visual inspection
Non-destructive testing
Destructive testing including sample workings
Issue of certificates

In accordance with

The applicable types of testing, test procedures and their acceptance criteria are defined in different qualification standards/codes.

IAB/EWF – Qualification in welding

Qualifications are there to prove that the person has the necessary level of knowledge to assume tasks and responsibilities in welding, meeting the requirements of the appropriate welding level within the scope of IIW (International Institute of Welding) and by EWF (European Welding Federation) Qualification System.

ISQ is Authorized National Body (ANB) for the award of the EWF qualifications (European Welder, European Welding Engineer and European Welding Specialist) and IIW qualifications (International Welder, International Welding Engineer, International Welding Specialist and International Welding Inspection Personnel).

As Authorized National Body (ANB) ISQ has the authority to approve ATBs (Authorized Trainning Bodies) to conduct training courses for different welding levels from welder to engineer.
The qualification offered are recognized in all IIW/EWF countries.

Currently 43 countries (South Africa, Germany, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, United States, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Netherlands, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Ukraine) are involved in the development and implementation of rules and contents of the EWF/IIW Qualification System.

Regulatory

Conformity assessment body designated under Portuguese legislation

Inspection Body for Fuel Facilities at Azores – by Secretaria Regional da Economia dos Açores
Inspection Body for Fuel Facilities – by DGEG (Direcção Geral de Energia e Geologia)
Inspection Body for Gas Facilities Networks and Distribution Systems – by DGEG (Direcção Geral de Energia e Geologia)
Inspection Body for Lifts and Escalators – by DGEG (Direcção Geral de Energia e Geologia)
Recognized Body to certify specialized equipment for the carriage of perishable foodstuffs, whitin the ATP agreement – by IMT (Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes)

Qualified and/or Authorized under Portuguese legislation

Authorized to provide external services of occupational hygiene and safety – by ISHST (Instituto para a Segurança, Higiene e Saúde no Trabalho)
Qualified as general manager of the quality of construction projects – by LNEC (Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil)
Qualified as energetic auditing body and author of rationalization plans and of implementation and progress reports under intensive energy consumption management systems – by ADENE (Agência para a Energia)
Qualified as Auditing Body for energy audits in co-generation facilities – by DGEG (Direcção Geral de Energia e Geologia)
Qualified as Examination Body of the energy use conditions and authoress of rationalization plans of the energy consumption for the transport sector – by DGEG (Direcção Geral de Energia e Geologia)

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