Electronic goods to be graded

Crisil, LRQA to certify products of IEEMA companies for the first time in India

The electrical and electronics manufacturers in India will soon have a grading system to boost the quality of their products and gain international acceptance.

In a first of its kind project, the premier credit rating agency Credit Rating Information Services of India (CRISIL) and Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance (LRQA), the leading supplier of management system certification to international standards, have joined hands with the Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers Association (IEEMA), to certify the manufacturers of electrical and electronics products in India.

"We have initiated a pilot project involving a dozen metre manufacturers and hope to extend the project to all metre manufacturers by March next year. Depending on the success of the pilot project, the rating will be extended to other manufacturers of electrical, electronics and allied equipment," said a top level source with IEEMA.

The sixty-year old IEEMA represents electrical, electronics and allied equipment manufacturers in the country. It has over 550 members in about 20 categories, with a combined annual turnover exceeding $22 billion. Its price variation data of raw materials, periodically announced, is already a global benchmark for power utilities to participate in tenders and institutional procurement of power and related products and projects, said sources.

The grading process will involve evaluation of about 200 parametres. Crisil and Lloyds will evaluate the manufacturers jointly and award gradings in five categories from good to unsatisfactory, indicating their capability and business sustainability.

The grading will help the manufacturers to attract more visibility, improve overall quality and performance, credibility with customers, suppliers and collaborators, and act as a good marketing tool, the sources added.

The grading parametres will primarily revolve around financial strength of the organisation, business risk in terms of industry risk, market position and operating efficiency, management evaluation and technical capabilities such as experience, technology skills, manufacturing facilities, research and development, automation and computerisation, human resources, quality assurance and customer service.