The Engineered Wood Products Association (EWPA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the EWPAA, authroised by the Japanese Government to perform JAS and JIS Certification.
The process for granting and maintaining certification is detailed below.
JAS & JIS
Certification
Engineered wood products entering Japan generally need to be certified to either a Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS) or Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS). These schemes are overseen by the Japanese Government who approve certification bodies for each of these schemes.
Application
If you are interested in JAS or JIS certification, you must send a letter to the EWPA at inbox@ewp.asn.au notifying us of your desire to be certified. This letter must include:
- the business name
- ABN number
- contact information, and
- address of the manufacturing site.
The letter must also list the products that you manufacture and the product standard(s) to which certification is sought.
We will contact you to request any additional information and go through the process in more detail.
Please note that the EWPA only offers JAS certification to manufacturers outside of Japan, and JIS certification to manufacturers outside of Japan and People’s Republic of China.
Quality Management System
Applicants will be provided with a copy of the EWPA JAS Certification Rules or EWPA JIS Mark Policy and Rules. These rules detail the requirements for process control, internal testing, management systems, product qualification, documentation and record keeping.
The applicant must implement a documented quality control system that meets the requirements of these rules.
Qualification Audit
The first step for certification is for the EWPA to perform qualification audits for certification. These audits will consist of an onsite inspection of the manufacturing process, a review of the documented management system and a review of internal testing facilities. The purpose of this audit is to ensure that the applicant has:
- Identified all key production variables and implemented control processes for these variables to ensure product consistency.
- Acquired the necessary equipment to perform all required end product testing and developed procedures for sampling, testing and verification of product properties.
- Implemented a management system focused on continuous improvement of product performance.
Product Testing
Every certified product must be tested by an independent laboratory to verify it meets the requirements of the product standard and any performance claims made by the manufacturer under those standards. This testing is generally performed by the EWPAA’s NATA accredited subsidiary laboratory, Timber Testing Centre. Other laboratories may be used with EWPA approval. This approval will be based on that laboratory demonstrating to the EWPA that they are competent in the relevant test methods and sufficiently impartial to ensure accurate results.
The results of testing will be analysed by the EWPA to ensure the product meets the requirements of the standard.
Certification
Once the mills has demonstrated that their quality management system is compliant with the EWPA rules and that there products meet the requirements of the applicable product standard, a review of all of the evidence collected during the certification process shall be provided to an independent committee of experts for review. This committee shall provide advice to the CEO of the EWPA who will make a decision on the application.
Certification Documentation
Once an application for certification has been approved, the applicant shall be provided with a certificate detailing the scope of certification and will have their details and their scope of certification included on the EWPAA certification register. The Japanese Government will also be notified of all new approvals.
Surveillance
EWPA product certification does not expire; however, all certified manufacturers are subject to ongoing surveillance to ensure they continue to meet the requirements of the certification scheme.
EWPA surveillance activities include the following:
Surveillance Audits
- The EWPA performs an onsite audit of the manufacturing process at least annually to ensure the process control system is maintained, internal testing is compliant and the results of internal testing demonstrate continued product compliance.
Surveillance Testing
- The EWPA selects certified products for testing in the EWPAA laboratory. This testing allows the EWPA to monitor product performance and ensure they meet the requirements of the Japanese Standard.
PCS-RU-JAS Branded Products V8
