Presentation and activity



Presentation

>The National Accreditation Council TUNAC is a non-administrative public body with moral and financial autonomy. TUNAC is under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises; it is governed by the following regulations:

  • Law No. 97-40 of June 20, 1994, amended and supplemented by Law No. 2005-92 of October 3, 2005, establishing a national system of accreditation of conformity assessment bodies.
  • Decree No. 2006-1210 of 24 April 2006 on the administrative and financial organization of the National Accreditation Council and the modalities of its operation.
  • Decree No. 2006-1340 of May 8, 2006, conformity assessment bodies and the composition of the arbitration committee and its operation.

TUNAC is managed by a Works Council representing the different ministries concerned, the UTICA, the UTAP, the UDC, as well as a member representing the conformity assessment bodies. The general management provides the administrative, financial and technical management.

The permanent staff of TUNAC has around twenty administrative and technical members, including eight engineers taking charge of the management of the four accreditation sections: certification, testing and calibration, analysis and inspection.

TUNAC is consolidated by non-permanent staff with quality assessors, lead assessors, national and international assessors and technical experts.

Around this structure, TUNAC has created sectoral accreditation committees whose advice is essential for decision-making related to accreditation. These committees are each composed of four experts divided as follows :

  • A representative of the Ministry responsible for the activity of the body applying for accreditation
  • A representative of the private sector
  • Two independent experts or two assessors who did not participate in the assessment of the body applying for accreditation

These experts are recognized for their scientific competence, their experience and their specialization in the fields concerned by accreditation

Currently, TUNAC has six active committees, namely :

  • Agri-Food Analysis Committee ;
  • The Committee of mechanical and physical testing ;
  • The Chemical analysis committee ;
  • Metrology committee;
  • The System certification committee
  • The Inspection committee in the field of industrial safety.

An advisory committee of arbitration (appeal committee) is appointed by the General Director. He is responsible for the study and handling of appeals and complaints.

Vocation

TUNAC, the National Accreditation Council, is the only national non-profit accreditation body recognized by the government to evaluate, against internationally recognized standards, the conformity assessment bodies that provide the certifications, inspections, tests, analyzes and calibration services.

Accreditation by TUNAC demonstrates the competence, impartiality and performance of conformity assessment bodies.

Mission

TUNAC's mission is to certify the competence and impartiality of conformity assessment bodies. This mission is conducted in accordance with national regulations and international standards.

In this context, TUNAC's responsiblity is to :

  • Ensure the application of the national accreditation system ;
  • Grant, suspend or withdraw accreditation to conformity assessment bodies (testing and analysis laboratories, calibration laboratories, certification bodies and inspection bodies);
  • Organize and monitor assessment operations, train evaluators and recycle them periodically in accordance with national and international standards in the field of accreditation and conformity assessment;
  • Participate in promoting the quality of services provided by conformity assessment bodies, in accordance with the national and international rules organizing this activity
  • Encourage the exchange of experience between the various accredited bodies ;
  • Promote mutual recognition between the conformity assessment bodies operating in Tunisia and their foreign counterparts and work towards the conclusion of agreements to that effect through accreditation;
  • Representing the Republic of Tunisia at international meetings on TUNAC activity and with similar foreign and international organizations and cooperating with them;
  • Disseminate all information related to the analysis, testing, calibration, certification and inspection activities;
  • Support the organization of intercomparison campaigns between conformity assessment bodies, particularly in the areas of analysis, testing, metrology and inspection.