- Beginner 2, Course 4.5
Market surveillance shall be seen as a continuous evolution of conformity assessment activities as a basis for maintaining the validity of the statement or the mark of conformity. To ensure that market surveillance activities are carried out adequately, most countries establish regulatory authorities to carry out market surveillance. Some countries will establish one or more regulatory authorities with specific mandates within each ministry. Some countries will establish only four or five larger regulatory authorities within specific sectors (e.g. telecommunication services, transportation, building and construction, etc.). Small countries may even consider establishing only one regional regulatory authority for all products falling within the scope of technical regulations and market surveillance. The choice will be determined by the political, environmental, and social customs, scarcity of economic resources, and the extent of the work to be done within market surveillance.
After completing this module, you should be able to:
- Understand that market surveillance shall be used as a basis for maintaining the validity of the statement of conformity or the mark of conformity;
- Understand that economic constraints usually lead to targeted market surveillance where risks are likely to be higher or noncompliance more common; and
- Understand that market surveillance via technical regulations has become one of the major issues hindering the movement of goods across borders and within countries.
