Workshop on Enforcement of

Electrical Codes and Standards

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
October 27-28
Background, Goals and Themes

Background
Rapidly growing electricity consumption in
KSA
Proliferation of electrical equipment in
commercial and consumer sector
Pressure to develop codes and standards
governing electrical equipment
Implementation of national building code

Legal, Regulatory and Institutional

Environment

Capacity of regulatory regime to enforce

regulations, codes, mandatory standards
Adequate market surveillance
Appropriate product liability regime
Appropriate penalties for non compliance

WTO Obligations
KSA acceded to WTO in 2005
TBT Agreement governs rules for protection
of health, safety and environment
Required to use international standards as
basis of regulations and conformity
assessment procedures
Growth in number of international standards
(ISO, IEC, ITU)

Regional Harmonization
Harmonization of standards at the regional
level through GCC Customs Union
Implementation at domestic level by national
bodies
Adoption of GCC regulations for electrical
safety and conformity assessment
procedures

June Workshop
June 2008 workshop on implementation of
electrical codes and standards in Saudi Arabia
Provided introduction to standardization
infrastructure, trade aspects, Saudi institutional
framework, international experience
Current workshop looks more deeply at status of
electrical standards and codes enforcement,
analyse the shortfalls and recommend
improvements to strengthen the existing system

Some Issues from June Workshop

Who certifies local building inspectors? Are they qualified?
Who pays for electrical product testing?
How do you avoid multiple tests for the same product in
different countries?
Should SEC have a role in inspecting wiring and
installations?
Are there sufficient product liability laws in place in the
Kingdom?
What will be the effects of the SNBC on the standards and
inspection regime
Is post market surveillance satisfactory

Current Workshop Program

Session One Conformity Enforcement
Session Two Electrical Installation Code
Enforcement
Session Three Market Surveillance

(1) Conformity Enforcement of

Electrical Standards
Focus on 3rd party certification
international best practices, national
experience
Experience in implementing Conformity
Certificate Program
Emergence of counterfeiting

Challenges
Lack of well developed infrastructure for
testing of products and appliances
Growing importance of domestically
manufactured electrical equipment
Implementation of GCC conformity
assessment system for electrical products
Need to implement energy efficiency
standards and labelling program developed
by SASO

(2) Electrical Installation Code

Enforcement
SNBC introduced in 2007
Regulations governing safety, machanical,
electrical, civil, water and conservation
3 year phase in period
MOMRA responsible for administration

Challenges
Developing capacity to implement and verify
the Code at municipal level
Developing enabling frameworks inspector
training, software, upgrading of allied
building industries
Promoting understanding of the Code
among stakeholders- developers, architects,
engineers, occupants, general public

(3) Market Surveillance

Relatively new in the Kingdom
Development of new codes and standards,
increasing imports and rising incidence of
counterfeiting require appropriate
surveillance tools and more vigilance of the
market
Need to review current status of local
surveillance efforts and highlight best
international practices

Challenges

Establishment of surveillance regime

Training - inspectors, custom officials
Implementation of GOC Mark of Conformity
Emergence of counterfeiting