Office of Standards, Metrology and Quality Management

The Office of Standards, Metrology, and Quality Management

The Office of Standards, Metrology, and Quality Management is a specialized functional unit responsible for advising and assisting the Director of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in carrying out State management across the interconnected fields of standards, metrology (measurement), quality, the application of radiation and radioisotopes, and radiation and nuclear safety.
I. General Duties and Powers
1. Policy Advisory and Implementation: Advising and assisting the Department Director in drafting decisions, plans, and programs to be submitted to the Provincial People's Committee (PPC) and the Chairman of the PPC, and taking the lead in organizing their implementation.
2. Guidance and Synthesis: Advising and assisting the Department Director in providing guidance, monitoring, and synthesizing the implementation results of relevant departments, sectors, district/city People's Committees, and related organizations concerning the management tasks within the assigned fields.
3. Financial and Budget Coordination: Coordinating with the Office of Planning and Finance to establish annual state budget expenditure plans and estimates dedicated to the fields under its management; monitoring and inspecting the utilization of state budget funds as regulated.
4. Management and Licensing: Advising and assisting the Department Director in carrying out the management, granting, adjustment, revocation, and extension of various types of licenses, certificates, registrations, diplomas, and certifications within the scope of its assigned functions and duties, in accordance with legal regulations and the decentralization or authorization of competent authorities.
II. Specialized Duties in Standards, Metrology, and Quality (SMQ)
The Office is responsible for a broad spectrum of activities related to regulating and promoting quality infrastructure:
1. Technical Regulations and Standards:
    ◦ Organizing the development and participating in the development of local technical regulations.
    ◦ Organizing the dissemination and application of national technical regulations, local technical regulations, national standards, international standards, regional standards, and foreign standards.
    ◦ Applying methods for conformity assessment with standards and technical regulations 3b.
    ◦ Guiding local organizations and individuals in developing basic standards.
    ◦ Inspecting the observance of laws on standards and technical regulations within the locality.
2. Quality Control and Safety:
    ◦ Organizing the implementation of product and commodity quality surveys locally.
    ◦ Issuing warnings regarding the safety risks of products and commodities to consumers and relevant local agencies.
    ◦ Organizing, managing, and guiding organizations and individuals engaged in production and business activities to carry out the announcement of applicable standards for products, goods, services, processes, and the environment, according to the assignment and decentralization of competent state agencies.
3. Conformity Assessment and Inspection:
    ◦ Receiving declarations of conformity from organizations and individuals registered for production and business activities locally.
    ◦ Receiving declarations of compliance for products and commodities that pose a potential safety risk (Category 2 goods) within its scope of management.
    ◦ Receiving the registration documents for State inspection of the quality of imported goods in the assigned fields.
4. Traceability and Digital Solutions:
    ◦ Providing consultancy for bar code and QR code registration, as assigned and decentralized by competent state agencies.
    ◦ Implementing state management concerning the traceability of products and commodities locally.
    ◦ Organizing the implementation of digital transformation solutions, bar codes, and traceability to enhance state management of productivity and product/commodity quality.
5. Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Infrastructure:
    ◦ Serving as the unit for notification and inquiry regarding SMQ and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) within the locality.
    ◦ Coordinating with the National TBT Point in handling inquiry information, reviewing local TBT documents, drafting TBT measures, and disseminating TBT information to local enterprises to support export activities.
    ◦ Serving as the focal point agency for deploying tasks, programs, and schemes in the SMQ field within its jurisdiction.
6. Metrology (Measurement) Management:
    ◦ Organizing the network for metrological inspection, calibration, and testing to meet local requirements.
    ◦ Organizing the implementation of inspection, calibration, and testing in metrology within registered and designated fields.
    ◦ Managing, organizing, and implementing the announcement of the use of the quantity mark on pre-packaged goods labels.
    ◦ Receiving metrology assurance programs from local organizations and enterprises, and guiding the construction and application of these programs.
    ◦ Organizing the implementation of State inspection of metrology concerning metrological standards, measuring instruments, measurements, pre-packaged goods, and the activities of inspecting, calibrating, and testing measuring instruments and metrological standards, as prescribed by law.
    ◦ Organizing the implementation of measures to allow stakeholders to supervise and inspect the execution of measurements, measuring methods, measuring instruments, metrological standards, and commodity quality.
    ◦ Organizing the establishment, maintenance, preservation, and utilization of local metrological standards.
7. Testing and Inspection Services:
    ◦ Organizing the implementation of testing activities to serve state management requirements and the needs of local organizations and individuals regarding product and commodity quality 8i.
    ◦ Chairing and coordinating with relevant agencies to organize the implementation of quality inspection for products and commodities during production, importation, and circulation within the locality, as well as checking commodity labels, bar codes, and QR codes, according to the assignment, decentralization, or authorization of competent state agencies.
8. Quality Management Systems and Awards:
    ◦ Organizing the deployment, construction, application, maintenance, and improvement of advanced quality management systems within the operations of agencies and organizations belonging to the local state administrative system, as regulated.
    ◦ Guiding organizations and enterprises to participate in national and international quality awards. Reviewing, evaluating, and proposing organizations and enterprises to participate in the National Quality Award within the province.
9. Productivity and Competitiveness:
    ◦ Organizing the implementation of tasks related to enhancing productivity and product/commodity quality.
    ◦ Serving as the focal point agency for deploying tasks under the national program supporting enterprises to enhance productivity and commodity quality, schemes related to product/commodity traceability, and schemes for strengthening and innovating metrology activities to support Vietnamese enterprises locally.
10. Human Resources and Legal Dissemination:
    ◦ Propagating, disseminating, and guiding legal normative documents concerning SMQ to organizations, individuals, and enterprises within the scope of management.
    ◦ Developing and training human resources for the SMQ field, ensuring both quantity and quality.
    ◦ Coordinating the innovation and development of metrology activities, and strengthening the capacity of the national metrology infrastructure to support enterprises in enhancing competitiveness within the assigned jurisdiction.
III. Duties in Application of Radiation and Nuclear Safety
The Office advises and assists in the State management of radiation and nuclear safety:
1. Application Promotion: Organizing the implementation of master plans, plans, programs, projects, and measures to promote the application of radiation and radioisotopes to serve local socio-economic development.
2. Environmental and Atomic Energy Management:
    ◦ Managing environmental radiation monitoring activities within the province.
    ◦ Coordinating the management of the development and application of atomic energy as regulated.
3. Radiation Work Declaration: Managing and implementing the reception of declarations for conducting radiation work using diagnostic X-ray equipment in medicine; computed tomography equipment integrated with PET (PET/CT) or SPECT (SPECT/CT); and X-ray generating devices used in X-ray fluorescence analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis, circuit board inspection, electron microscopy, and security screening.
4. Inspection and Compliance: Chairing and coordinating with related agencies to conduct inspections of compliance with legal regulations on radiation and nuclear safety within the managed locality, and handling violations according to jurisdiction and the assignment, decentralization, or authorization of the PPC.
5. Public Services and Incident Response:
    ◦ Managing public non-business service activities in the field of atomic energy, radiation, and nuclear safety locally.
    ◦ Chairing and coordinating with relevant agencies to assist the PPC in developing the provincial radiation and nuclear incident response plan for submission to competent authorities for approval, and organizing its implementation.
    ◦ Handling radiation and nuclear incidents locally; receiving, announcing information, and coordinating with relevant agencies to verify information, organize searches, and handle radioactive sources, nuclear materials, or nuclear equipment that are outside of control.
6. Waste and Source Management:
    ◦ Chairing and coordinating with functional units of the Ministry of Science and Technology to collect radioactive waste and radioactive sources discovered in the managed area that cannot be identified by the owner.
    ◦ Managing radioactive sources locally as prescribed by law.
    ◦ Guiding local organizations and individuals on methods for managing radioactive waste and spent radioactive sources, and implementing measures to ensure safety and security when uncontrolled sources, nuclear materials, or nuclear equipment are detected.
7. Database: Building a database on radiation safety and source security locally and integrating it with the national S&T database.
IV. Management of Public Non-Business Services
1. Task Assignment and Acceptance: Advising on, proposing the assignment or ordering of tasks; monitoring and carrying out the acceptance of public services within the managed field.
2. Guidance and Support: Guiding and creating supportive conditions for organizations implementing public non-business services within the assigned management field, as stipulated by law.
3. Procedure Implementation: Organizing the implementation of procedures, processes, and economic-technical norms for the activities of providing public non-business services within the managed field.
V. Other Duties
The Office executes any other tasks assigned by the Director of the Department in accordance with legal provisions.