The Gulf Standardization Authority (GSA) has warned Japanese vehicle manufacturers that it will not issue certificates of conformity for vehicles with manufacturing defects. Engineer Rashid Saud Al-Asskr, director of the Administration for Conformity Affairs at the GSA, told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that if any Japanese company detects a technical manufacturing problem in its cars, it must be announced within five days and the company will be punished if it does not provide the GSA with a detailed report. Every car has more than 13,000 parts that are manufactured and assembled in different locations, he noted, and problems with parts can occur despite the use of systems to verify their quality and durability. “We should not exclude the human factor in the industry,” he said. “We should not dismiss the possibility of the occurrence of people making mistakes in installing and fixing these parts.” If cars are recalled, the manufacturer must notify the GSA, which is responsible for certificates of conformity, along with member states' authorities such as the minister of commerce, Al-Asskr said. He said a mechanism and formula have been reached with the Japanese companies to address the recall of vehicles sold in the member states. The GSA is represented by its Secretary General Dr. Anwer Al-Abdullah, who recently led a group from the organization to visit some of the Japanese manufacturing companies in Tokyo. Officials, who visited the companies' main factories and observed production lines and quality-assurance laboratories, were also briefed on efforts to improve vehicle safety, performance, security and efficiency. The delegation also made an agreement with the companies that as of 2013, Arabic and English languages will be used for safety and security information.
