About Qualeb

For Updated info kindly Follow the link of there website : www.qualeb.com

Mission:

QUALEB`s overall mission is to provide extensive support and advice to strengthen Quality Management, Capabilities and Infrastructure in Lebanon.

QUALEB is a 15 Million Euros EU funded project formally established in October 2004 for a thirty-eight months period at the Ministry of Economy & Trade. With an overall budget of 2 Million Euros, QUALEB has been extended for 18 months from January 2008 up to June 2009. This extension Project is entitled "Sustaining Quality". QUALEB has a team of fifteen full time Lebanese employees, supported by a team of three long term European advisors, as well as other part-timers and short term experts, besides trainees.

By improving and developing the major functions of the Lebanese conformity assessment infrastructure, Qualeb seeks to align Lebanese practices to match EU practices in the fields of Standardization, Testing, Certification & Inspection, Accreditation Technical Regulations & Conformity Assessment and Market Surveillance.

Qualeb supports local manufacturers in the development of a quality approach in order to improve the Quality and Safety of Lebanese products and services for consumers` welfare and to encourage Lebanese export opportunities.

Today, QUALEB has already achieved a noticeable part of its tasks, being the direct support to 16 private and public testing and calibration laboratories, the drafting of several laws needed for the quality chain and the assistance of 50 national companies in the implementation of ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 22000:2005 standards, besides other activities involving major stakeholders.

Budget:

QUALEB`s budget is estimated at 15.4 Million Euros. According to the initial Financing Agreement Nº 2003/5634 signed between the European Community (EC) and The Ministry of Economy and Trade (MoET), the EC undertakes to finance a maximum of 15 Million Euros.

As for the MoET`s contribution, it has reached the amount of EUR 567,897.38 (as of June 30th 2007), which exceeds the expected amount of EUR 400.000.

This contribution to QUALEB can be summarized by the following:

Making available / Provide full-time local staff (including the head of the Quality Unit);
Making available/ Offer the necessary premises for international and local experts with office furniture, communication infrastructure and all resulting running costs

As of today, QUALEB has been able to commit to and honor 81% of the overall EU allocated budget. Unfortunately, few tenders were lost as a consequence of the July/August 2006 war on Lebanon, and after August 24, 2006, the Program was not allowed to sign any contract or promote any tender.

In accordance with the initial Financing Agreement Nº 2003/5634, the project`s operational implementation phase was scheduled to finalize on December 31, 2007.

However, under the new Financing Agreement signed between the EC and The Presidency of the Council of Ministers: "Support to Political and Socio-Economic Reforms in Lebanon" (ENPI/2007/018-881), an extension Project entitled "Sustaining Quality" started in January 2008 with a budget of EUR 2.005.140 and scheduled to end by June 2009.

Stakeholders:

QUALEB is a challenging program, requiring a wide variety of inputs. Its objectives cannot be fulfilled without the direct participation of private sector industry and trade associations and individual private sector enterprises. Therefore, QUALEB encourages the establishment of self-supporting networks composed of public sector agencies, sectored industry and trade associations and consumer interests, whose joint work will support the achievement of the main objectives.

QUALEB`s activities are endorsed by a national Quality Advisory Committee, composed of major stakeholders and key players from different fields within both private and public sectors.