Case Study

Accreditation accelerates Nobel-winning tech in environmental protection

 

Summary

A Beijing-based national “Little Giant” enterprise enhanced quality management efficiency through China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS)-accredited certifications. Leveraging the 2023 Nobel Prize-winning “quantum dots” material, it pioneered quantum dot spectral sensing technology for water quality monitoring across 20+ provinces, cutting costs by 10%.

Background

To promote the specialised, refined, distinctive, and innovative development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which are also known as “Specialized and New” enterprises, since early 2024, the Chinese government has been encouraging SMEs to obtain quality management system certification accredited by CNAS as an important measure to strengthen quality management and enhance production management capabilities.

Strategy

A technology enterprise in Beijing, recognised as a national-level “Specialized, Refined, Distinctive, and Innovative Little Giant,” holds not only CNAS-accredited certifications for its quality management system and other management systems, but also product explosion-proof certifications. Leveraging the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry-winning quantum dots, the company pioneered quantum dot spectroscopic sensing technology, deploying it for water environment monitoring and urban drainage network diagnostics across 20+ provinces or municipalities, actively contributing to green development.

Cost reduction & efficiency improvement: quality management for nanomaterial production

The company’s manufacturing process covers nanomaterial preparation, detector fabrication, and assembly of monitoring devices. Through obtaining CNAS-accredited quality management system certification, the quality management department has established a systematic defect prevention mechanism, significantly reducing the occurrence of common defects by implementing corrective and preventive actions, leading to an annual rework rate reduction of over 60%. By systematically monitoring the production process and standardising operating instructions, the annual average rate of qualified finished products reached 96.3%. Meanwhile, by establishing a comprehensive supplier and incoming materials quality management process, the incoming materials acceptance rate increased to 97.8%, compared to 81% previously—cutting the defect rate caused by incoming materials by over 85% and reducing procurement costs by more than 5%. Altogether, these measures brought the company an overall production cost reduction of nearly 10%, while also improving production efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Reducing trade costs: certification accelerates the scale-up of new technologies

Unlike traditional water monitors, subterranean drainage equipment requires explosion-proof verification. CNAS-accredited explosion-proof certification built immediate customer trust, eliminated redundant verification costs, and enabled rapid market penetration. Since obtaining certification in April 2022, sales of these products have increased severalfold compared to pre-certification figures, and now, products with explosion-proof certification account for nearly 40% of total sales—successfully transforming them from new products into mainstay offerings.

Results and impact

Leveraging the 2023 Nobel Prize-winning “quantum dots” material, it pioneered quantum dot spectral sensing technology for water quality monitoring across 20+ provinces, cutting costs by 10%. There was an annual rework rate reduction of over 60%, while the annual average rate of qualified finished products reached 96.3% and the incoming materials acceptance rate reached 97.8%. Procurement costs were reduced by more than 5%. These measures brought the company an overall production cost reduction of nearly 10%, while also improving production efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Contact

Organisation: Compiled by China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS)