Quality infrastructure is often regarded as the "unseen backbone" operating behind the scenes of industry. How can this professional system move from the "ivory tower" to the "factory floor," transforming from offering "isolated services" to providing "systematic empowerment"? The Shandong Institute of Quality Inspection has developed its own solution. Leveraging the "Zhixiang Shandong" one-stop quality infrastructure service platform established by the Shandong Provincial Administration for Market Regulation, the institute fully utilizes its "resource packages" of talent, equipment, and technology. It systematically integrates the "toolkits" of quality infrastructure—including metrology, standards, inspection, testing, certification, and accreditation—to explore and create a "1+N" service model. This model consists of one service platform and multiple technical teams, making standards "speak a language businesses understand," enabling inspections to "achieve the speed industry requires," and turning certifications into "passports for the international market." This effectively transforms quality, a "critical variable," into the "greatest increment" for high-quality development.
To address common quality issues prevalent across regions, the Shandong Institute of Quality Inspection dispatches technical experts directly to the industrial front lines, focusing on implementing tailored "one industry, one policy" quality infrastructure support actions for small and micro enterprises. Zichuan District in Zibo City and Zouping City in Binzhou City are agglomeration areas for the locally distinctive electric heating pot industry in Shandong. Through risk monitoring and defect investigation, the institute identified common quality problems related to electrical safety and structural safety. In response, it formed technical teams to provide "one-on-one" quality diagnostics. Focusing on key areas such as component selection, production processes, quality control, and product acceptance, the teams conducted quality analysis and technical optimization. They developed easy-to-understand "instruction sheets" for quality improvement, significantly raising the pass rate of sampled inspections for electric heating pots from these areas and promoting healthy industrial development and transformation.
Reflecting on this change, a manager from an enterprise in Zichuan District remarked, "Previously, our understanding of standards was superficial, and production relied on experience. After receiving hands-on guidance from experts at the Shandong Institute of Quality Inspection, our product quality has achieved a qualitative leap."
Confronting common technical challenges, such as controlling formaldehyde emissions reported by wood industry clusters in Fei County, Linyi City, and Chiping District, Liaocheng City, the institute formulated one-stop service solutions integrating "R&D + standards + testing + certification." It guided enterprises in optimizing raw material ratios, improving production processes, and developing rapid testing methods and equipment. Furthermore, it organized enterprises to participate in the development and revision of six national standards. Simultaneously, the institute provided "close-to-home" quality technical services—including testing, certification, and training—for over 300 businesses in these industrial parks, achieving a 100% pass rate in product sampling inspections.
Building on inclusive services, the institute also focuses on emerging industries and leading enterprises, using technological breakthroughs to fill gaps in quality infrastructure and provide high-end, customized services. Personal protective equipment represents a crucial breakthrough point for Shandong's textile industry transitioning from traditional to high-end manufacturing. Previously, due to the absence of domestic quality infrastructure, products had to be sent to laboratories in countries like Canada and Spain for testing, leading to persistent challenges for companies, including difficult communication, long cycles, and high costs. To address this, the institute coordinated all elements of industry-academia-research-application, forming teams with universities and leading companies. It achieved simultaneous breakthroughs in 8 key core technical indicators across 4 fields, independently developing and establishing China's first personal protective equipment testing laboratory. This facility covers the entire product chain, from fabrics and finished garments to face shields and gloves, breaking international monopolies and filling a domestic void. The institute also participated in formulating four national and group standards, forming an integrated service capability encompassing testing, standards, and certification.
This one-stop service has helped domestic companies reduce testing cycles by approximately 75%, lower testing costs by about 50%, and shorten export cycles by nearly 60%, driving an average annual export growth of around 15% for the personal protective equipment industry.
Leading enterprises have similarly benefited. A large lithium battery energy storage station bound for the United States from leading company Guoxuan High-Tech Power Energy Co., Ltd. faced a one-year delay because no domestic technical institution possessed the required testing capabilities. In response, the Shandong Institute of Quality Inspection assembled a multidisciplinary team led by several doctors to implement a technological breakthrough plan. After comparing and analyzing domestic and international standards, and aligning with the technical regulations of the target export country, the team independently designed a high-capacity test system. It successfully conducted China's first "whole-container short-circuit" test for a large lithium battery energy storage station, helping the company quickly obtain international certification. This facilitated the successful export of over 200 energy storage stations to the United States, with a contract value close to $100 million, further expanding its international market share.
To enhance enterprises' international response efficiency, the institute leverages its technical capabilities to introduce high-quality international certification resources, establishing a one-stop service system based on "one test, mutual recognition by multiple countries." Differences in technical standards and grid codes between countries often force China's high-end equipment industries, such as power transmission, distribution, and energy storage, to undergo repetitive testing and multiple certifications for exports, increasing costs. Targeting this bottleneck, the institute utilizes its advantage as Shandong's first CBTL (Certification Body Testing Laboratory) to establish a "packaged"工作机制 of "in-house testing + international certification." It collaborates with international certifiers like TÜV Rheinland and Intertek to create green channels, helping enterprises achieve the goal of one test with results recognized across 53 member countries. Over the past three years, the institute has provided one-stop services to several leading enterprises, driving exports worth RMB 65 billion, with some companies seeing export growth exceeding 50% year-on-year by 2025.
Addressing challenges faced by mainland specialty products entering the Hong Kong market due to standard differences and market access requirements, the institute also facilitated the entry of the Hong Kong Standards and Testing Centre (STC) onto the "Zhixiang Shandong" platform, creating a strong, complementary partnership. "Through 'testing in Shandong, certification in Hong Kong,' we help enterprises 'access the sea via Hong Kong' without leaving the province. This has helped more than double the selling price of Weihai apples in the Greater Bay Area, increased the overall sales volume of Rushan oysters by 20%, and secured Hong Kong orders exceeding RMB 10 million for products like American ginseng and figs," explained a relevant official from the Shandong Institute of Quality Inspection.
From resolving the "major concerns" of small businesses to clearing the "critical pathways" for emerging industries going global, and to helping mainland specialty products "access international markets via Hong Kong" to achieve value leapfrogging, the "1+N" quality infrastructure service model developed by the Shandong Institute of Quality Inspection paints a broad picture of how high-level quality infrastructure can systemically empower a modern industrial system. This bridge, built on a foundation of "quality," continues to link the innovation chain with the industrial chain, making the foundation of "Shandong Manufacturing" and even "China Manufacturing" more solid, resilient, and reputable, contributing stronger and smarter Shandong power to the journey of building a nation renowned for its quality.