SMDA Assurance Update

SMDA Awards First Assurance Certificates

Dear SMDA Scheme Members,

I am extremely pleased to announce that the first devices have been awarded SMDA Assurance!

This is a real milestone for the scheme, giving industry confidence that devices with SMDA Assurance will be interoperable and interchangeable in the field. Devices that have achieved assurance are now listed on the Device Assurance Register (DAR), which can be accessed via the members’ area of the SMDA website.

Scope of assurance

While the scheme has made significant progress towards aligning devices with mandated specifications, it is recognised that some issues sit outside of the scheme’s ability to resolve; therefore, assurance is currently tailored to Credit in the Central & South Regions. Rest assured however that we are continuing to work towards issuing full assurance covering the Northern region and prepayment functionality when possible.

In our June monthly update, we explained that a few tests that fall within the Credit in Central and South scope are not passing in the way that we expect by some devices. The SMDA Management Panel has agreed to tolerate some of these based on their low level of criticality and expectation of output. Examples include where other evidence aside from the expected alert is available to show an action has been completed successfully, or where there is no impact on Supplier business processes.

A list of these tolerated tests can be found on the SMDA website, under scheme document “SMDA-246 – Tolerated Issues for Partial Assurance in Credit Mode in Central and South Regions”. Please note, this does not mean that all the devices listed on the DAR have had these tests tolerated, simply that they were deemed tolerable should they be observed on a device. Where a device has been issued assurance with known tolerable issues, a rectification plan will be developed outlining the actions to be taken, and the timeframes required, to resolve these issues.

Submitting your devices

In anticipation of assurance certificates being awarded, manufacturers have been requesting quotes from the Test House and submitting their devices for testing. We would encourage those manufacturers who are yet to contact the Test House to email smdalab@nmi.nl as soon as possible to request a quote.

The Scheme Operator will also be in touch shortly with all SMDA manufacturer members to request a forecast of when your devices will be submitted into the Test House. This will help give the Test House visibility of when additional resource is required to meet demand.

Furthermore, we would strongly advise SMDA Supplier and MAP members to engage with your manufacturers to understand their plans for submitting their devices for testing.

Thank you!

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in getting us to this point, particularly those members of the SMDA Board, Management Panel and former Working Group who have helped to move this forward. We look forward to seeing more devices listed on the DAR in the near future.

Please contact smdaso@gemserv.com if you have any questions on the information in this update, otherwise we will issue the next update at the end of July.

Best Wishes

Louise Singleton, Head of SMDA Scheme