On the 4th of June, the technical boards of CEN and CENELEC have approved a guide which provides Guidance to writers of European Standards for writing standards taking into account micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) needs. (read more...)
The guide is a NORMAPME and CEN initiative which was later joined by CENELEC. It was developed in the CEN/CLC BT Working Group 208 "Guidance on SME needs", the secretariat of which was held by NORMAPME. It is the result of the efforts of more than 30 European standardisation experts, eleven national standardisation bodies and seven industry organisations working together during one year.
The document aims at raising awareness on the issues that may be of importance to SMEs in the development of standards and at overcoming possible non-representation of SMEs in standardisation work. It provides recommendations to standard writers on how to take into account SMEs needs by identifying the issues that should be considered during the development process of standards.
The guide provides the elements necessary to assess and enhance the SME-relevance of standards, as well as a checklist of all issues to take into account at all stages of the drafting process in order to make the standard more SME friendly.
NORMAPME warmly welcomes the adoption of the guide which it believes is a great leap towards a more SME-friendly standardisation system. "Given that SMEs represent 99,8% of the companies in the EU, all standard writers should take their needs into consideration", said Loucas Gourtsoyannis, NORMAPME Director and BT WG 208 convenor; "with this guide, CEN and CENELEC are delivering a strong message to SMEs: all standards writers are now aware of your needs".
For more information, kindly contact Mrs. Vanessa Pereira - v.pereira@normapme.com - or Mr. Rémi Orth - r.orth@normapme.com
Survey on NORMAPME website and communication tools
NORMAPME is committed to improve the quality and user friendliness of its website and communication tools. In order to better respond to your expectations, we would like to kindly ask you to fill in this questionnaire and send it completed to r.orth@normapme.com before the 30th of July 2010.
CEN-CENELEC SME webinars & Open Information Day for SMEs
CEN and CENELEC will host two web-based seminars (webinars) on the 26th abd 27th of May. The webinars aim at explaining standardisation for SMEs. CEN and CENELEC will also be hosting an "Open Information Day for SMEs" in Brussels on the 28th of May, in order to present the benefits of standards for SMEs.
More information and registration can be accessed on this link
Public consultation on the review of the European Standardisation System: your contributions.
Standardisation and standards play an important role in SME daily activities as their products/services may need to comply with standards for legal and/or market reasons. The implementation of standards can be beneficial for SMEs if standards are: -market driven;
-fit for their business model;
-not used to make them go out of business by larger stakeholders;
-not developed by certifiers and/or consultants as business support means. These provisions can principally be ensured by the participation of SMEs and their representatives in standardisation. Measures to improve the use of standards by SMEs, to facilitate the SME access to standardisation and the balanced representation in technical bodies need to be implemented.
The EC public consultation closed on May 21st 2010. You can find NORMAPME contribution on this link!
ECOS, the European Environmental Citizens' Organisation for Standardisation, has joined forces with NORMAPME to raise awareness amongst national standardisation bodies on the lack of maturity of the current version of ISO FDIS 14005, a standard on Phased implementation of environmental management system. (read more...)
Both ECOS and NORMAPME have expressed clear positions against the current version of this draft standard, which does not satisfy the objectives of the EC mandate nor the objective stated in the New Work Item Proposal N 487a and in the scope of the document, to provide "guidance for all organizations, but particularly SMEs, on the phased (.) implementation (.) of an EMS".
NORMAPME and ECOS do not support the approval of the text in its current form on the grounds that it fails to provide clear guidance to SMEs on how to implement an EMS in their business operations and offers limited support to help SMEs reduce impacts and improve environmental performance. NORMAPME and ECOS believe that ISO FDIS 14005 should not proceed to approval as an ISO standard.
For the above reasons, NORMAPME and ECOS have sent a letter to all national members of ISO to strongly encourage them to vote against the approval of this version of the draft international standard.
NORMAPME and ECOS consider that the status of the current ISO 14005 FDIS should be changed to Technical Specification (TS). This option would, at this stage, allow the document to be 'tested' and improved before progressing to the status as an ISO standard that would be more utility driven and considerate of SME needs.
NORMAPME's position on the current version of the standard can be found at the following LINK
For more information, kindly contact Mr. Rémi Orth - r.orth@normapme.com
The CEN-CENELEC SME Helpdesk was launched on March 5th 2010. (read more...)
The purpose of this SME Helpdesk is to provide free and swift on-demand advice and information, propose a range of practical web-based training tools and training workshops to support European SMEs in the field of standardisation.
The CEN-CLC SMEs' Access report, drafted by the Erasmus University of Amsterdam last summer, identified 58 solutions to enable SMES to benefit from standards and to be better involved in the standardisation processes.
An e-mail address has been opened at sme@cencenelec.eu and a dedicated webpage has been created: www.cen.eu/go/sme
NORMAPME welcomes this SME-friendly initiative. However, we are convinced that in order to be the most effective, the SME helpdesk should be enabled to reach out to SMEs at the local level through the National Standards Organisations (NSOs) in cooperation with national SMEs trade associations and chambers of commerce, which are in general the "first-aid" contact points for the large majority of SMEs when it comes to business matters, including for issues relating to standards. For further information on this topic please contact NORMAPME secretariat at +32-2 282 0530 or by e-mail: info@normapme.com
Released on February 24th 2010, the final report of the Expert panel for the Review of the European Standardisation System (EXPRESS) is the conclusion of 12 months of work. It strongly supports the conclusion that, by building on current arrangements, the European Standardisation System (ESS) can meet the considerable challenges for European standardisation that lie ahead to 2020 and beyond.
(read more...)
Concretely, these challenges include the development and convergence of technologies, the development of the services sector which is bound to become a key driver for innovation, the improvement of product safety and welfare for citizens, and the challenges of climate change and energy management.
The EXPRESS panel has formulated 10 key recommendations to ensure the relevance of European standardisation and examined how the strengths of the ESS could be built upon.
Thus, the ESS should tend to a closer cooperation between the European Standardisation Organisations, fora, consortia and key stakeholders such as SMEs, large businesses, societal representatives and policy-makers which will all be engaged in an effective, efficient and coordinated system for standardisation. Such a system would support both the societal and economic needs of Europe and be able to ensure its innovation, growth and competitiveness in the world. Furthermore, the report recommends to improve the accessibility to standards information and the participation of SMEs in standardisation work. It is also crucial to promote the extension of the New Legislative Framework and rearticulate the benefits and the needs for standardisation through the education system. Finally, the report encourages standardisers to strive for improving the involvement of researchers and innovators into the standardisation arena.
For further information concerning the content of the EXPRESS report please follow the following LINK
For further information on this topic please contact NORMAPME secretariat at +32-2 282 0530 or by e-mail: info@normapme.com
CEN and CENELEC have set up a new SME working group on February 2010 to identify, implement and monitor the actions aiming at improving SMEs' access to the European standardisation system.
(read more...)
The CEN-CLC SMEs' Access report, drafted by the Erasmus University of Amsterdam last summer, identified 58 solutions to enable SMES to benefit from standards and to be better involved in the standardisation processes.
NORMAPME has now been appointed as "Champion" for 3 of these solutions (n° 18,19 and 35). Champions responsible for specific solutions are intended to examine the relevant recommendations and prepare an operational plan and timeframe on their possible implementation.
Director Gourtsoyannis is representing NORMAPME in this SME WG. Our commitment is to make sure the measures identified as priorities by SMEs associations are duly and effectively implemented. The next SME WG meeting is planned on 12 May 2010.
For further information concerning the content of the SME Access report please refer to this LINK
For further information on this topic please contact NORMAPME secretariat at +32-2 282 0530 or by e-mail: info@normapme.com
The first NORMAPME Experts Meeting of the year took place on January 19th, 2010 in Brussels at the NORMAPME secretariat.(read more...)
The aim of this meeting was to exchange experience and best practice between experts on how to improve the standardisation process, how to make proposals for improvements and have them accepted, and how to simplify standards in order to meet SMEs needs.
The meeting provided a welcomed stage for the exchange of best practice and in some cases, the sharing of problems encountered by the experts. The debates were lively and fruitful, responding both to the general needs of NORMAPME as well as to those of the experts.
Each expert introduced the Technical Committees or Working Groups he/she followed, before presenting the concerns or issues that were related to SMEs in those particular committees and groups.
The round-table discussion provided for shared conclusions, as all experts feel that standards are of high relevance and of strategic importance for SMEs, and that without their presence within the TC, SMEs interests would not be defended at all. It is still felt that decisions - within the majority of the TCs - are being taken by stakeholders representing large companies or consultants/certifiers. The difficulty in having access to all the information and documentation related to the TCs within the LIVELINK still creates problems for most of the experts.
All presentations made at this event can be found HERE; .
The next experts meeting will take place in approximately six months time, tentatively scheduled for July, 2010.
For further information on this article please contact: Mr. Lorenzo Accardo, Tel: +32 2 282 0540 or l.accardo@normapme.com
Commissioner Kroes gave vigorous support to the idea of "ex ante mandatory disclosure" of rates of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in standards during her speech in Brussels on the 15th of October.
(read more...)
The European Commissioner for Competition Policy warned her audience on the dangers of "patent ambush", "when a company taking part in the standard-setting process hides the fact that it holds essential IPRs over the standard being developed, and starts asserting such IPRs only after the standard has been agreed and other companies are "locked in" to using it". Mrs. Kroes then took a strong stance in favour of ex ante disclosure of maximum royalty rates of IPRs in standards:
"I see no inherent reason why such a mechanism would fall foul of the competition rules, unless it is some kind of smokescreen for a cartel."
This is a somehow revolutionary idea for the treatment of IPRs in standardization. Such idea has been openly supported by NORMAPME that:
1) has obtained that "ex ante" is included in the EC White Paper on modernizing ICT standardisation,
2) is advocating for "ex ante" in the EXPRESS group for the revision of the standardization system.
Ms Kroes also highlighted that the EC had obtained a significant change in the attitude of Microsoft towards interoperability, which we acknowledge also as a success of PIN-SME that has intervened in the antitrust case against Microsoft in support of the Commission's position.
EIM has concluded its final report on access to standardisation which is now publicly available HERE(read more...)
In 2004, the European Commission published recommendations for improving the European standardisation system (COM(2004) 674). A study on the access to standardisation of all stakeholders (including SMEs) was then launched. This study has been carried out by EIM, a contractor appointed by the European Commission.
After having consulted NSOs, ESOs and member states, EIM drafted a questionnaire which included questions on the participation of SMEs in technical committees at national and European level as well as on the purchase and uptake of standards by enterprises. The questionnaire was then submitted to stakeholders from 12 Member States (Czech Republic, Spain, Sweden, Cyprus, Estonia, France, United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland).
NORMAPME actively contributed to the drafting of the questionnaire to make it as relevant and simple as possible, and added its members to the list of stakeholders to be consulted by EIM.
A web version of the survey was also publicly available; it was accessible to all and was considered as a good medium to express SMEs' points of views.
NORMAPME was present during the presentation of EIM's final report during the last European Commission's Steering Committee on the 3rd of February 2009. NORMAPME actively debated with the participants on the main results of this study. NORMAPME insisted on the importance of having a uniform way of registering participation in standardisation across all National Standardisation Bodies. NORMAPME also insisted on the need to agree on set definitions of the different categories of stakeholders, and suggested that individuals who participate in meetings clearly state which organisations or interests they represent.
NORMAPME welcomed that DG ENTR/E.3 stressed that NORMAPME needs to intervene at European level, as the positions of SMEs are sometimes watered down through the system of national delegations.
The final report has now been issued and published. In addition, a brief presentation of the main findings is available HERE
The comments of NORMAPME to this report are available HERE
A proposal for the new Construction Product Regulation
To improve the internal market for construction products, the European Commission proposed on 26th May to replace the "Construction Product Directive" (89/106/EEC) by a new Regulation. Read the press release and the text of the proposal.
On the 7th of February 2008, Vice President of the European Commission - Mr Verheugen launched Enterprise Europe Network, a new and powerful European support network for enterprises (read more...).
with the financial 
Approval of the SME Guide for standards writers: a great leap forward a more SME friendly standardisation system!
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