Research project NO/A/006 (Research action NO)
Context
This project was begun in order to investigate to what extent the companies from the sector could correctly estimate the importance of standards and certification for their activities. The project had to identify any needs and explore to what extent the current standard texts correspond with the expectations regarding them.
The project
In 1997 the TCHN did a survey among 800 companies from the sector. The response to this survey was good, so that it was possible to make a representative evaluation of the knowledge of entrepreneurs concerning the specifications affecting the products they make or process. One reached four main conclusions:
- above all in the subsector of building material manufacturers the entrepreneurs are frequently aware of the importance that standards have for their activities;
- companies generally have little knowledge about the content and the scope of these documents;
- relatively few entrepreneurs say that they actually follow these documents in practice;
- the documents are frequently found to be unclear and difficult of access.
In an interview with the company managers, three arguments were regularly raised to explain why they did not respect the technical regulations for their product(s):
- they do not know the specifications (= the information was not distributed);
- customers do not inquire about them (= absence of economic incentive);
- the application of these specifications is associated with an unacceptable cost (time) or with the knowledge of a foreign language.
Our conclusion at the time was:
« For small and medium-sized companies from the sector it is practically impossible to have a thorough command of the content of the normative documents. The most frequently cited excuse to justify the fact that standards and technical specifications were not applied in the companies was the lack of time to collect and study these texts. A lack of harmonisation, the multitude of foreign languages and the cost price of the documents were other reasons for this failure. »
Obviously, account was taken of specific characteristics of the industrial sector of secondary wood processing. Nevertheless, the methodology is also applicable for other sectors if one adapts the criteria which are based on these characteristics.
In a first step, a selection was made of the subsectors which normally came into consideration for the project. The choice was made on the basis of the competencies of the various technical committees of CEN, since that is where most of the new standards have been developed over the past ten years.
In a second step, an inventory was prepared. For this one used the electronic catalogue which is available in the TCHN, supplemented by the official catalogues of ISO, CEN and BIN and by the technical specifications from the STS. Several specialists from the TCHN then compared these documents with one another, whereby each one analysed the texts relevant for his speciality as a function of the possible application in the various intended subsectors. The purpose was to identify possible conflicts and deficits and to propose solutions.
In the third step, a written survey was conducted among the companies from the sector in order to know their position regarding knowledge and use of the standards. The companies surveyed were chosen as a function of their size and the NACE code, whereby a representative sample of this industrial sector could be attained (35% of the companies) without the number of companies becoming too great (800 companies) and with a high probability of response.
In a final step, one contacted over a hundred companies which appeared interested by the problematic. During a conversation of at most one hour, one assessed the company's attitude about certification.
The partners
Besides the personnel members specifically assigned to this project, one also called upon:
- the Product Managers of the TCHN in order to find, analyse and summarise relevant information;
- the Technological Advisory Service of the TCHN in order to encourage the companies to participate in this action.
Expected products and results
Concretely, this project has given us a clear picture of how the sector uses standards in its activities. Future actions with a view to making better use of standards can thus be effectively organised in order to improve the competitive position of companies from the sector.
International cooperation
The collection of relevant sector information was substantially facilitated by calling upon the various networks in which the TCHN actively participates. More than 60 institutes from throughout Europe are members of Eurowood (technical wood centres and wood research institutes), Eurifi (technical furniture centres) and Eurofortech (Training centres for the wood sector).
