tqm.list Weekly Digest Subject: EOTC NEWS: The European Commission's 3rd Market Access Symposium ---------------------------------------- From: EOTC News Subject: EOTC NEWS: The European Commission's 3rd Market Access Symposium Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2000 11:56:51 +0100 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit ~~~~~~~~~~~~ EOTC NEWS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ News on Conformity Assessment activities from the European Organisation for Conformity Assessment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This message is sponsored by TICQA: Calibration - Certification - Inspection - Testing http://www.ticqa.eotc.be Information on Providers of Conformity Assessment Services in Europe. >> TICQA is being extended to Eastern European Countries !!! << ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The European Commission's "3rd MARKET ACCESS SYMPOSIUM" 28th of November, 2000, Brussels, Belgium http://mkaccdb.eu.int/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Other topics covered in this EOTC News release: -- Marking 2000: No Marking, No Selling? -- ANEC: Guidelines for a more accessible world -- PRAQ III: New & Global Approach CD-ROM -- EOTC Agreement Group: QUALISURFAL Meeting -- EOQ/EFQM European Quality Award for SMEs -- QWE2000 Conference: Initiatives for the Future -- Instruments for in-field measurement & monitoring operations -- ETSI/TIA Partnership -- Economic Benefits of Standardisation -- EC Pledges Support for International Standards >> Key Conformity Assessment Players in Europe: -- ETSI: European Telecommunications Standards Institute >> Useful Links: -- EPTIS: European Information System on Proficiency Testing Schemes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The European Commission's "3rd MARKET ACCESS SYMPOSIUM" http://mkaccdb.eu.int/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The European Commissioner for Trade, Mr. Pascal LAMY will chair a one-day Symposium on "The Challenge of Globalisation: The European Union's Market Access Strategy" on the 28th of November, 2000 at the Palais des Congrès in Brussels, Belgium. Since its launch in 1996, the EU's Market Access Strategy has become one of the pillars of European trade policy. With this third Market Access Symposium, the Commission's aim is to provide a venue for the European Institutions, Member States and EU business representatives to share their experiences, express their expectations and indicate their priorities on the best ways to pursue and finesse the strategy in the perspective of this new Millennium. Note: The Commission is pleased to announce that there is no attendance fee for the symposium and that a lunch will be provided free of charge for the registered attendees. However no travel or accommodation expenses will be reimbursed. For additional informational Email: mkaccdb@cec.eu.int or visit: http://mkaccdb.eu.int/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MARKING 2000 No Marking, No Selling? Presentations Available http://www.eotc.be/Events/MarkingProgramme.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The "EOTC MARKING 2000 - No Marking, No Selling?" Workshop was held in Brussels on the 13/14 September, 2000. The one and a half day Workshop was attended by 42 key members of the Conformity Assessment community from 16 different countries. There were 18 speakers covering a broad range of Marking topics. The speakers' presentations, summaries, & biographies are now available on the EOTC WebSite: http://www.eotc.be/Events/MarkingProgramme.htm To read the EOTC Discussion Paper "Marks of Conformity for Products" by Dr. Harry Gundlach and involving commentary from over 150 people in 29 countries please visit: http://www.eotc.be/forum/marking/index.htm For additional information on the Workshop, please contact Ms. Angela Cohen at: helpdesk@eotc.be ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ANEC Guidelines for a more accessible world http://www.anec.org/public/press/content.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Consumers with special needs constitute a major (and growing) part of the European population. Still products and services pose barriers to these people, mostly in terms of safety and accessibility. As part of its policy to promote the concepts of "design for all" and accessible design, ANEC - European Association for the Co-ordination of Consumer Representation in Standardisation, is today publishing a guide for product design and testing. This document produced for ANEC by RICAbility aims to help product designers and testing houses to identify and include the needs of older persons and people with disabilities. This guide, in conjunction with on-going related initiatives in technical standardisation, aims to help create a more accessible world for all of us. ANEC is an EOTC European Member. For additional information please visit: http://www.anec.org/public/press/content.htm Info-source: ANEC Press Release ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PRAQ III - Pre-Announcement New & Global Approach CD-ROM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In mid November, PRAQ III will be launching a New & Global Approach Multi Media CD-ROM for Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs). This CD-ROM was created for the stakeholders in CEECs who lack basic access to of the principles of the New and Global Approach. Below are some of the basic subjects covered by the CD-ROM: -- Essential Requirements -- Role of Standards -- Responsibilities of Actors -- Conformity Assessment Procedures -- Product Control & Quality Assurance Systems -- CE Marking -- Market Surveillance & Safeguards -- Product Liability -- International implications For more information on the New & Global Approach CD- ROM, please contact: stefano.sedola@cenorm.be ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EOTC Agreement Group: QUALISURFAL Section Anodising & Section Coating Meetings www.qualisurfal.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A meeting of the EOTC "Agreement Group" QUALISURFAL will be held on 20/21 November, 2000, in Berlin. This 2 day event will deal with Section Anodising and Section Coating and is targeted to QUALANOD and QUALICOAT test laboratories and national associations. -- Meeting of Section Anodising - 20th November, 2000 -- Meeting of Section Coating - 21st November, 2000 For additional information, please contact Mr. Schoppig at: j.schoppig@actreu.ch or visit the QUALISURFAL Website to download the registration form at: www.qualisurfal.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EOQ/EFQM European Quality Award for SMEs http://www.eoq.org/SMEAwardsMoreInfo.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In 1990, the European Foundation for Quality Management, with support from the European Organisation for Quality and the European Commission (Enterprise Directorate-General), began developing The European Quality Award. The EFQM and the EOQ created a specific working group in 1994 to analyse the situation and propose concrete actions to extend the scope of the existing European Quality Award to include SMEs. The joint working group co-ordinated the harmonisation of the criteria and processes and brought together national and European models stimulating profitable debate and increased synergies on quality issues. This award demonstrates the importance of the quality approach in European enterprises and continues to improve quality awareness. The award is designed to make it easier for SMEs to apply for it and to use the underlying methodology for continual improvement. The award was launched in October 1996. EOQ is an EOTC European Member. For additional information, please visit: http://www.eoq.org/SMEAwardsMoreInfo.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ QWE2000 Conference: Initiatives for the Future http://www.soft.com/QualWeek/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The QWE 2000 Conference: Initiatives for the Future will be held on 20-24 November 2000, in Brussels. Internet Quality and Software Quality worries are the primary issues. QWE2000 focuses on quality technology with a careful, honest look at current methods and cautious assessments of future trends. For additional information and registration details, please visit: http://www.soft.com/QualWeek/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EC Call for Tender: Opportunity to develop instruments for in-field measurement and monitoring operations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Joint Research Centre has published prior information of a forthcoming call for tenders for the supply for of instrumentation inclusive of developed hardware and software for in-field measurement and monitoring operations. Application software should be developed for: -- process data acquisition from a range of measurement instruments of varying communication protocols; -- real-time process monitoring; -- software tools for remote transmission of data from in-field equipment. Support services for maintenance and application software and hardware are also required. The call is scheduled to be published in the last quarter of 2000. Info-source: Official Journal of the European Communities ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ETSI/TIA Partnership New Transatlantic Partnership Addresses Mobile Broadband Specifications for Public Safety Applications ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two of the world's leading standards development organisations, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), who is an EOTC Counsellor, and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), have announced the successful launch of the Public Safety Partnership Project (PSPP), a transatlantic partnership project to address the mobile broadband standardisation needs of public safety users both in North America and Europe. During the 23-26 of October, at ETSI in Sophia Antipolis, France, the inaugural meeting of the PSPP was held, establishing and consolidating its internal structure and management. 'For the first time ever, an International Standardisation Partnership has been breaking new ground by directly involving the user community', says Steffen Ring, Chairman of the PSPP Steering Committee. For further information, please contact: ETSI - Ms. Florence Pontieux at: press@etsi.fr or visit: http://www.etsi.org/ TIA - Ms. Jennifer Mead at: jmead@tia.eia.org or visit: http://www.tiaonline.org/ Info-source: ETSI Press Release ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Economic Benefits of Standardisation" Summary of Results Available http://www.din.de/set/aktuelles/benefit.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Among the core findings of the joint research project on the "Economic Benefits of Standardisation" undertaken by the Technical University Dresden (TUD) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovations (ISI) are: -- The benefit to the national economy amounts to more than US$ 15 bn per year. -- Standards contribute more to economic growth than patents and licences. -- Companies that participate actively in standards work have a head start on their competitors in adapting to market demands and new technologies. -- Transaction costs are lower when European and International Standards are used. -- Research risks and development costs are reduced for companies contributing to the standardisation process. The study was initiated by DIN, the German Institute for Standardisation and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Technology (BMWi) in 1997 and completed in May 2000. For additional information please visit: http://www.din.de/set/aktuelles/benefit.html Info-source: DIN Website ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Commission Pledges Support for International Standards at World Standards Day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Each year on 14 October, the members of the international standards organisations ISO, IEC and ITU celebrate World Standards Day, which is a means of paying tribute to the collaborative efforts of the thousands of experts world-wide who develop the voluntary technical agreements that are published as International Standards. "The European Union has always supported international standardisation as an important tool for the promotion of international trade and co-operation between people and companies world-wide", stated Mr Erkki Liikanen Commissioner responsible for Enterprise and Information Society. "We have therefore developed a strong standardisation system in Europe closely related to international standardisation. Through the New Approach we created a standards receptive environment allowing standards to play a role in support of regulation. Beyond this we also see standards as a strong instrument of self-regulation." The European standards organisations have laid down clear rules regarding their co-operation with international organisations. As a result, in the European economic area, today only 10 % of standardisation work leads to national standards, compared to 90 % in the eighties. The Commission appreciates the great work that has been done in ISO, the IEC and the ITU, said Commissioner Liikanen. "But still much remains to be done. In Europe we are ready to make our contribution", concluded Mr Liikanen. Check info source: DN: IP/00/1155 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Key Conformity Assessment Players in Europe: >> ETSI - European Telecommunications Standards Institute >> http://www.etsi.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ETSI - European Telecommunications Standards Institute is a non-profit making organisation whose mission is to produce the telecommunications standards that will be used for decades to come throughout Europe and beyond. ETSI is also a Counselor of EOTC - European Organisation for Conformity Assessment. Based in Sophia Antipolis (France), ETSI unites 773 members from 52 countries inside and outside Europe, and represents manufacturers, network operators, administrations, service providers, research bodies and users. The Institute's work program is determined by its members, who are also responsible for approving its deliverables. As a result, ETSI's activities are maintained in close alignment with the market needs expressed by its members. ETSI plays a major role in developing a wide range of standards and other technical documentation as Europe's contribution to world-wide standardisation in telecommunications, broadcasting and information technology. ETSI's prime objective is to support global harmonisation by providing a forum in which all the key players can contribute actively. ETSI is officially recognised by the European Commission and the EFTA secretariat. For further information, please contact: Ms. Florence Pontieux at: press@etsi.fr or visit the ETSI web site at: http://www.etsi.org Info-source: ETSI Press Release ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ USEFUL LINKS: >> EPTIS - European Information System on Proficiency Testing Schemes >> www.eptis.bam.de ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EPTIS is the European Proficiency Testing Information System which has been available on the Internet since March 2000. EPTIS contains comprehensive information on regularly organised proficiency testing schemes (PTS) in the European Union. EPTIS is addressed to everyone involved in the conformity assessment procedures (e.g. accreditation bodies, assessors, laboratories, national authorities, etc...) and to PTS providers analysing the market needs. For additional information please contact: Andreas Müller at e-mail: andreas.mueller@bam.de or visit: www.eptis.bam.de -- Info-source: EPTIS Press Release ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EOTC INFO SERVICES: Did you know that the EOTC can help you to find relevant Conformity Assessment related information? Check out EOTC Info Services homepage: --- http://www.eotc.be/Infoser ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Previous Issues ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MARKING 2000 - No Marking, No Selling? - EOTC 'Critical Issues' Workshop --- http://www.eotc.be/eotcevents.htm EOTC - Market Surveillance Workshop - Summary Available Online! --- MRA hearing in the European Parliament - Presentations Available! --- http://www.eutop.de/mra EC Dialogue with Business - Portal to Business info in the EU --- http://europa.eu.int/business Marks of Conformity for Products - Discussion Paper Online! --- http://www.eotc.be/Forum/marking Guide to EC Directives - Workshop Presentations Online! --- http://www.eotc.be/events/eotc/index.htm Click here to view more previous issues of EOTC News: http://www.eotc.be/News/index.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please forward this message to any of your colleagues who may be interested. 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Please send comments, suggestions, or questions about this newsletter to: news@eotc.be EOTC, Brussels, October 31st, 2000 ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- End of Digest Provided by the Department of Industrial Engineering, Clemson University Archive files also available by gopher and www at deming.eng.clemson.edu Comments to list@deming.eng.clemson.edu