Keeping pace with Standards & Regulations

Patrick England, CAB technical consultant

Today, the task of keeping up to date with current and future national, European, and international standards, directives and regulations, as well as accreditation schemes for both products and systems, is the most challenging it has ever been, and there is no sign that things will get easier, in fact it will only get more challenging.

The expansion of the number of countries becomingmembers of the EEC has relaxed barriers to trade with the UK and led to significant penetration into many of our markets, particularly with new member countries providing low-cost labour and products, and in some cases promoting them by less than desirable business practices acquired in order to survive under previous, more corrupt regimes.

The fight for UK companies to even maintain market share in the UK and Europe is being put under ever more pressure by an increase in involvement in international standards from countries as far away as China and Australia, who obviously have different agendas with regards to the aspects, and levels, of performance they would require in standards to ensure their products were acceptable for their own, and world markets, it is easy to appreciate that their requirements would not be the same as ours.

If we take the construction industry as an example, we are being advised that achieving agreement between the relatively few EEC member countries (compared to those in the whole world) is becoming nigh on impossible, and, if we take the Construction Products Regulations as an example, we are told that the views of the Member States are so disparate that these Regulations may never be agreed.

One can only imagine the problems of reconciling the different requirements that are to be found across the whole of the world!

However as those who have been involved in Standards and Regulations committees will know often adverse requirements are ‘approved’ due to the lack of effective representation by all of those countries affected. If we want to maintain a market in which we can continue to do business in the future we must identify, and vigorously represent our requirements!

For organisations in any industry the task of identifying, and then keeping up to date with all the existing, and the potential new, standards and regulations demands levels of personnel that are difficult to support when times are hard and every effort is put into making and selling products. However, it has to be realised that in order to have a future all businesses need to be aware of the requirements for their products both now, and in the future.

This is where specialised trade associations come into their own, they provide that resource and disseminate that information to their members. They provide representation within the field of operation of their members and can feedback both the current and future requirements of standards and regulations to their members.

Next month read what trade associations need to do the maximise the benefits to their members.