FRENCH STANDARDIZATION 2016 2018 STRATEGY · Standardization needs to adapt and look into the prospect of col-laborating with the other organizations involved in these parti-cular

FRENCH STANDARDIZATION

STRATEGY

20162018

p. 4 Summary

p. 6 Major challenges

p.10 Eight topics: the backbone of the new strategy 2018

p. 21 Specific topics

p. 23 Key progress areas for effective implementation

p. 25 Evaluation & adaptability through dynamic management

Interacting with all stakeholders and organizing focus groups gives standardization

an early insight into the latest technological and social trends and the prospects for

economic development by detecting even the weakest signals in the market.

Standardization’s strength lies in its ability to respond to prospective innovative needs

by providing the tools for developing and structuring the markets, while addressing

both economic aspects and issues relating to health, the environment and society

in general.

This strategy offers guidance to French businesses and industry on which position

to adopt and the corresponding course of action. It provides the stimulus fuelling

the force driving standardization.

It acts as a bridge between the guidelines issued by the strategic committees,

particularly for issues covering several sectors, and it also takes into consideration

public policy, such as France’s Industry of the Future plan and Energy Transition Act,

in a bid to ensure alignment with standardization work.

Finally, the strategy aims to promote national interests at both the domestic and

international levels and foster harmonious interaction between standardization

and legislation.

INTRODUCTION

French standardization strategy 2016 2018

4 Summary

SUMMARY: The French standardization strategy 2016-2018In accordance with its missions, AFNOR’s Standardization Coordination and Steering Committee (CCPN)

has developed the French standardization strategy for 2018. This strategy builds on the foundations

laid by the French standardization strategy for 2011-2015. It aims to highlight the prospective needs

that have been identified as important and beneficial to France’s sustainable and responsible growth in

keeping with governmental policies.

It offers guidance to French businesses and industry on which position to adopt and the corresponding

course of action. It delivers a consistent overview of the challenges that voluntary standardization

stakeholders will need to address. It suggests lines of inquiry for the next few years. Finally, the strategy

aims to promote national interests at both the domestic and international levels and foster harmonious

interaction between voluntary standardization and legislation.

The CCPN took the initiative of leading discussions on two major societal challenges:

Climate and environment Digitalization of society and the digital economy

Summary 5

These challenges permeate all the multi-sector topics chosen:

Energy transition Silver economy Circular economy Digital economy Collaborative economy &

sharing economy Sustainable and smart cities Factory of the future Services

Furthermore, the strategy presents five specific topics due to their strategic value:

Nanotechnologies Contribution to safe, healthy and sustainable food

Drones Technical textiles and new smart materials

Medicine of the future

The French standardization strategy is divided into two sections:

The first section describes the pros-pects for the standardization sector by sharing and consolidating the directions and priorities voiced by the strategic com-mittees and the members of the CCPN during the strategic seminars in light of the challenges expressed by social and eco-nomic stakeholders and public authori-ties. The second section covers implemen-

tation, including the key progress areas (operation, development, and so on).

Follow the French standardization strategy on: www.francenormalisation.fr

AFNOR Normalisation – 11, rue Francis de Pressensé – 93571 La Plaine Saint-Denis cedex Tel: +33 (0)1 41 62 80 00 • Fax: +33 (0)1 49 17 90 00


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In defining the strategy, the CCPN took the initiative of leading discussions on two major societal challenges that concern all the multi-sector topics chosen:

MAJOR CHALLENGES

Climate and environment

Digitalization of society and the digital economy


Major challenges 7

exponentially. These masses of data, or big data as they are known, are causing a host of new issues. The time for prai-sing the merits or denouncing the drawbacks of the circula-

tion and use of such data has come and gone. The priority now should be on defining a policy for incorporating Big data as an input to our focus groups. Production & collection, processing & infrastructure, and reporting & presentation of data could be the three core activities governing the “creative destruction” era that society has now entered.These changes are also challenging existing business mo-dels. New companies are breaking into the market, some-times seemingly overnight, which shakes up a certain esta-blished order.

Technological innovations and their uptake by society are leaving organizations with no choice but to adapt to the change in rhythm.Security in all its aspects is a major concern for everyone: cy-bersecurity, striking a balance between development and res-pect for privacy and intimacy, as well as identifying the risks of fragility and technological dependence, and guaranteeing a minimum level of fail-over.Information and communication technologies hold such an important place in professional and private lives that they are transforming workplace relationships. Incidentally, the dividing line between work and social life is increasingly blurred.In addition to these major cross-sector challenges which require a cross-sector response, many sectors have voiced their pressing need for digital tools, including healthcare, pro-duction sites and energy efficiency.

These topics encompass a large number of subjects, initia-tives, developments and issues.The value of this approach is that it highlights the links and interactions between fields of activity and social players.Taking an in-depth look at digitized society and the develop-ment of the digital economy produced several common lines of investigation relating to the consequences and impacts of such changes.The same observation applies to climate and environment.

Digitalization of society and the digital economy In response to the dramatic development of digital technolo-gies, a minimum level of interoperability must be guaranteed and consequently an organization and ad-hoc structures must be set up.In terms of geographic scale, this particular topic should at least be examined at the European level. Since trade is in-creasingly liberalized, confining the thought process within national boundaries could stifle progress.

Working on a European scale requires a proactive approach in order to build a strategy aimed at forging partnerships and iden-tifying opportunities, rather than acting reactively and defensively.The digitalization of society is undeniably gathering pace. Ob-jects are communicating, networks are becoming active and the amount of information and data in circulation is growing

Production & collection, processing &

infrastructure, and reporting & presentation

of data could be the three core activities

governing the “creative destruction” era

that society has now entered

In terms of geographic scale, this

particular topic should at least be

examined at the European level


8 Major challenges

Climate and environmentThe major challenges that standardization faces for addressing protection of the environment and climate change mitigation concern energy efficiency, concept simplification and energy transition.

Energy efficiencyStandardization has clearly been identified as a relevant and appropriate tool for supporting the implementation of the national low-carbon strategy; projects focusing on energy efficiency technologies, which will require significant invest-ments from both the private and public sectors, and on the

Concept simplificationIn an effort to support organizations with their activities and especially companies and local authorities looking to streamline their investments, standardization must help create simpler concepts: maps and strategic analyses are effective for iden-tifying gaps, documenting requirements and setting priorities.

Energy transitionThis topic can be conceptualized as four issues, or the “4 Ds”:

> Decentralized energy, which will shake up transport, distri-bution and storage activities.

> Decarbonation with the development of renewables and consequently the need for interconnected energy sources.

> Decreased consumption enabled by breakthroughs in energy efficiency.

> Digitalization for developing intelligent systems.

Standardization can obviously play a role in aligning these diffe-rent levels or needs.With respect to investments, standardization should be pro-moted as a tool for making informed decisions and assessing performance.Since social and environmental objectives are sometimes in conflict, standardization can offer guidelines on the mechanisms for establishing a compromise.

Standardization has clearly been

identified as a relevant and appropriate

tool for supporting the implementation of

the national low-carbon strategy

impact of soil management on greenhouse gases (GHG) have been described as especially promising.To a certain extent, analyzing environmental and health crises as well as accidents provides an opportunity to acquire profi-table experience. An accident-based approach highlights the risks and dangers that are present when standards are either not available or not used.

Major challenges 9

Impact of new expectations on standardization

Standardization needs to adapt and look into the prospect of col-laborating with the other organizations involved in these parti-cular areas. A compromise should be reached between the quality of the round-table discussions, the consensus approach and the necessary speed of response, so that the market and society in general can be provided with reference documents that are relevant, recognized, required and tailored to their needs.

A key aspect - and a major challenge - is for standardization to adopt an overarching approach to its work, especially by incor-porating digital technologies, which is essential for gaining a clear insight into the concepts shared by the different fields and their interactions.Finally, a recurring concept is trust. Everything depends on trust, whether simplifying initiatives, driving developments, reassuring users, consumers and society, strengthening trade or preparing for the future. Standardization has a major role to play in addres-sing this challenge, and everyone is responsible for making a contribution.

Discussions relating to Digitalization and Climate & Environment are major preoccupations that should guide and enhance all stan-dardization work. These issues concern all activities and serve as the inspiration for all work and developments.


EIGHT TOPICS: THE BACKBONE OF THE NEW STRATEGY 2018

The strategy is divided into eight cross-functional action areas based on the feedback, discussions, priorities and challenges expressed by social and economic stakeholders. The summaries for each of the eight major action areas specify the strategic challenges and define a clear stance and course of action for standardization stakeholders;

They represent a roadmap with documented objectives for the period covered by the strategy.


Eight topics 11

Energy transition

Topic description and issues:

Energy is an integral part of everyday life, whether for heating our homes, powering our equipment and vehicles, or manufacturing the products that we consume. Individual nations and Europe alike have pledged to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.Energy transition means: consuming in a more efficient man-

ner by saving energy (fewer fossil fuels, less energy-intensive means of transport, greater thermal comfort and higher efficiency in industry); using alternative production

methods that protect the environment (more local resources, more renewable energies and less waste); moving society forward through

empowering projects (cooperative projects for producing energy, innova-tive services, etc.); creating jobs in the construction

industry and the new sectors of the future; qualifying interfaces to ensure effi-

cient assembly of society’s basic goods.

Strategic elements for French stakeholders:Work must adopt a quantitative approach to energy efficiency in order to assess the potential and the solutions for saving energy. This should help develop global energy performance by taking into account standardization work in the different sectors, such as energy manage-ment, energy performance of buil-dings, energy efficiency of industrial systems, transport, industrial pro-cesses, energy storage and smart management.In particular, efforts must be made to manage electrical grids with greater flexibility and improve every link in the chain, from producers through to consumers.Furthermore, work aimed at increa-sing the proportion of renewables in the energy mix should be priori-tized.

Goals to be achieved and analysis of influence objectives:

The goal is to promote and defend French positions and ensure that all strategic programs are consistent within the European standardization bodies, which represent a strategic platform for discussing, consulting on and furthering standardization work. Standardization bodies must ensure France’s presence in Europe’s strategic bodies, pursue and support Europe-wide discus-sions through dedicated focus groups and finally forge a network of European experts by spreading the word about the European standardi-zation program and the actions spearheaded by the “Energy Mana-gement” Sector Forum.

12 Eight topics



Generational demographic effects and longer life expectancy: these two phenomena combined, a first in the history of mankind, have brought French society face-to-face with a number of challenges. In 2014, France had 16 million people aged 60 and over. That number will increase to 20 million in 2030. The issue of accompanying this change in society underlies the silver economy, which aims to encourage innovations to support the ageing process and reduce the loss of independence. This sector harbours tremendous potential in terms of economic benefits and jobs for a significant number of business sectors.

Strategic elements for French stakeholders:

The idea is to foster communication between the various communities working in the silver economy and thereby identify needs, prioritize actions and prepare society as early as today.Population ageing is frequently mentioned as one of the background elements in standards, not to mobilize or identify new or specific requirements, but to stress the importance of the target audience concerned and justify the value of pursuing work in that particular area. Developments specifically concerning the over-60s are highlighted in practically every sector of the economy, especially services and topics relating to employability.The silver economy represents a major interest for the construction industry, with the specific problems relating to the end of the housing cycle when people wish to comfortably live out their final years at home.


The report published in 2015 under the title “Standardization: a strategic tool for the silver economy” as well as the documents mapping the different stages in an individual’s life course identify all the needs for which a response is required. Areas such as fundamental human needs, living environment, health and services represent high-potential markets. Universal design also deserves to be promoted, since it often addresses the problems mentioned above.Nine key sectors have been identified: food & drink, transport, housing, workplace, health and social welfare, financial services, leisure, sports and tourism, consumer goods and information technologies.The aim is to develop a standardization program that maintains a cross-functional vision of the subject during standardization and helps the different sectors with their future normative developments.Furthermore, although France already has a strong set of assets, several initiatives will need to be monitored and coordinated at the national, European and international levels.

Silver economy *

* The Silver Economy is the name of an industrial sector launched in France in 2013. Also known as the market for seniors, it concerns all products and services for people over the age of 60. According to a more formal definition: “these are all the products and services that are expected to improve life expectancy without disability or provide everyday help to dependent elderly people and their caregivers.”

Eight topics 13


Circular economy


External constraints, climate change, growing world population, and access to raw materials, water and energy are forcing us to review our growth models.The idea is to foster economic growth without depleting natural resources by creating innovative pro-ducts, services, business models and public policies, in order to move away from a linear economy and instead create a new circular economy based on a closed loop approach to products, services, waste, materials, water and energy.The circular economy invites industry to review material and product flows in liaison with local stakeholders. In terms of materials, the aim is to tackle waste, especially food waste, and encourage reuse and recycling. With respect to products and services, the idea is to promote eco-design, extend lifecycles and encourage repairs, reuse, recycling and sharing throughout the lifecycle. This obviously represents a major source of competitive advantages for industry.


France’s Energy Transition Act and 2025 Waste Reduction Plan herald a turning point in the develop-ment of the circular economy at every level.These goals are part of a more general policy focusing on effective resource management.The European Commission has pushed the issue to the top of the agenda, which confirms the need to review standardization’s suitability as an instrument for supporting the implementation of the circular economy.Stakeholders must think about how standardization and legislation can work together, especially on waste management and the development of shared concepts, and within the framework of Horizon 2020 research projects. Environmental product declarations, water reuse, lifecycle assessments and the development of the functional economy are priorities.


Initiatives should be carried out to assess the need for standardizing concepts, terminology, effective-ness measurements, waste characterization, lifecycle and reuse at the European and even interna-tional level.Empowering all interested parties to take part in such initiatives and participate in standardization work is a major challenge.The objectives during the period of this strategy are to establish France’s reputation as a leading force in this particular subject on a European and international level and address the needs of the strategic committee for the eco-industries (CSF).

14 Eight topics

Digital economy


A revolution is underway, fuelled by the increasing number of smart objects and the growing importance of information and communication technologies in the business sectors.The challenges of digital technologies are a key feature of all major discussions about the changes sweeping society and its need to adapt. The development of the digital economy elicits strong ambitions about its ability to drive growth, but it also raises fears about the uses of digital technologies due to the established risk of cybercrime and the potential abuses, including false consumer reviews, misuse of personal information and the traces that everyone leaves behind on the Internet. Trust and reliability need to be improved among consumers and companies in a bid to develop uses and increase the reliability of the Internet. Special care should also be directed towards interfaces and ergonomic design, as well as the impacts on organizations and working conditions.

Strategic elements for French stakeholders:Standardization has the potential to provide a strong contribution to the harmonized implementation of French and European public policies. Standardization must help improve coordination of initiatives aimed at collecting, transmitting, mana-ging, structuring, modelling, processing, disseminating, storing and protecting information. As far as the Internet of Things (IoT) is concerned, French stakeholders have adopted a strong position on a global level. Standardization must also support measures designed to ensure physical and virtual safety through cybersecurity. From a wider perspective, this topic touches upon the issues of the cloud and big data, which require further investigation.

Goals to be achieved and analysis of influence objectives:Promote the recognition of the standard relating to reliable online consumer reviews developed by French stakeholders.Pursue work associated with calls from the European Commission to protect privacy in security sys-tems. Keep a close eye on international developments relating to the protection of privacy.Set up a standardization commission for the Internet of Things. Help establish interoperability guidelines for smart objects and the resulting standards, and coordinate activities with international organizations.


Eight topics 15



Streamlined costs, reduced expenditure, tense economic conditions, increasing environmental concerns and the growth of responsible

consumption indicate that this is a long-term phenomenon, with potential opportunities and prospective investments for companies in new practices, which implies monetary tran-sactions at reduced prices and culminating in new high-growth markets.

Strategic elements for French stakeholders:Public authorities have yet to truly take into account the emerging phenome-

non of the collaborative economy.To date, many initiatives have merely been in response to pressure from economic sectors that feel threatened by these new models, which has the effect of jeopardizing innovation and benefiting powerful, well-established eco-nomic players. No real measures have been taken to anti-cipate the changes that lie ahead.Nevertheless, the collaborative economy raises a number of issues that will need to be addressed in the future: consi-deration of the income generated by private individuals through the collaborative economy; creation of fair compe-

Collaborative economy & sharing economy

tition between stakeholders; protection for consumers; definition of responsibilities among intermediaries - networ-king platforms and fora. Trust underlies the development of this economy.


Standardization stakeholders are increasingly faced with the growth of this economic sector. They have seen new challenges emerge as society moves from a product eco-nomy to a service economy: New uses, standards focu-sing on demand rather than supply, the need for product safety and traceability, inclusion of “consum’actors” and the safety of used products have already been identified as pro-mising topics.France has a number of leading players in this area.Objective during the period: become a leading force for emerging needs and discussions.


Sustainable and smart cities


Introducing information and communication technologies into cities paves the way for improving existing services and implementing new functionality, as well as offering new ways of managing and governing the cities of tomorrow’s world.The objectives for smart cities follow on from the goals for sustainable cities. Their main characteristics are as follows: manage resources more efficiently; build user-oriented systems; manage assets; prioritize a design approach that takes the sustainability

of the built environment into account; adopt a systems-based approach to the city that

highlights interactions between the different components (such as transport, energy, buildings and water).Smart and sustainable cities can only be developed with support from construction professionals that have incorpo-rated the full potential of digital technologies, especially building information modelling.

Strategic elements for French stakeholders:The future of smart and sustainable cities will depend on the ability of a city, irrespective of size (whether a rural town or a metropolis), to become intelligent by adopting new forms of governance, encouraging user uptake of the new systems and identifying viable business models to support develop-ment. Urban planning and connected cities are priorities.Mobility issues, if related to town planning and urban deve-lopment, are worthy of closer investigation, in liaison with territories and communities in the broadest sense of the word; electro-mobility and autonomous vehicles are one of the priority areas. Furthermore, smart grids must play a role in raising the per-formance of the electrical energy chain, from generation through to storage, metering and distribution, as well as home energy management using interoperable tools.Analyzing fail-over systems, electrical outages, electronic failures and computer attacks is also a key issue.

16 Eight topics


Goals to be achieved and analysis of influence objectives:A concerted effort must be made with this recent topic to: ensure that the normative documents produced in

France build on the initiatives that the French government and the European Community have been pursuing for several years for defining and implementing a proactive policy to promote sustainable development in communi-ties. Standardization work must take a balanced and critical look adopting a multidisciplinary approach by focusing on ways to improve resilience and sustainability, and share a consistent set of indicators at the internatio-nal level;

defend the Sustainable development in communities inter-national technical committee and its position against other initiatives (smart cities, urban indicators, etc.) or against other international organizations (OECD, World Bank, UNEP, etc.); ensure the consistency of the strategic directions of the

French-led “Smart and Sustainable Cities and Communi-ties” European coordination group, monitor its stance in relation to the associated developments (smart grids, smart water grids, and so on) and ensure that the objectives and scopes for these topics are sufficiently accurate; promote France’s vision of “sustainable and smart cities”

in the international arena; raise awareness of France’s views on smart water among the international community.

Factory of the future


“The factory of the future is a generic concept that builds on the general awareness that the manufac-turing industry plays an important role in a country’s national wealth. The factory of the future addresses several types of transition at the same time, such as energy, eco-logical, digital, organizational and social transitions. Each transition requires several new technologies or organizational models that are reaching maturity, under development or in the design stages.The idea is to support and guide companies in transforming their business models, their organizational structures and their design and marketing processes in a world where digital technologies are breaking down the dividing wall between industry and services.The new factory model has been designed to form the backbone of its ecosystem and respond to society’s new needs: an innovative, competitive, high-performance, safe and attractive factory; a customer-oriented factory capable of guaranteeing product quality and traceability, and delivering end-

to-end solutions with the associated services;

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18 Eight topics


a factory networked with its suppliers and customers, which is capable of easily adapting its value chain to reflect changes in marketplaces and technologies; an agile factory featuring flexible production methods and reconfigurable production assets that are deve-

loped using virtual simulation and optimization tools, and which is capable of providing long-lasting individua-lized products and services at attractive prices in small and medium quantities; a clean and silent factory engaged with its industrial ecosystem and which makes efficient use of raw

materials and energy; a factory that uses automation and collaborative robots to prevent people from carrying out arduous or

repetitive tasks and instead allow them to use their cognitive functions to serve quality, innovation and deploy-ment of an agile manufacturing strategy; a factory that takes advantage of the Internet of Things and the Cloud to control production using actual

objects and provide an accurate record of all operations.*


The factory of the future concept is being developed in a number of countries (such as Factory 4.0 in Germany or Smart factory)… In France, the concept is receiving special emphasis in the project entitled Industry of the Future – the Nine Industrial Solutions. This project is led by a new association called “Alliance pour l’Industrie du Futur” [Alliance for the Industry of the Future]. Eleven priority topics have been identified and chosen: the digital production chain, integration of non-des-tructive testing into the production chain, new agile manufacturing processes - including additive manu-facturing -, industrial and transfer robots, cobots, augmented reality, organizations’ energy efficiency and environmental footprint, use of composites and new materials, the circular economy - including the recovery and reuse of materials - organization, scheduling and logistics, and man-machine interfaces.


Standardization needs, which may be diverse, will be identified for these 11 topics: need for harmonized terminology, measuring tools, methodological tools, technology transfers, qualification of personnel and associated services… A proactive strategy may consequently be established.In terms of the topics subject to standardization work, the aim will be to collect information on the normative environment; in other words, identify the main industrial stakeholders as well as their challen-ges and requirements. Clearly identify the responsibilities of French stakeholders at the international level and the standardization work for developing the topic. Analyze and, if applicable, prepare new subject proposals or create a new technical committee. Increase expert presence and forge partnerships if necessary.

* Source: Alliance pour l’Industrie du Futur

Eight topics 19

Services Topic description and issues:

The proof is in the figures, which speak for themselves: nine million jobs, 80 % of jobs created in 2013 and over 60 % of household expenditure involve service activities in France! These figures may paint a clear picture, but the vitality of the service industry is also apparent in the immeasurable number of innovations that have been pioneered to make

everyday life easier. The phenomenon goes even further with the emergence of new practices spawned by the new roles played by consumers and digital technologies, including the sharing, usage and referral economies, the circular economy, and new disruptive business models driven and sometimes imposed by the major digital platforms. Finally, services have highlighted the importance of the customer experience and its specific measurement method, which are essential for organizations looking to improve their performance and increase their competitive advantage.This new world aims to be a hybrid, rather than an exclusive world. It has no intention of opposing or driving a wedge between industry and services, the public and private sectors, consumers and professionals, but instead aims to promote a cross-func-tional approach, synergies and shared, integrated solutions.


Since service development is a broad-spectrum issue, such development accompanies the changes affecting society.To date, standardization in the services sectors has mainly addressed issues of market structuring, marketing

of services and performance of organizations. It is an instrument for disseminating and harmonizing best practices and has enabled certain sectors to break free from the lowest bid approach.The challenge is to provide reference documents to address new trends, provide high-quality services and improve customer rela-tionships, even during abnormal operating conditions.

Goals to be achieved and analysis of influence objectives:Standardization provides benchmarks that have been reached by consensus between all stakeholders and helps structure service markets, develop best professional practices and protect consumers. The white

paper, entitled “How should services be standardized?” and published in 2015, led to five recommendations: list and analyze the standardization needs associated with the new trends identified or that reflect an expectation on the

part of markets and consumers, and specify high-potential business sectors; support the services sectors in their understanding and appropriation of standardization; propose normative solutions appropriate to the diversity of the sectors, market development and the maturity, size and

exposure to competition, particularly abroad, of the organizations involved; identify and develop standardization projects that combine products and services; promote initiatives and strengthen French contributions to the European and international standardization of services by

involving all stakeholders.In 2015, these recommendations were translated into action plans involving all stakeholders concerned by services: espe-cially with France’s participation in the new European technical committee on “Services”, which will prepare horizontal service standards applicable to service contracts, procurement and performance assessments.



20 Eight cross-functional key action areas

EIGHT CROSS-FUNCTIONAL KEY ACTION AREAS IDENTIFIED IN THE DIRECTIONS OF THE STRATEGIC COMMITTEES

The main Strategic Committees concerned by the key action areas

Link with the Ministry for the Economy’s “Industry of the Future and the Nine

Industrial Solutions” project

Energy transition

Agriculture & food • Construction and urban planning • Electrotechnology • Environment and social responsibility • Gas • Water cycle • Oil • Occupational health & safety • Rational use of energy.

• New resources • Sustainable cities • Eco-mobility • Transport of tomorrow • Industry of the future

Silver economy

Agriculture & food • Consumer goods, sport - leisure • Construction and urban planning • Digital communication and information • Management and services • Healthcare and social welfare • Occupational safety & health • Transport and logistics.

• Medicine of the future • Transport of tomorrow • Sustainable cities • Digital trust • Smart objects

The Circular economy

Agriculture & food • Consumer goods, sport - leisure • Construction and urban planning • Environment and social responsibility • Industrial engineering, equipment and materials • Gas • Water cycle • Oil • Rational use of energy.

• New resources • Sustainable cities • Transport of tomorrow • Industry of the future

The Digital economy

Note: Since this is a multi-sector topic, all the strategic committees are concerned, and the Digital communication and information strategic committee acts as supervisor and coordinator.

• Medicine of the future • Smart objects• Data economy • Digital trust • Smart food• Industry of the future

Collaborative economy

Agriculture & food • Consumer goods, sport - leisure • Construction and urban planning • Electrotechnology • Environment and social responsibility • Digital communication and information • Management and services • Occupational safety & health • Transport and logistics • Rational use of energy.

• Digital trust

Sustainable and smart cities

Agriculture & food • Construction and urban planning • Environment and social responsibility • Water cycle • Digital communication and information • Management and services • Occupational safety & health • Transport and logistics • Rational use of energy.

• Sustainable cities • Smart objects• Digital trust • Eco-mobility• Transport of tomorrow

Factory of the future

Agriculture & food • Construction and urban planning • Electrotechnology • Environment and social responsibility • Gas • Digital communication and information • Industrial engineering, Equipment and materials • Occupational safety & health • Rational use of energy.

• New resources• Digital trust• Industry of the future

Services Note: since this is a multi-sector topic, all the strategic committees are concerned. The Management and services strategic committee acts as supervisor and coordinator.

• Sustainable cities • Transport of tomorrow• Data economy • Smart objects • Digital trust

Specific topics 21


SPECIFIC TOPICSSeveral specific topics considered to be of strategic value are presented below.These topics are also specified in the Industry of the Future and the Nine Industrial Solutions plan:

Nanotechnologies Contribution to safe, healthy and sustainable food Drones Technical textiles and new smart materials Medicine of the future

Nanotechnologies

Nanotechnologies constitute a major technological and economic challenge for the 21st century, with a vast number of applications already in use. However, action must be taken now to address the environmental and health risks that may be associated with handling and using these materials and encourage society’s acceptance of these techno-logies. Standardization can support the growth of nanotechnologies by allowing users to enjoy their benefits while protecting against any adverse effects. It can also help transfer scientific knowledge from laboratories to industry.

Contribution to safe, healthy and sustainable food

Along with security, food quality and supply represents one of the major expectations among consumers. Clear information about the product’s characteristics, com-position and origin can help fulfil this need. In this respect, work is extending to encompass organizational standards in an effort to assist companies in coping with the growing number of regulatory requirements.Guaranteeing food safety, improving product quality and encouraging free-flowing trade to tackle trade barriers must be prioritized.Finally, the production industry faces a major challenge of gaining a competi-

tive advantage given the development of the international food trade. Harmo-nizing the analytical methods and ensu-ring their reliability is also a key econo-mic issue.

Drones

Civil drones have undergone exponen-tial growth in a number of sectors.France’s Council for Civil Aeronautics Research has identified several priori-ties, including new production methods, research into quieter and more fuel-ef-ficient designs, and the development of higher-performance control systems. Standardization must address both the drone’s technical specifications and the way in which it is used in air space, which also concerns public safety.


22 Specific topics

In June 2015, a new subcommittee with a US secretariat was created within the Aircraft and space vehicles ISO technical committee. A French mirror structure was set up to take part in the work, specifically for defining the appli-cable terminology and the technical classifications.

Technical textiles and new smart materials

The textile industry, a figurehead of the first industrial revolution, currently har-bours tremendous potential for the future. Tomorrow’s textiles and new materials, which are more technologi-cally advanced and environmentally friendly, have invaded every part of daily life, including sport, buildings, health-care, transport and civil engineering. The scientific breakthroughs achieved through technical textiles and new/smart materials have sparked a trend for innovation encompassing every sec-tor of industry.The three main development areas for the sectors involved in textiles and new smart materials are as follows: ensure a successful ecological transi-

tion by controlling and disseminating the use of bio-based and recyclable textiles (such as hemp), and the use of recycled fibres and new materials for different applications; take advantage of the opportunities

inherent in the digital revolutions and nanotechnologies through smart and innovative textiles and materials; develop the factory of the future (tex-

tiles and new materials) by leveraging

new production, finishing and assembly technologies and making effective use of new digital tools.The primary objective is to step up the presence of France and especially French business in international stan-dardization groups, which frequently raises difficulties since French industry often consists of SMEs and mid-cap companies.

Medicine of the futureQuality of healthcare services, medical systems and new health equipment, development of biotechnologies, health-care products and the emergence of medical information systems and digital hospitals are part of the innovative challenges that lie ahead for the health industry. Standardization stakeholders are acting on a topic that has already been adopted by the highest levels, such as the National Health Strategy pioneered by the government, the Healthcare Industries and Technologies contract, and the “Medical solution of the future” as part of the “Industry of the Future – New Industrial France” project. These are just some of the projects crea-ting a strong dynamic for the French stakeholders already involved in France and abroad.The goal is to strengthen France’s posi-tion, in particular our presence within European organizations, and focus groups in order to defend a coordinated vision of French interests. A close eye must also be kept on the changes to European legislation and standards

driven by the European Commission for the purpose of supporting French views within the standardization commis-sions.


Respond to the expectations of society, citizens, users and consumers: address the issues of employment, social cohesion, societal

security and ageing; consistently anticipate and minimize risks for occupational

health; encourage initiatives allowing consumers to consume in a

more responsible manner.

Help industry achieve a competitive advantage and support the performance of the French economy.

Strengthen the effectiveness of the French standardization system, especially by: pursuing continual improvement processes;

KEY PROGRESS AREAS FOR EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION

reinforcing the drive for efficiency and simplification; making a special effort to qualify the catalogue of normative

documents and ensuring its relevance; developing coordination between standardization

stakeholders and public authorities.

Empower stakeholders and partners, particularly by: facilitating the initiative, contribution, participation and feedback

of all stakeholders; improving customer focus and service quality; paying close attention to microbusinesses, SMEs and mid-cap

companies; promoting the investment of standardization experts.

Use technologies to address the needs and expectations of standardization stakeholders.

Discussions, consultations and brainstorming sessions have produced projects proposals to be carried out and courses of action to be prioritized.

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24 Key progress areas for effective implementation

Enhance the potential synergies between standardization and public procurement.

Form partnerships with bodies developing reference documents.

Mention should be made of the importance of defending the French language, which represents a source of influence.

Strengthen the effectiveness of the collective action taken by French stakeholders in European and international standardization activities. This action includes several topics: all delegates and experts must be made aware of the need to

share feedback and take operational action to empower the appropriate bodies. To achieve this aim, information and commu-nication processes must be established, known and used;

the solidarity of the French team. After freely expressing their thoughts and views at the national level, especially during French mirror group/committee meetings, all team members, irrespective

of their affiliated category of interest, support, promote and defend France’s defined positions in the European and international orga-nizations in which they take part;

an effective attitude during standardization meetings. Dele-gates/experts need to develop in-depth knowledge of standardi-zation rules at the European and international levels in order to reach the best outcome for the team that appointed them;

improve recognition of this major function within the com-pany: “product and service standardization”. This function must be recognized and promoted, especially its strategic value in achieving a mid/long-term return on investment;

anticipation, preparation and organization. Preparations for standardization begin before industrialization. A topic is conside-red to be a priority if the organization already has a head-start in the field or the topic itself is strategic;

presence in all interest groups. The contents of a standard are not defined exclusively in a standardization commission, but also in liaison with European and international associations, com-mittees and lobby groups;

training for delegates/experts, secretaries and project managers. Two abilities are required to assume these responsi-bilities: “technical” abilities and the ability to negotiate in English in the standardization community;

transparency and openness in times of intense economic competition. The aim is to improve the relevance of French posi-tions in terms of content and allow a wide range of stakeholders to anticipate, take part in and engage with the future standard;

support for policy and public authorities. Standardization action on subjects with the greatest strategic value for employ-ment and competitiveness cannot afford to ignore political invol-vement. The legislature could make greater use of AFNOR’s stan-dards, especially as part of its policy to simplify regulatory standards.


Evaluation & adaptability through dynamic management 25

EVALUATION & ADAPTABILITY THROUGH DYNAMIC MANAGEMENT

In keeping with standardiza-tion’s role and the expected benefits, the strategy’s validity and performance could be assessed according to its ability to respond to prospective inno-vative needs by providing the tools for developing and struc-

turing the markets for the chosen topics, while addressing both economic aspects and all issues relating to health, the environ-ment and society in general.Identifying and analyzing the “strong signals” and “weak signals” emitted within standar-dization organizations and the normative ecosystem can help characterize positive and nega-

tive changes according to the eight key strategic areas. The findings of the analysis will be presented and discussed halfway through the process and again at the end of the strategy in 2018, in consulta-tion with stakeholders, industry and the operators of the French standardization system. At the same time, the strategy will be assessed during strategic semi-nars held by the Standardization Coordination and Steering Committee to determine whether objectives are appro-priate, while assessing the pro-gress of the strategy and refo-cusing if necessary. Social and economic stakeholders involved in standardization intend to manage the strategy. This sco-ping exercise is aimed at giving the process greater structure and defining the trajectory to guide standardization work. However, standardization must

also adapt to the challenges inherent in a constantly-chan-ging world. Managing the strategy is there-fore a dynamic process that will likely involve revisions to the strategy, with global objectives fine-tuned as topics become increasingly mature and as new topics emerge.

The strategy’s validity and performance could be assessed

according to its ability to respond to prospective innovative


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Find the French standardization strategy on:

www.francenormalisation.fr

AFNOR Normalisation 11, rue Francis de Pressensé – 93571 La Plaine Saint-Denis cedex - France Tel.: +33 (0)1 41 62 80 00 • Fax: +33 (0)1 49 17 90 00

STANDARDIZATIONA framework for progress

FOR ALL

Documents

FRENCH STANDARDIZATION 2016 2018 STRATEGY · Standardization needs to adapt and look into the prospect of col-laborating with the other organizations involved in these parti-cular