Standardization and Certification of Research, … · by Resolution BT C33/2007 to study the feasibility of developing european stan-dards in the field of research, develop-ment and

The EU considers innovation as a key issue, in order to maintain the Europe-an competitiveness in the global mar-ket and to create value for the relevant stakeholders.

This interest is evidenced by political statements and the creation of several instruments and programmes. Further-more, the EC Communication 133-08 “Towards an increased contribution from standardization to innovation in Europe”, explicitly highlights that stan-dardization must strengthen its role in support of innovation and competitive-ness.

In 2001, the Spanish Government showed its commitment to S&T and In-novation as key factors for a sustainable

competitive economy, and rec-

ognized the special necessity in Spain to allocate more resources to these mat-ters.

Fiscal incentives for R&D&I activities ex-perimented important changes during this year. The last reformulation of the Fiscal Law approved implied improve-ments and new incentives for techno-logical innovation.

New items were introduced for SMEs in the framework of this new law, aiming at fostering competition in the Spanish economy.

By initiative of the Ministry of Science and Technology and promoted by AENOR and SERCOBE (Spanish National Association of Manufacturers of Capital Goods) the AEN/CTN 166 (R&D&I) was

Standardization and Certification of Research, Development and innovation (R&D&I) activities in AENOR

By AENOR

3 4

created in 2001 with the scope of:Systematize and harmonize criteria in

Research, Development and Innovation activities while fostering technology transfer and innovation in enterprises.

Develop organizational and innova-tion management tools for innovating capacity of firms. Provide Public Admin-istration tools for project evaluation and assessment.

Standardization:Since 2002 AENOR has developed

the following technical documents:

UNE 166000 EX: 2002, UNE 166000: 2006Terminology and definitions of R&D&I

activities.

UNE 166001 EX: 2002, UNE 166001: 2006 Requirements for R&D&I projects.

UNE 166002 EX: 2002, UNE 166002: 2006R&D&I management systems require-

ments.

UNE 166005: 2004 In166002:2002 application guidelines for

Manufacturers of Capital Goods.

UNE 166006 EX: 2006 Technology Watch System.

Total UNE Standards of R&D&I Man-agement acquired (6.505 units)

Newsletter No17 November 2009

5 6


New developments in Innovation Management Standardization

CEN considers innovation as a key ob-jective as well, promoting standardiza-tion as a mean to support a culture of innovation in Europe. CEN had created a series of technical

bodies, including CEN/BT/WG 201 in 2007, to prepare the creation of a new TC (Technical Committee) on “Innova-tion Management”.

By AENOR’s initiative, the CEN Techni-cal Board created BT/WG 201 “Research, Development and Innovation activities” by Resolution BT C33/2007 to study the feasibility of developing european stan-dards in the field of research, develop-ment and innovation and to prepare a draft Business Plan for a possible future TC in this area.

In 2008-10-08 CEN decides to create the new TC, CEN/

marking, knowledge valorization, etc.).Relating to the standardization system,

the European Commission Communica-tion 133 (March 2008), “Towards an in-creased contribution from standardiza-tion to innovation in Europe”, highlights that standardization must strengthen its role in support of innovation and competitiveness.

A stronger role for standardization in support of innovation is important for the European effort to address eco-nomic, environmental and social chal-lenges.

A standardization that is lively and strong has the power to accelerate the access of innovation to both domestic and global markets.

Standardization can be a way to create awareness on the importance of the re-quired effort and promote the growth of an innovation culture that could make this effort easier.

TC 389, for Innovation Management, al-locating the Secretariat of CEN/TC 389 to AENOR, who agrees to comply with the terms of the CEN Memorandum N°1 as approved by Resolution CA 11/1993 and the “Rules and conditions for alloca-tion of CEN/TC Secretariat”.

Documents elaborated by this TC will help to reach this objective to all types of organizations, regardless their size and activity. In order to achieve the sustainable long

term success, organizations need to en-sure a steady flow of innovation.

Therefore they have to continually and systematically manage all the aspects fostering the innovation capabilities (business and innovation strategies, organizational structures, stakeholders and competencies and cultures, con-tinuous revision and improvement), as well as all the necessary tools (resources management, technology watch, com-petitive intelligence, creativity, bench-

According to the OECD (Oslo Manual, 2005, § 142), ‘Well-designed regulations and standards can provide a strong sig-nal to support and guide innovative ac-tivities’.

Certification:Total certified R&D&I Management Systems

(Data from 2009 first four-month period)

Relevant organizations in R&D&I Man-agement Systems belong to Private Sec-tor (IBEX 35), the Public Sector, Technol-ogy Centers and Centers of Innovation and Technology.

7 8


Total certified R&D&I Projects


AENOR is the certification body accred-ited by ENAC for the emission of valid technical reports, for the Ministry of Sci-ence and Innovation. The certificates issued by AENOR in

conformity with UNE 166001:2006 standard allow bidders to obtain extra points in public infrastructure projects for the Ministry of Public Works.

AENOR participates also as independent body for the

order to increase the compatibility with these standards in the interests of the user community.

This standard is applicable to all orga-nizations, regardless their size or activ-ity, establishing an R&D&I management system and/or undertaking R&D&I proj-ects. This standard can also be used as a purchase specification when hiring third parties.

Total files in Technology Watch Sys-tems Certification


The organizations certified by AENOR in Technology Watch Systems belong to

technical evaluation of project finance in several regional funding calls.

New developments in Certification:Technology Watch Systems

Technology Watch (TW) is an essential tool in the framework of R&D&I man-agement systems as ideas to be used in R&D&I projects, processes and sys-tems are generated through it, and will conclude in the development of a new product, service or process for the orga-nization.

Among the tools used in R&D&I pro-cesses, TW is the one that detects, anal-yses, disseminates, communicates and exploits, in a systematic way, the tech-nical information which is useful to the organization.

This standard is aligned with other management system standards such as ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004, and especially with UNE 1666002:2006, in

Private Sector, Technological Centers & Innovation Supporting Organizations.

AENOR is proud to be one of the pio-neers in the promotion of innovation through standardization, leading from the very beginning efforts at national level, and promoting the awareness in European Countries of the relevance that standards can have in support of innovation capabilities.

Thomas Szabo is a standardization expert at Quality Austria Training, Certification and Evaluation Ltd. In au-tumn, the risk management standard ISO 31000 is expected. On an inter-national scale, normative documents are being worked at. On this occasion, Quality Austria made an interview with Thomas Szabo.

At the moment different standards relating to the topic of risk manage-ment are being worked at on an in-ternational scale. Is risk management en vogue?

Mr. Szabo: The fact that risk manage-ment is treated as an important topic is no temporary fashion. It rather is a ques-tion of long-term trends and incidents.

The situation was similar for

quality management between 1940 and 1990 until there was the breakthrough in standardization and conformity re-view. What is decisive for the develop-ment of risk management is globaliza-tion of trade and industry according to capitalistic principles since 1989.

These basic principles include readi-ness to take risks and confidence. Na-tional regulations were largely can-celled. Therefore, there is the need for other means, such as Basle II or the need for standardization.

Still another factor is rapid technologi-cal change, global interlinking of the communication systems and the com-mensurate risks. Such incidents as 9/11, Atocha or the

Tsunami also drew people’s attention.

Risk Management – the approach advocated by the IQNet Part-ner Quality Austria

By Quality Austria

9 10

What is understood by risk manage-ment?

Mr. Szabo: The term of risk itself has had different approaches in the course of time, and even today we have dif-ferent approaches. In the late 1990’s, the term of risk was changed in the ISO Guide 73. In analogy to stochastics and its use

in the financial world, risk was defined neutrally by defining it as the chance to win or lose. We have still not mentally come to terms with this change.

In the technical area and in general language use, we rather regard risk as being negative even now. In almost all technical standards and regulations, risk is still treated just like hazard.

This also is true for the management standards: ISO 27001 and OHSAS 18001 use “risk” as a negative concept. Only ISO 22000 makes a clear reference to “hazard”.

The conceptual change won’t be com-mon knowledge for a long time. An important step in knowledge de-

velopment is the imminent publication of ISO 31000, an instruction about prin-ciples, the management framework and process of risk management. How is risk handled in standardiza-

tion of quality management?

Mr. Szabo: The ISO 9000 Community had dodged dealing with risk manage-ment for a long time (1994 to 2008). It is true that ISO 9004:1987 still clearly hint-ed at entrepreneurial risks & opportuni-ties as the basis of quality management systems.

However, this promising course was no longer pursued. This was due to tempo-rary focusing on processes alone or op-position of part of European industry to the mere fact that risk assessment meth-ods were mentioned briefly in ISO 9001.


11 12


A first sign for rethinking can be seen in the introduction of ISO 9001:2008 – in the next revision, deliberations about risk will probably play a crucial role.

What, in your view, are the most im-portant standards and regulations?

Mr. Szabo: ISO 31000 is a very good and innovative management standard in various aspects. However, it only is a guide. At the moment only the ON Rule 49001 is known to me as a specifica-tion document. This rule starts to gain ground in certification on a voluntary basis even without being substantiated by the public authorities.

In combination with the additional ONRs 49000ff as a support, direct refer-encing to ISO 31000 and availability in English, the package can definitely be attractive. Progress the Canadians and Australians make in improving AS 4360

and CSA Q850 is not known to me at the moment. This

9001 to management quality instead of only ensuring product conformity. Right in the sense of risk management:

not only avoiding mistakes but also seiz-ing opportunities.

It is in the stars whether this can be done in the next step. However, it has already been discussed thoroughly. A different mechanism, namely harmo-

nization of the structure of the manage-ment standards, might act much more rapidly.

The ISO decision is scheduled for Febru-ary 2010. The projects 22301 and 50001 might already follow the new structure.

ISO 9001 and 14001 will be forced to move. The new structure starts with the “context of the organization“, i.e. the basis of risk management acc. to ISO 31000.

Thus risk management becomes the basis of any system integration.

means the standards relating to “Ge-neric Risk Management” are only under way of development on an international scale.

In this context, specific risk manage-ment standards should be turned to. These standards include all the ISO

Management System Standards, includ-ing the Guiding Standard ISO 9001.

Example ISO 9001: The purpose of the standard is to reduce customer risk caused by nonconforming products. Thus handling risk is shuffled off to the supplier.

The ISO Derivatives TS 16949 and TL 9000 work according to the same logic. For example, this is also true for ISO

14001. In this context, the public ex-pects trade and industry to handle en-vironmental risk.

One of the opportunities offered by the starting big revision is opening of ISO

Earlier we discussed the understand-ing of the term of risk management in the course of time. What is under-stood by societal security?

Mr. Szabo: Basically it is a question of civil defence, i.e. protection of the pop-ulation in the event of catastrophes or wars. Standardization was driven after the

Tsunami. It has also been taken up by the EU as there is a need for harmoniza-tion in Europe.

Even in Austria, a lot of energy is invest-ed in this area (ON-K146). In view of the once-in-a-hundred-years flood in Aus-tria in July, societal security is becoming even more important.

Let’s remain with the terms. What is understood by business continuity management?

Mr. Szabo: Taking precau-tions for maintaining or re-

13 14


storing business activities in case of ca-tastrophe. In former times this mainly was a governmental function, above all relating to energy and water supply, transport and traffic and communica-tion.

As these areas are also largely priva-tized, more responsibility devolves on trade and industry. The pioneer is Great Britain, where the

Thatcher Administration led to an early clear-cutting of the federal services and certification acc. to BS 25999 has been done for two years. Since May 2009, there also has been ONORM S 2402. What is understood by corporate se-

curity management?

Mr. Szabo: A good old word again, in-dustrial safety. Generic term for all the protective measures and their system-atic management. In Austria, ON-K252

is working at the ONORM Se-ries ON S 2400ff with a lot of

included in OHSAS 18001 even now. This means an integrated management system made up of ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS 18001 is a well-founded basis even now.

When will ISO 31000 appear?

Mr. Szabo: According to original plan-ning in September 2009. A postponement due to a delay of the

ISO Guide 73 (terms and definitions) may be possible. What standards will, in your opinion,

win through?

Mr. Szabo: If we regard global use of a documented system with certifica-tion possibilities as being “winning through”.

I presently do not see the direct trigger that can bring about the breakthrough at the comprehensive risk management system.

energy. In this context, ”corporate intel-ligence” also is dealt with.

Risk management can be found in different standards. Are several standards needed to be capable of covering comprehensive risk man-agement?

Mr. Szabo: Comprehensive risk man-agement is possible acc. to ISO 31000 or ONR 49001. What becomes interesting is interac-

tion with the existing real ”Big Schemes”, such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, and the schemes already explicitly reflect-ing risk management, such as OHSAS 18001, ISO 22000, 22301, 27001.

ISO 9001 as a Guiding Standard will probably remain leading in intensifying the risk management aspects after the revision.

As for legal risks, ISO 14001 can become decisive. Risk assessment methods are

Let’s have a look back: ISO 9001 was triggered by the New Approach and the EEC Directives for Public Purchasing. ISO 14001 and EMAS were a result of

the Rio Conference.

In the present crisis, public pressure fo-cuses on a certain sector, the financial world – in the unstable situation, the big rest (real economy) can hardly be challenged more.

Of course, this is a big opportunity for risk management pioneers. ONR 49001 might act as a catalyst.

A breakthrough could only be brought about by ISO 31001. However, ISO 31001 will not come in the foreseeable future. However, ISO 9001 will remain leading in use.

Its importance for international ex-change of goods is unique. Besides, quality is a big motivator – risks are not really.

15 16


The expected integration of risk man-agement aspects in the next revision of ISO 9001 will have positive effects on global knowledge development in risk management. How should companies pragmati-

cally tackle risk management?

Mr. Szabo: We should become aware of the fact that risk management is al-ready made with the existing docu-mented systems. Knowledge development in this area

is rapidly progressing. Here we have to keep on the ball.

And do not forget that quality experts are in good command of handling prob-abilities and their effects thanks to their knowledge of statistics.

What final recommendation can you make to the businesspersons?

Mr. Szabo: Management of risks does not only mean to avoid or control un-favourable developments but also to seize opportunities. In order to stay with quality: you should not eternally stare at the failure modes but increase the probability good and even excellent products will be made by taking delib-erate steps.

I.S. Sazonov, A.A. Zholobov, N.V. Skok, O.V. Leonenko

State Institution of Higher Professional Education “Belarusian-Russian Univer-sity”

Nowadays Belarusian-Russian Univer-sity is a big scientific and educational complex offering educational and sci-entific services which are oriented at most recent scientific achievements and the newest educational technologies, at meeting the needs of economics of the republic in professionally competent personnel that is able to master innova-tion tech-nique.

The university implements educational activity in different spheres and special-

ties of secondary, higher, post-

university and additional professional education.

The educational establishment includes 7 faculties (automechanical, mechanical engineering, construction, electrical en-gineering, economics, part-time engi-neering faculty), lyceum, the college of ar-chitecture and construction and the profess ional development and retraining institute.

B e l a - r u s i a n - Russian Uni-versity is the largest re-gional center of centralized testing.

Quality management as a tool of innovation developmentBelarusian - Russian university case study

By Russian Register

17 18

Belarusian-Russian University focus on process approach in its activity which is defined by international standards of ISO 9000 series and ENQA directions is an urgent and at the same time difficult innovation which is being realized by the university.

The Centre of Quality and Innovation Management of the university devel-oped new forms of the documents of quality system which are obvious and clear to the average representative of the field service of the university as they are expected to give the main support in finding weak points of the processes existing at the university.

A document – the plan of the process - has been developed for monitoring of the processes. It reveals the goals, plan-ning and measures to improve the pro-cess. The used processes are continuously

controlled with the help of information system which makes it possible to get

on-line data of the current value of the process.

To analyze the processes more thor-oughly the indices of the processes will be supplemented with such attributes as time, calculation of expenditures and statistical methods of the analysis.

The governing body of the university chose a composite approach to the for-mation of macrostructure of the goals and indices of the singled out processes of the quality man-agement system.

Systematization of the processes of the university to get the register of docu-ments of the quality management sys-tem of the university is a difficult and creative task.

The first version of the register of the quality management system of the uni-versity contained about 30 processes.When developing the new

register the developers of the


19 20


quality management system passed the following stages:

- determination of the purpose of the processes in agreement with the com-bined approach to the formation of the macrostructure of the uni-versity and long-term outlooks;- determination of bounds of the pro-

cesses in agreement with “as it should be” model;- determination of connections be-

tween the processes subject to the ef-ficiency criteria, i.e. shortening of time and increase of efficiency of re-source use;- designing of the graphic structure of

interconnection of the processes of the university for further optimization.

The success of the quality management system introduction at the university in com-pliance with standards of ISO 9000 series and ENQA directions depends to

a large extend on quality and documentation transparence

ty of the Quality Management System, which was developed and intro-duced at Belarusian-Russian University, to the International Standard ISO 9001:2008.

One of the principles of the Quality Management System (QMS) introduced at the Uni-versity is its focus on the user. This principle means that any orga-

nization is dependent on its users and therefore must realize their current and future requirements and aim at exceed-ing their expectations.

To study the requirements of users of our services the social-psychological group of the Quality and Innovation Management Center carried out the socio-logical sur-vey and analyzed responses of Mogilev lyceum and school leavers and also those of their parents, concerning their motiva-tion in choosing a higher educational es-tablishment, a field to specialize in, their evaluation of the University prestige and the information sources they use.

of the quality management system, its consistency and adequacy to the needs of the educational institution.

At certification audit it is necessary to afford proofs that the processes of the university are executed in compliance with the or-der which is fixed in the documentation.

To meet the requirements of both inter-nal and external users more completely the Quality and Innovation Manage-ment Center was set up at Belarusian-Russian University in December 2007, the purpose of which was to develop the concept of the University quality management system, and to ensure the effective organization and high quality of educa-tional, scientific and innova-tional processes.

As a result of this work the Certification Associa-tion «Russian Register» and the International Certification Network IQ-Net issued the Certifi-cates of Conformi-

Due to the development and introduc-tion of the Quality Management System the in-novation development of the University has got the “paperwork” ba-sis for the system man-agement.

The focus on both external and inter-nal user and mutually advantageous relations with partners are the basic principles of the International Standard ISO 9001 and they are changing the sys-tem of the University management, en-abling us to accomplish effectively the introduction of such innovations as the module-rating system, the complex ap-plication of information technologies in the educational process, distant educa-tion, etc.

The University Quality Management System is not static.It is constantly being im-proved and

developed. We have started working on expanding the area of certification and are planning to cover such big University structures like

21 22


the lyceum and college. This will en-able us to get a competitive advantage on the market of educational and scientific

services and to better meet the needs of people, the society and state in qual-ity services and compe-tent specialists.

check on-line the whole article

Concepts and methodologies ad-opted by the Russian Association of Certification Russian Register

Although there are many publications available, there is no decline in interest from Certification bodies and organiza-tions in relation to the practical aspects of the process approach implementation of management systems (MS), including integrated management systems (IMS).

Analayses of requests to the Manage-ment systems certification body (As-sociation of Certification “Russian Reg-ister”, RR) by enterprises, which would like to implement IMS, indicate that the greatest difficulties are associated with process approach implementation to IMS and the evaluation of its application

efficacy.

Organizations implementing a process approach in IMS (or in MS as a part of IMS) constantly ask:

“What is an IMS?”

“What could be taken as a methodolo-gy base within process approach imple-mentation to IMS?”

“How to determine what processes should be identified and documented in IMS?”

“How to describe processes and deter-mine their interaction?”

“What methods could be used for con-tinual improvement of IMS and systems included within the IMS?

The Process approach and integrated management systems in Russia

By Russian Register

23 24

“How to assess the process’s effective-ness?”

etc.

This article explores some of the issues related to such questions, providing details of RR’s concepts and method-ologies towards Management System Integration, process interaction, process classification and continual improve-ment of IMS.


check on-line the whole article

The 2009 Hungarian Food Safety Prize was awarded to Szarvasi Mozzarella Ltd by the Ministry of Agriculture and Re-gional Development.

Since 1996, the company has been working in its present form under the name of Szarvasi Mozzarella Ltd. being in 100% Hungarian ownership. Since then, the processing plant has continu-ously developed due to the commit-ment of the top management, with a yearly growth on the market.

Their buildings were renovated and the engineering and technology have been continuously improved. Their main profile remained the manu-

facture of Italian type cheeses, first of all the mozzarella cheese family, the as-

sortment of which increased.

The main objective of the company is the manufacture of quality products by the use of first class raw materials and food additives with state-of-the-art equipment and qualified employees.

The plant invests a reasonable amount of money for their quality products’ im-provement and their quality manage-ment system. It was the first among the companies in Hungary implementing the Food Safety Management System according to ISO 22000 in 2006, which was certified by the IQNet Partner Hun-garian Standards Institution (MSZT).

The owner of the company and the top management are committed to the continuous improvement of quality and food safety systems, hence, they endea-voured to select and implement such a

Hungarian Food safety prize 2009

By MSZT

25 26

comprehensive system that serves the food safety of the products free from superfluous paperwork.

Besides the development of the food safety system, the manufacture and the final products are being continuously tested, whereby the production receives information about the condition of the products in the shortest possible time.

This kind of controls and corrections may be carried out quickly in order to avoid the manufacture of non-conform-ing or non-safe products. The result of the implementation of this system is an assurance of conformity to the high standards of quality, looking after the health of consumers and fully satisfied customers.

The products of Szarvasi Mozzarella Ltd. contain natural food components only, which the customers can read on the pri-mary wrapping material. The top man-agement of the company assess and

continuously evaluates the satisfaction of employees, customers and interme-diaries.

The continuous maintenance of food safety is a challenging team work in which all the employees of the com-pany become a significant role; this can be achieved only by well-aligned work, professional skill and competence and serious proprietary commitment.


Mr. József Gráf minister of agriculture and regional devel-opment hands over the prize to Mrs. Éva Székely Tóth quality manager

Why do AFNOR’s customers need IQNet certificates?

IQNet certificates jointly delivered with AFNOR’s AFAQ-branded certificates re-inforce the recognition of our clients’ certification worldwide.

Firstly, this is often for marketing strat-egy purposes. In countries such as Bul-garia or Morocco, an IQNet certificate gives an international dimension that the local certificate is sometimes miss-ing. This is a question of perception by our customers and we have to take into account this aspect very seriously, even though we are recognised as an inter-national group.

On the other hand, for example in our Romanian office, the main mar-

ket player SRAC is also an IQNet partner. Both being able to deliver IQNet cer-tificates means double advantage – for the customers of each CB but double promotion for IQNet on the Romanian market.

In growth markets, an IQNet certificate is a differentiation element, both for our subsidiary who proposes IQNet certifi-cation in its proposals to new custom-ers, but also for loyal customers who want to stand out in a competitive en-vironment. Being seen as actors on the international scene is becoming key to most businesses, whether they are small or large.

Internationally, The AFNOR Group de-livers IQNet certificates mostly for ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.

The value of IQNet certificates – A perspective from IQNet part-ner AFNOR

By AFNOR

27 28

Who are the customers requesting IQNet certificates?

In Eastern Europe, mostly large groups operating internationally ask for an IQ-Net certificate. In Tunisia, small and me-dium businesses exporting to Europe are interested in obtaining IQNet cer-tificates. The common factor for these companies is having international rec-ognition.

In some markets new customers, who were originally certified by another cer-tification body and then learned about IQNet certificates, have requested them. This is the case in Algeria.

In other countries some of our custom-ers don’t want to stand out from their competitors and request the same certi-fication. In addition to recognition itself, what is important is that the methods for the certification process are also rec-ognised, especially when certification comes up for renewal.

What is the trend for the future?

As globalisation is increasing, obviously the AFNOR Group will keep on deliver-ing more and more IQNet certificates as long as this corresponds to our custom-ers’ needs and requests. Our policy is to be close to our customers and we have to provide them with the appropriate tools to develop their business but also ensuring that we keep quality standards high on the international scene.

AFNOR Group and IQNet: a long-lasting relationship!

AFNOR Group and IQNet have been partners for almost 20 years since the very beginning; we can proudly say AF-NOR was among the founding signato-ries of IQNet.


Beat Moser (SQS) interviews Bruno Basler

Multifunctional structures for the Airside Centre and the railway ter-minal at Zurich Airport, research and office buildings for the Novartis Cam-pus, hotel buildings for The Dolder Grand: each and every one a major, high-profile Swiss project, designed by leading national and international architects.

All of the projects have one thing in common: critical engineering dis-ciplines, in part even the total plan-ning was placed in the hands of the renowned engineering, planning and consulting company Ernst Basler + Partner (see box). The SQS-certified

company builds - in the very

sense of the word - on outstanding Swiss quality.

Bruno Basler, Chairman of the Board of Directors, expounds on the pre-vailing degree of quality awareness within the Swiss construction indus-try.

Mr Basler, how is the Swiss construc-tion industry faring today?

The construction industry in Switzer-land is doing quite well at the moment, in November 2009. However we can still expect to see a weakening of demand in this sector. I am referring mainly to building construction here, examples being commercial buildings, office buildings, residential buildings, hotels etc., where a decline is being experi-

Construction with the highest standards

By SQS

29 30

enced. Infrastructure construction, on the other hand, will hardly be affected by this.

What issues are preoccupying the in-dustry? And where do you see a need for action?

As I see it, deadline and cost pressure is a predominant theme. But also increasing reciprocal delimita-

tion, with typical questions being: who bears which responsibilities and which risks? This approach also gives greater prom-

inence to questions of liability. What’s more, the construction industry suffers from an image problem because the general public doesn’t realise what is being carried out; it only perceives that which is visible from the outside.

In my opinion, there is a need for ac-tion on three fronts:

Firstly, we need to present a better

image. Secondly, we would like to see more ‘bigger-picture’ thinking. The excessive abdication of responsibil-

ity (e.g. client to overall planner, overall planner to specialist engineer, specialist engineer to contractor etc.) needs to be overcome.

And thirdly, we would ask that clients reduce the cost and deadline pressure. Investors will be making savings at the wrong place if they clamp down exces-sively on planning, project develop-ment and construction costs.

Does price pressure automatically equate to pressure on quality?

Generally yes, but not necessarily. This is because high quality can also be

achieved with low prices if what needs to be planned or constructed is com-municated at an early stage in reliably clear terms, and solid framework con-ditions during the planning phase and on the construction


31 32


site can also be counted on. The ideal situation would be if all those involved in the building project only needed to do their work once - and then properly - without subsequent changes, surprises uncovered underground, etc. The deci-sive factor is how goal-oriented and ef-ficiently a project can be completed.

The commissioned company or con-tractor is liable for the quality. It will therefore need to weigh up care-

fully whether it really only wishes to use price as a qualifying factor, or whether it also wishes to give other criteria equiva-lent credence.

Such a contractor can seek out clients who aren’t only transfixed by the price. The order and acquisition policy is an important control factor here.

Should a commissioned planning or construction company not be able to

guarantee certain qualities as a result of the generally

than anything else.

Nowadays we need to completely ren-ovate many buildings dating from the 1970s, much before their optimal life span has been reached. In many instances quality can only be

truly assessed with the benefit of hind-sight of several decades.

If we are able to achieve good frame-work conditions for the planning, the project development and structural completion, then our buildings in Swit-zerland reflect a quality level that is on a par with anything in the world.

Are there any trends that can be iden-tified in the construction industry?

A tendency towards greater standardi-sation, towards more efficient construc-tion processes and towards the greater procurement of construction-related services via electronic bidder platforms seems undeniable to me.

tremendous cost pressure, then the company concerned should make this clear as soon as possible.

The client should be made aware that he will ultimately pay manifold for qual-ity shortcomings in planning and proj-ect development by architects and spe-cialist planners, as well as for quality shortcomings in the structural comple-tion.

Examples are structural damage, in-creased usage, maintenance and re-newal costs, and above all less added value for the users of the building.

How do you rank the level of quality in the construction industry?

As I see it, the quality standard in Swit-zerland continues to remain at what I would call a good level. Assertions keep being made that qual-

ity levels are falling. But I think that this tends to be a perception problem, more

How would you rate the quality awareness of purchasers?

Quality awareness has actually always continued to remain at a high level. The real issue here is whether purchas-ers are prepared to remain steadfast in their original conviction when the deci-sion ultimately boils down to price, or whether they will capitulate in the be-lief that they will also be able to receive the same quality at a lower price.

This will generally be an illusion. The problem is that the majority of purchas-ers will only commission building proj-ects once or twice in their life.

Perhaps they will never come to see the consequences of their actions, or they will never have another opportuni-ty of implementing their newly-gained insights.

Quality, completion dead-lines and costs are interde-

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pendent. The client needs to be aware that these three elements need to be considered carefully.

When all is said and done, the equation won’t tally when extreme demands are included on one side. The awareness of not being able to have everything is in-sufficiently developed.

It is critically important for the client to know early on in the planning phase what he wishes to commission.

Only then will he be able to start the planning process or invite a submission of tenders. He will then need to pause for thought

after every project phase (design, pre-liminary design study, construction project, implementation project, struc-ture and operation) and ask himself what needs to be ordered next, at what

quality level, at which costs and by which deadline.

deliver the greatest benefits. Certainly, seen from the outside a cer-

tificate will attest to well-established and functional processes, and will even enhance the image of a company.

But what really counts in acquiring an order are the references, either in the form of completed constructions or by way of firm recommendations from other clients. The advantages of certification how-

ever stem from what it achieves within the company.

The costs-benefit relationship of an SQS certificate is good because the company is forced to work continually at making improvements.

Internal and external audits represent ‘the thorn in the side’ and the company is forced to foster further development as well as implement respective mea-sures.

If he doesn’t do this, there is a risk that the project and construction will get out of control. Project changes at a late stage are the principal sources of con-struction defects.

What is notable in many cases is that purchasers will seek quality, but not re-ally know how they should behave to get the quality they desire.

Architects and planners have an im-portant advisory and informative role to play here.

Or, expressed differently: The key task of the client is to invest the first per-cent of the overall costs properly - in considering exactly what he wishes to achieve.

What are the three most important advantages of a certified company?

Although there are clients who ‘read the label’, certification per se will not

In what way is a certified company better positioned?

In summary, there are three foremost advantages: - Cost reduction via continual improve-

ment and a reduction in the number of errors made- Organisational and process certainty

in the office and on the construction site - A strengthening of individual respon-

sibility and quality awareness amongst employees.

Why do you place such emphasis on quality?

It’s a fact that clients continue to value quality highly - be it in the planning, the project development or the construc-tion phase. Energy efficiency, eco-friendly con-

struction materials, a good location, du-rability, the quality of work-manship, added value for

35 36


users and sustainability in the broader sense are being ascribed ever greater importance. This ramps up the pressure on all those involved in the construc-tion project to deliver what is wanted. The pressure to deliver such quality is a good thing that all should welcome.

Those who participate in a genuinely pro-active capacity will also be able to win over clients able to think in the lon-ger-term.

After all, we wish to build for investors who strive for sustainability by carefully balancing quality, costs and deadlines.

As a consequence, the contractor in ef-fect selects his own clients via his strate-gic positioning.

Where do you see the greatest op-portunities?

Planners and contractors need to position themselves

ment and a short-term sale; the owner on the other hand will concentrate on the decades to come. Between them

clearly and work together to achieve greater quality and sustainability. The opportunity lies in being able to

make the client aware of the direct and indirect costs and benefits over the en-tire lifespan of a building - and not only in the investment phase.

Clients who are able to see the larger picture will realise that any quality-re-lated savings they made in the invest-ment phase will ultimately need to be paid out later.

Seen globally, one of the main prob-lems here is that the client will frequent-ly not be associated with the building for its entire life-span.

The reason being that, in many cases, general contractors or full-service gen-eral contractors will be involved who will strive for a handover.

They tend to be focused on the invest-

stand the planner and the building contractor – in an awkward position, in effect.

Ernst Basler + PartnerIs an independent engineering, planning and consulting company with a

successful track record dating back to 1981 in Switzerland and abroad. Some 300 employees from a range of different professional disciplines

work in Zollikon, Zurich and Potsdam.

Its work focuses on a number of fields: Construction Engineering, Infra-structure and Transportation Systems, Energy + Technology, Spatial and Site Development, Transport, Environment + Water, Resources + Climate Protec-tion, Safety and Security, as well as Information Technology + GIS. 20% of the company’s turnover is generated abroad in over 60 countries.

The Basler Mission Statement: “In the built and non-built environment, the economy and in society, we contribute responsibly towards achieving sus-tainable development.”

www.ebp.ch