The “GQII-Report 2023: Insights and Trends on Economies Using Metrology, Standards, Accreditation and Conformity Assessment Services” was published earlier this year using 2023 data. The GQII database and ranking integrate information on quality infrastructure (QI) in 185 economies. Each edition collects and analyses data on standardization, metrology, accreditation and conformity assessment activities. Data from multiple sources is used to ensure comparability and a formula is used to calculate each economy’s score and position in the global QI ranking.
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Photovoltaic: Quality, Safety, and Sustainability Challenges
In a June 2024 Solar Energy Special, the Economist called solar energy generation the “least obtrusive revolution imaginable.”(The Economist 2024b) According to the International Solar Energy Society, solar power is on track to generate more electricity than all the world’s nuclear power plants in 2026, its wind turbines in 2027, its dams in 2028, its gas-fired power plants in 2030, and its coal-fired ones in 2032.
Continue readingAccreditation of private schemes: differentiator and source of credibility in various markets
In recent years, accreditation has grown, particularly for privately owned standards schemes.
The German company FoodPLUS GmbH pioneered a group of European retailers responding to various food industry scandals in the 1990s. In 1997, the newly founded Euro-Retailer Produce Work Group Good Agricultural Practice (EurepGAP) commissioned experts to develop new standards for good agriculture practices. This gave rise to the certification system known today as GLOBALG.A.P.(1)
Continue readingMacroeconomic benefits of quality infrastructure
One reason for investing in Quality Infrastructure (QI) is its contribution to a country’s economic growth. QI enhances economic performance through several avenues, including opening markets, reducing entry barriers, promoting knowledge transfer and better management procedures, facilitating production along value chains, enabling economies of scale, and reducing adverse selection and asymmetric information (Gonçalves and Peuckert, 2011). While interest in QI has been increasing over the years, QI experts, researchers and practitioners are challenged with quantifying the economic benefits of QI to highlight its importance and justify the need for investment and further development. So far, there have been various studies on the macroeconomic impact of individual QI components, such as standards, metrology and conformity assessment. However, an impact analysis for the entire system is still pending. This blog explores the methodologies used for the macroeconomic impact assessments of the different QI components and the possibility of conducting an assessment of the overall QI system.
Continue readingThe contribution of quality infrastructure to the satisfaction of human needs
Looking at QI from a psychological angle
Quality infrastructure is not an end in itself. Instead, its raison d’être is to support companies in the production and trade of goods and services that are ultimately intended to contribute to the well-being of people.
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