On 7 May, the European New Approach to harmonisation and standards celebrates its 35th birthday (Council Resolution 85/C 136/01). The New Approach emerged in the spirit of the 1980s when many governments and world organisations were focusing on market liberalisation and deregulation.
Continue readingQuality Infrastructure has grown over the decades and its setup differs from country to country. In Germany, the development started in 1887 with the foundation of the German National Metrology Institute (NMI), which today is the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) [1]. The German Institute for Standardization (DIN) was founded in 1917 [2] and in 2010 Germany overcame the fragmentation of its accreditation system with the establishment of the one and only German Accreditation Body (DAkkS).[3] In other countries, the Quality Infrastructure has a shorter history. However, also there, the fundamental institutions of the Quality Infrastructure were often established at different times.
Continue readingIn a consulting project in Nepal, we used the concept of Systemic Competitiveness to analyse and promote the National Quality Infrastructure (NQI). The framework of Systemic Competitiveness works as thinking and structuring tool for traditional economic development in general. The frame is, however, equally useful for specialized fields of development, such as Quality Infrastructure.
Continue readingIn the first post of this blog, we explained the term Quality Infrastructure. We referred to the definition by INetQI, which is agreed upon by the international associations for accreditation, metrology, standardisation and supporting international organisations. INetQI defined Quality Infrastructure as follows:
Continue readingPublications on the development of National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) often mention the concept of quality culture. As an example, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) publications cite the development of a “demand-oriented” or “sustainable quality culture” as the goal of a National Quality Policy. [1] Unfortunately, this term is not further defined, leaving considerable room for interpretation.
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Quality Infrastructure for Development 