When Data Creates Trust: The Quality Infrastructure Behind Codes and Digital Product Passports

The Challenge and Promise of QI Interoperability

Digital transformation is affecting all aspects of quality infrastructure (QI), introducing data-driven approaches that increase the visibility and reach of standardization, metrology, accreditation, and conformity assessment processes.

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Dematerialisation of accreditation data

Digitalisation of accreditation services

Since 2020, accreditation bodies worldwide have increasingly digitalised their services. Accreditation has followed a universal quest for leaner and more efficient business processes, higher productivity, and lower costs. At the same time, digitalisation aims to improve the customer experience and communication as well as the transparency of the accreditation system.

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Macroeconomic 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.

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Women in the Quality Infrastructure System

Gender inequality is still present throughout the world

The world is equally composed of women and men. However, gender inequality is still present throughout the world. As published by the United Nations in October 2020, only 47% of working-age women participated in the global labour market, while for men, the percentage was 74%. This gender gap has remained relatively constant since 1995, i.e., the difference between men and women employed worldwide has not changed in the last 25 years.[1]

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Building the House of Accreditation

Youngest Quality Infrastructure institution 

Accreditation is the youngest type of institution of the Quality Infrastructure system.  Accreditation refers to “…to the independent evaluation of conformity assessment bodies against recognised standards to carry out specific activities to ensure their impartiality and competence. Through the application of national and international standards, government, procurers and consumers can have confidence in the calibration and test results, inspection reports and certifications provided.” [1]

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