Maintworld 3/2018

standardisation
Standards Increase
Economic Growth and
Help Companies Access
Foreign Markets
Nina Garlo-Melkas
Standardisation is a key to a well-functioning,
economically prospering and
sustainable society. It is also a way to
increase economic growth. These conclusions
can be made from the results of
the new study “The Influence of Standards
on the Nordic Economies”.
A study on the impact of standardisation was conducted in
the five Nordic countries, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark
and Iceland. In total 1,179 Nordic companies in different
industries with prior experience from the use of standards
took part in the study.
One of the most important findings of it is that standardisation
was associated with 28 percent of GDP growth in the
Nordic countries between 1976 and 2014. The value of standards
derives mainly from increased productivity and efficiency.
The study shows, for example, that doubling the stock of
standards in an economy is associated with an increase of 10.5
percent in labour productivity. On average, standardisation is
associated with an annual increase in labour productivity of
0.7 percent per year.
- The efficiency and economic gains that companies get
from standardisation reflect highly to the welfare of each
country. When companies are prospering and effective the
customers – the citizens – get the best quality in products and
a well-functioning society. Standards can also guide companies
to operate more ecologically and with solid processes, says
Thomas Idermark, CEO at SIS, Swedish Standards Institute.
Figure 1: In what way
do standards affect
your company's
ability or willingness
to develop innovative
solutions?
11%
14%
Due to standards
our company is
prevented from
developing innovative
technology
36 maintworld 3/2018
Manufacturing
industry
28% 30%
By applying standards
our company can
put more resources
into developing innovative
activities
All
Sectors
27% 26%
Standards
reduce time to
market for ne
products
54%
59%
Following standards
is a good
means to follow
technical developments
New markets and business plans
The business survey also reveals that following and applying
standards is an important part of Nordic companies. The most
important reason for companies to use standards is to improve
market access (34 percent of respondents), improve product/
service quality (32 percent of respondents) and manage risks (26
percent of respondents). Companies experience similar benefits
of standards independently of which country they operate from.
Standardisation also plays an important role when companies
make their future business plans, state a large majority (87
percent) of the respondent companies. Standards are emphasized
as a good means to follow technical development. The
result is robust across sectors, although regarded as particularly
important by companies operating within seafood and fisheries
(73 percent), ICT (67 percent) and trade (65 percent).
The survey data indicates that the use of technical standards
is of high importance especially for manufacturing industry
companies. Nearly all the companies in the sector (98 percent)
report that they use technical standards. Examples of these
kinds of standards are standards for machine safety, personal
protective equipment (PPE), electrical installations, inter-process
communication (IPC) or standards for testing.
The survey data also indicates that the use of technical standards
increases innovative activity in the sector. (See Figure 1).
De jure vs de facto standards
De jure standards are formal standards – standards developed by
official standardization organizations .These organizations can be
global (like ISO and IEC), regional (like the European CEN, CENEL-
EC, ETSI) or national (like SFS, SIS, DS, SN, IST etc.) and have been
given formal recognition to produce formal standards. Use of de
jure standards is voluntary.
De facto standards are standards that are not developed by one
of the above-mentioned recognized bodies, but gain prominence
through widespread use rather than official endorsement. De
facto standards can be developed by consortia or fora, where the
development process is more or less similar to the formal standardization
process by e.g. being consensus-based and including
public consultations. These types of de facto standards are often
developed by standards developing organizations (SDOs). In other
cases, de facto standards are developed by one organization or
a closed circle of organizations, or simply as a result of one or
more companies’ products being so influential that they become a
‘standard’ in themselves.
Source: “The Influence of Standards on the Nordic Economies”
–report.