The European conference "Innovation and Market Access through Standards" was held in Berlin on 27 March 2007 under the German Presidency of the Council of the EU. Over 350 delegates from 19 countries attended the event, which was organized by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) in conjunction with DIN. KAN was represented with a stand at the exhibition.

Research is essential to occupational health and safety: for the development of new protective equipment, for example; forextending knowledge of new risks; and for making practical solutions available, for example through standards. Whereas in the EU's sixth Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (2002-2006), OH&S research was supportedby only a small number of invitations to tender, the subject has become topical in the last two years.

Self-cleaning surfaces, glowing wallpaper, miniaturized data storage devices: the possibilities frequently described for nanotechnology read like a wish-list for life in the future. Research and development is in progress throughout the world by bodies aiming for a presence on this market. Potential risks to health must also be considered. Standardized measurement and assessment methods are of great importance in this context.

Scope for the use of radio-frequency technology for identification purposes (RFID) is also continuing to grow in the area of occupational health and safety. The University of Wuppertal (BUW) is currently developing a gate in which personal protective equipment can be inspected automatically. In the view of the statutory accident institutions and of businesses, RFID systems have the potential to improve occupational health and safety considerably.

Selecting the correct combination of shoes and floorings in order for slipping accidents to be avoided is frequently a difficult undertaking. In particular, the following issues must be clarified: How can slip-resistance properties be assessed reliably? Are the results from different measurement methods comparable? Can tests performed in a laboratory be extrapolated to practical application? Some answers to these questions have been provided by a dissertation produced at the University of Wuppertal (BUW).

The Construction Products Directive, adopted in 1989, is unique among the New Approach directives, owing to differences in certain key aspects of fundamental procedural principles. The revision of the directive now launched by the European Commission should be exploited from an OH&S perspective as an opportunity for creation of a legal basis for the safety of construction products.