What is the situation regarding access to standards and participation by stakeholders on standards committees? This was the key question at the colloquium organized by KAN to mark its 15th anniversary. Over 100 delegates met at DIN‘s premises in Berlin on 7 October to discuss the subject of the OSH lobby‘s participation in standardization work. Selected key topics from the event are presented below.

The KAN colloquium provided OSH stakeholders with the opportunity to present their expectations of current and future standardization activity and the work of KAN.

With around 1,500 European standards being drafted each year, the participation of all stakeholders is crucial if the standards are to meet with broad acceptance. In practice, however, this objective is not always attained. Two studies recently analysed the reasons for this and described possible measures for improvement.

The European and international standards organizations CEN, CENELEC, ISO and IEC provide a wealth of information on their websites. Join us for a brief virtual tour of the world of standardization.

What does the abbreviation “GDS“ stand for? What exactly is a “formal objection“? Is the application of standards mandatory? Test your knowledge of standardization in our quiz. The solutions can be found under “In brief“ on Page 22. More detailed information is available on our website at www.kan.de/en > Latest News.