KANBrief 3/12
The 4th European conference placed particular emphasis on the interaction between all stakeholders involved in product safety. This was also reflected in the design of the programme: participants were invited to a "World Café" and ten workshops on various topics to share their views and experiences and to propose new modes of action and interaction, in order to improve product safety at EU workplaces in the years to come.
“Welcome to the EUROSHNET World Café!” What might first appear to be a normal coffee break turned out in fact to be a meeting place for discussion of different questions in randomly composed groups of four to six conference delegates. In a relaxed atmosphere, the participants were presented with the opportunity to discuss the subject of product safety from new perspectives and to make contact with people from outside their usual field of activity.
The four main topics addressed were Feedback from the users, Interaction between stakeholders, Future of product safety, and Safety rules and regulations, with a particular question being allocated to each of the twenty tables set up in the restaurant area of the conference venue. The groups moved to the next table every fifteen minutes, resuming the discussion where the previous group had left off. The main ideas were written down on the tablecloth for everyone to read.
Many delegates pointed out that the involvement of users was crucial to designing safe products. This concerns both the product design itself and the development of the underlying rules and regulations. Better instruments are needed by which feedback on the practical use of products can be collected, stored, and made available to other stakeholders, particularly manufacturers, standards committees and legislators.
It was also suggested that awareness should be raised among employers and other stakeholders of what each particular group can gain from better interaction. When safety rules or legislation are developed, a common understanding among all stakeholders concerned was deemed important.
Conference à la carte: a “workshop day”
In line with the title of the conference, almost a full day was devoted to ten interactive workshops. The organizers thereby also complied with the request expressed by several experts registered with EUROSHNET to take advantage of the conference for in-depth discussions between specialists from various fields. In each workshop, the moderator was supported by a further three experts who were invited to give introductory statements in order to launch the discussion.
Particular interest was shown in the two workshops dealing with testing and certification. Topical issues discussed included better information for users on the significance of CE marking; market surveillance; and the accreditation of notified bodies. Participants also discussed the introduction of a European safety mark.
The relationship between research and standardization was addressed in several workshops (New technologies, Innovation, PPE, Risk assessment), and also attracted many participants. It was suggested that the research and standardization communities should seek to coordinate their projects at an early stage, also taking the expectations of end users into account. Solutions are however needed for research projects with private funding, in which researchers and their sponsors are often reluctant to make their findings available to standardization and thus also to competitors.
Four other workshops concentrated on how to promote stakeholder interaction and active participation in standardization despite economic, organizational or cultural obstacles. Representatives of standards organizations and manufacturers alike agreed that better control mechanisms are needed to ensure that safety aspects are dealt with only in standards, and not in new deliverables such as CWAs, which can be developed with the involvement of only a few stakeholders.
The delegates took the opportunity to share their experience in lively discussions and to suggest improvements for the future. Short reports of the workshops were presented in plenary sessions and are available for download on the conference website at.
Jocelyne Jolly Sonja Miesner