IFAN are pleased to announce the winners for the 2019paper writing competition.

● The winning paper was: Crisis to Rebirth’, by Elie Cohen

● Second prize was: Make good use of standardization’, by Wanru Chen, Zhenji Wang and Jun Ren.

● Third prize was: How to encourage young people to get involved’, by Peiwu Zhu and Tingjun Huang.

Manuscripts entered had to aim at demonstrating from ausers' point of view what role standards play in thechanging economy especially by providing confidence,tools for excellence and sustainability, technical innova-tion facilitators, links between governmental regulationsand business and commerce, and should preferablyinclude examples. Papers were invited that relate to atleast one of the following potential topics, but are notlimited to:

● The benefits of international standards to the per-formance of your organization

● sustainability standards and their benefits to yourorganization

● International standards - a gate to the global world

● How do you encourage young people to be in-volved in standards and standardization?

The winning paper is published I[pages 6-7] in this issueof the IFAN Newsletter, the second and third placed pa-pers will be published in the IFAN Newsletter in 2020.

Presentation of the first place award to Elie Cohen [cen-tre] by IFAN Vice-President Vered Oren [right] and DrGilad Golub, CEO at SII.

The second and third place prizes were presented by the IFAN President at the IEC General Meeting in Shanghai

Wanru Chen and Ross Wraight 2nd and 3rd place winners with IFAN Presi-dent Mr Ross Wraight and Mr Jainzhong Gaoof CAS

Tingjin Huang and Ross Wraight

IFAN 2019 Standards paperWriting competition

IFAN NewsletterDecember 2019

ifan@ifan.orgwww.ifan.org

The 2nd Belt and Road University Alliance forStandardization Education and Academics (B&RUAS)

The 2nd Belt and Road University Alli-ance for Standardization Education andAcademics (B&RUAS) was recently held(30 October to November 2019) at Jiao-tong University in Xi'an China. ISOPresident Mr. John Walter was one ofthe keynote speakers and he later madea presentation on the current draft of theISO strategic plan.

Mr. David Felinski, immediate past-Pres-ident of IFAN, was invited by ProfessorSong Mingshun, Vice-Chairman of ourChinese Member CAS and President ofChina Jiliang University in Hangzhou, tomake a presentation related to standard-ized education or research from the per-spective of IFAN. After introductoryremarks on the nature, membership andstructure of IFAN, Mr. Felinski gave amore detailed presentation of the recent-ly revised (2018) IFAN Guide 4 on Edu-cation and Training aboutStandardization, and he further elaborat-ed on the few initiatives being carriedout in this area within North America(since he is based in the United Statesand is also an ANSI-accredited stand-ards developer and actively engaged instandards education initiatives there).Ms. Cui Yan from the China Associationof Standardization also attended theSummit.

B&RUAS was initiated by China JiliangUniversity jointly with other foundingmembers such as Tsinghua University,Zhejiang University, Nanjing Universityof Science and Technology, QingdaoUniversity, Xi'an Jiaotong University(where this summit was held), Guang-dong, University, Chung-Ang University,Erasmus University and the University ofQuebec. Founded in May of 2018, theinitial 'batch' of B&RUAS membershipincluded 106 universities from over 30countries and regions. The "Belt andRoad" in the name acknowledges therole the famous silk road played in glo-bal trade, standardization developmentand capacity building and the fact thatstandards have become the 'universallanguage' of the world and mark theprogress of human civilization.

- B&RUAS organizes and undertakescooperation programs pertinent tostandardization education, includingdevelopment of teaching plans, teach-ing materials and knowledge systems,web-based teaching platforms andteaching expert databases;- B&RUAS organizes undertakings ofcooperative research on standardiza-tion, including disciplinary develop-ment, knowledge systems, theory andmethodology and the frontiers ofknowledge;- B&RUAS launches standardization-related programs for teachers andstudents, including exchange visits,joint educational programs, exchang-es and training, and cultural summercamps and summer programs;- B&RUAS advocates that all mem-bers shall carry out various intercol-legiate exchanges withstandardization as a bond such as co-operative education, joint personneltraining, joint scientific research, co-construction of laboratories, estab-lishment of joint research centers,and cultural exchanges through forasuch as these annual Summit Confer-ences.

IFAN NEWSLETTER

NOVEMBER 2019

ifan@ifan.orgwww.ifan.org

The workshop was open by the IFAN President RossWraight and he presented his review of the year to themembers.Mr. David Bell, Director of Standards Policy, BSI, wel-comed the members on behalf of BSI and BSS, Mr Bellthen talked about the challenges that were faced by thestandards world such as Brexit, climate change specifi-cally for developing countries and note the current cli-mate protests in London.In the meantime, BSI is pressing ahead with innovation,AI, autonomous vehicles and other innovative technolo-gies. He noted that BSI was one of the leaders of theUNECE's initiative on Gender and standards and hassigned the declaration. He spoke about the ISO Strate-gy and that the common thread is the need to connectwith users.The key note speaker was Mr. Terry Hill CBE, ISOPresident 2013-2014, currently Chairman of Ove ArupFoundation: Spoke about Standards users, infrastruc-ture projects and ISO.Mr Hill opened his talk by saying he had always been astandards user, never a standards writer or developer,and it was in this capacity that Sir David John headhunt-ed him as for the role of ISO President, and he is verygrateful to BSI for guiding him through the whole proc-ess.He talked about his work at Arup which has a reputationfor innovation, he talked about the infrastructureprojects he had been involved in which led to him beingappointed by the UK Finance Ministry to do a review ofinfrastructure costs, the report was published in 2010and had 6 major recommendations. The report did con-tain some criticism of the role of standards, and the lackof interconnectivity, for example they found that Net-work rail had 11 sets of documents in contradiction withstandards. The report concluded that standards shouldbe simplified and embraced, the suggested system wasred for regulations; grey derogations allowed and green- could be challenged.

In the middle of all this he found himself surrounded byhis 'coming out ball'!Mr Hill talked about the challenges for ISO when he wasPresident with different views, on one side was the USAwanting the market to decide which standards it usedand on the opposite side was Germany.He touched on the issue of the Millennium Bridge andhow that showed up a gap in the standards and howeveryone joined in to solve the problem.He recalled a press conference in St Petersburg whenas ISO President he was accused of leading a megacorporation and that ISO was dominated by big bossesand not the consumer.And in China he was handed a 10 strand phone chargerand asked when ISO was going standardise them, hedidn't feel that he could say this wasn't something forISO so talked about the vibrant market for multi strand-ed phone cables instead!Mr Hill closed by saying that it had been a huge privi-lege to be ISO President.

Continued on page 8 Link here

Mr Ross Wraight and Mr Terry Hill

46th IFAN Members Assembly &Workshop

The first meeting of the Asia Pacific group was heldat BSI, London on the 18 October. The meetingwas Chaired by MS. Yan Cui and Mr. XiuxhunZhang of CAS and in attendance were the IFANPresident Mr Ross Wraight; Mr. Peter Walsh, IFANAssociate; Ms Andrea Beddard-Smith and Mr KeithWilson of BSS; Ms Claudia Bach of SES; Dr Bern-hard Angermaier of ANP; Ms Evelyne Thomann ofACANOR.

CAS informed the group of three initiatives that theywere currently involved in:

1. NEASF is a platform established by threegovernmental standardization bodies (SAC, JISC,KATS)and three associations (CAS, JSA, KSA) ofChina, Japan and Korea. Three countries convenethe forum assembly in turn annually. The threeassociations undertake the secretariate of eachcountry. All six parties sign resolution after eachyear's forum. You could also refer to the agendaand more info via the following url.http://neasf2019.jsa.or.jp/

2. The Korean Agency for Technology andStandards (KATS) and the Korean Standards

Association (KSA) co- organize the InternationalStandards Olympiad to facilitate an understandingof the standards among and to instill theirimportance in the next generation. Students frommiddle and high school levels from all around theworld take part in the International StandardsOlympiad. Here is also its official url:http://www.standards-olympiad.kr/main/en/index.asp?this_site_lang=enChina has participanted the activity twice, and willcontinue attending. We think it's a good way to raiseawareness of standardization among teenagers.Therefore, we are also trying to introduce theactivity in China and held a national competition inthe coming year.

3. Chinese National Platform on VSS aims tofacilitate the development of VSS, and push forwardthe realization of SDGs proposed by UnitedNations. CAS holds the secretariate of the NationalPlatform and established a website:http://cpvss.org.cn/ The website is still underconstruction. We are also drafting a guideline toevaluate a VSS, and the outline is listed in theintroduction.

The task of the Asia Pacificgroup is to deal with stand-ards users' issues specific toAsia-Pacific area and coun-tries, and to improve IFANcooperation within PASC

members.The group welcomes new

members who have an inter-est in standardization in the

Asia Pacific Region.

ifan@ifan.orgwww.ifan.org

First Meeting of the IFAN Asia- Pacific GroupLondon 18 October 2019

This year IFAN was represented at the ISO 42nd General Assembly byIFAN Immediate Past President Mr. David Felinski and IFAN SecretaryMrs. Andrea Beddard-Smith.

ISO 42nd General Assembly19-20 September 2019Cape TownThe first speaker, Catherine Grant Makokera,

on Economic and trade uncertainty, the un-

predictable trade landscape and the

(d)evolution of multilateralism and the rise of

African integration was Catherine Grant Ma-

kokera, Univ of Witwatersad and the LSE.

Catherine talked about uncertainty and cited

several sources including the IMF World

trade Uncertaintly Index which had jumped 10

points in the last year, mainly because of the

US/China trade war.

She questioned if the Inter dependent global

economy was a good thing and said that glo-

balization was in transition with the future of

supply chains being at risk.

She also noted that 55% of WTO members

thought that it needed major reform, particu-

larly in view of the move towards pluralism or

small groups.

The Urgency for sustainability, Regina Asari-

otis spoke about The impacts of climate

change on international transport networks.

She explained that the most impact was felt

by the least developed countries as transport

is also a victim of climate change - poor trans-

port infrastructure can cause delays and dis-

ruption to supply chains and key ports are

exposed to flood risk.

Enhanced protection is needed for ports,

more information is needed, and adaption of

transport infrastructure is a matter of strategic

importance.

Technology: the impact of the digital. Bitange

Ndemo

Talked about the 4th industrial revolution,

blockchain, A.I. the Internet of things, Robot-

ics, Virtual reality.

The second day started with an inspirational

talk by Lynette Ntuli - Strategy, leadership

and diversity - Building a strong foundation

for our future. After this presentation we went

into our breakout groups to discuss the draft

strategy in more detail.

The final session

Society: Changing expectations and behav-

iours. The rise of the sharing economy - com-

munity or commodity? Challenges,

opportunities and the role of standards.

83% are unstressed by the sharing economy

85% say it's a priority for society.

The ISO 42nd General Assem-bly was built around the draft

ISO strategy and specificallythe four drivers of change thatare listed in the draft strategy:

● Economy: trade anduncertainty

● Technology: the impactof the digital

● Society: changingexpectations and

behaviour

● Environment: theurgency for

sustainability

The debate on each topic wasopened by a speaker and the

breakout sessions provided anopportunity for everyone tocome together to discuss the

strategy.

I assumed a chief management positionat Termokir* - a leading purveyor of con-struction material solutions in Israel - inthe early 2000s whilst the company wasundergoing a period of notable financialand operational challenges. In 2002, Kib-butz Horshim experienced an economiccrisis that deeply influenced the commu-nal and social aspects of kibbutz life, aswell as the manufacturing capabilities ofits main source of income - Termokir'smanufacturing facility. As a result, one ofTermokir's main competitors made a bidto purchase the company. However, dueto objections by a number of key Kibbutzmembers, it was decided that the compa-ny would not be sold to the competitorand that, instead, I would be nominatedto a key and influential management po-sition within the company with one andonly goal - to critically revive, reestablishand reinstate Termokir's position as aformerly preeminent player in the Israeliconstruction market.The management approach that I intro-duced and implemented at the companywas based on a stable and secure out-look; one that could take the circum-stances of the shock that the companyhad experienced in order to create new,stable foundations based on what Icalled 'anchors'. These anchors wouldnot only help get the company on its feet,but would be the basis for its success tocome. By conducting thorough researchinto economic inefficiencies that wereaffecting the company, I decided to basethe company's strategy on two key an-chors: the first is the adoption of sustain-able business practices that, at the time,were still viewed with skepticism in Isra-el, particularly in the construction indus-try. The second anchor was to guaranteethe ability to measure the company'ssustainable performance through quanti-tative methods, such as those advancedby internationally-recognized standardsand procedures. Thus, for Termokir,standards are inherently not just abenchmark tool for measuring the levelof quality, safety, production and service

that the company can reach, but rather acentral ethical and managerial pillar onwhich its stable and sustainable activityrests.The decision to operate the companyaccording to stringent internationalstandards, which included the adoptionof standards for management, quality,safety and the environment, enabled meto theoretically steer what was previousconsidered a sunken ship in the right di-rection. The process of aligning our com-pany's processes and procedures withthe world of standards began first withthe improvement of existing product linesand management approaches, and laterinfluenced the development of more sus-tainable, durable products. Secondly, acultural shift in the organization resultedfrom the improvement of project andproduct management procedures, whichwas inspired by working through thestandards' stringent requirements.It should be noted that in those years,the decision to base a company's man-agement approach on compliance withinternational standards was consideredan avant-garde approach in Israel,namely in the construction sector. Theexisting Israeli standards for measuringand recording the activity of local con-struction companies, namely in the con-text of measuring environmental impacts,were partial or lacking at most, and didnot provide an adequate response forTermokir in its quest to become relianton standards for efficient management.Therefore, we found ourselves - me, to-gether with Dr. Semeon Frimovich, thecompany's Chief Technological Officer -contributing the knowledge that we hadgained through our research to the de-velopment of our company's own "stand-ards" and even in the development ofnational standards on sector-relevanttopics. Termokir is a proud participant inleading commissions hosted by theStandards Institute of Israel, such as theTechnical and Expert committees.

Continued on page 7 Link here

IFAN 2019Paper WritingCompetition

IFAN is delighted to publishthe winning paper from the2019 competition:

From Crisis to rebirth,byElie Cohen.

Abstract

Standards are a key elementof many companies' businesspractices, but many view themas business as usual. Throughthe application of standards,Termokir was able to get backon its feet after suffering aneconomic crisis and to gain aunique competitive advantagespurred by a sustainable out-

Indeed, our commitment to the application and advancementof standards was duly noted by the Institute when I waspersonally nominated to the position of Chairman of theProfessional Committee for Green Products.While adopting international standards as a guidepost forcorporate sustainability - environmental and economical - weundertook a number of turnkey initiatives that ended upconstituting the transformative years of the company. Wechose to focus on efficiency in the use of resources and madestrides to identify of key areas of improvement. We took acomprehensive look at our company's manufacturingpractices that resulted in performance improvements, whichincluded investment in new, energy-saving machinery. Wealso took measures to reduce waste generation by introducingmaterial reuse and recycling, inspired by principles of circularindustry and by reducing the amount of waste sent to thelandfill through more effective measurement (see exhibit A).These efforts and more resulted in a reduction in operationalcosts and positively influenced the company's bottom line andrehabilitative journey. In terms of environmental managementin Israel, Teromkir is one of the first companies in theconstruction sector to apply the lifecycle assessment (LCA)methodology for analyzing the use-phase of our leadingproduct - thermal plaster.These and other efforts brought our company into fullcompliance with a number of leading international standardssuch as: ISO 9001 quality standards, ISO 14001environmental management standards, OHSAS 18001 healthand safety management standards, ISO 50001 for energymanagement and SEDEX for responsible supply chainmanagement, along with a Green Label certification from theStandards Institute of Israel. Termokir has received awardsand recognition from a number of Israeli standards and qualityassurance bodies: the Golden Mark from 2001-2007; thePlatinum Mark from 2008-2010; and the Diamond Mark in2011 that was accompanied by recognition for the company'sefforts to achieve excellence in quality (see exhibit B). Indeed,our continued recognition by the Diamond Mark every yearsince 2011 embodies the company's consistent complianceachievements. Furthermore, when we first received theDiamond Mark in 2011, only three other Israeli companieswere able to meet its exacting conditions, and it should benoted that these companies originated from high tech andsecurity sectors.Leading By Encouraging an Innovative Company EnvironmentThe way we paved to encourage corporate sustainabilitythrough compliance with standards enabled the rehabilitationof our company, allowing us to stand out from competitors andcontributing to our unique positioning in terms of the qualityand the level of end-customer satisfaction from our products.Indeed, Termokir has experienced notable economic growthof over 340% in the last ten years - an accomplishment that

has not gone unnoticed by the Israeli business community.Furthermore, Termokir prides itself on offering our customersand stakeholders a value proposition that, similar to thestandards themselves, is based entirely on quality, completehonesty and clarity. And while the early years of the companywere challenging, namely due to economic constraints and aconservative attitude towards innovation in the local market,we took on the mission of educating the market through anumber of key campaigns that emphasized the importance ofexcellence in quality, service and environmental sustainability.Our goal was to become an example and 'trendsetter' in thelocal market in terms of the level of our commitment to ourstakeholders' interests. As part of our role as an innovator inthe Israeli construction market, we took on a key role in theestablishment of the Israeli Green Building Council (ILGBC),which is the leading non-profit organization that aims to createa change in the Israeli construction market by making greenbuilding the prevalent construction standard. Since theestablishment of the ILGBC, I have served as an activemember of its managing board. Teromkir was able tocontribute as a company by working to create a forum specificto insulation solution providers and we contributed to theformation of "The Catalogue" - an online platform that enablesthe exchange of green construction products and supportingservices with the goal of encouraging green building activities.These and other endeavors are aimed at encouragingadditional companies, organizations and authorities to takepart in advancing quality standards for construction in Israel,which will in turn enable us as a company to function within afluid business environment that shares our language andsustainable outlook.In 2011, Termokir's management launched its renewedvision to be a global provider of innovative constructionsolutions based on sustainable value (see exhibit C). Torealize our vision, we set out a "Roadmap for Sustainability"that was created in partnership with Dr. Michael Brown fromBWE - Brown and Wilmanns Environmental LLC, a nationally-recognized leader in organizational sustainability consulting inthe United States. The firm has worked with suchsustainability pioneers as Patagonia and Nike, among others.In addition, in recent years, we have looked to expand andinnovate our product line in cooperation with SAKRET Group,the inventors of ready-mixed dry mortar, which has been animportant source of knowledge and development for thecompany. The goal in the partnership was to improveTermokir's existing line of products, while also ensuring thatthey meet the needs and constraints of the Israeli market.However, the main goal to be achieved through ourcooperation is the encouragement of the principles ofsustainability and quality - enriching the local manufacturingknowledge and promoting the local economy, furtherempowering our stakeholders' view of our company.

Crisis to rebirth, continued.

The second speaker was Mr. Ben Hedley, BSIManager CSN: The Commonwealth Standards Network

The Commonwealth Standards Network was started in2018 with funding from the British Government, and ithas just received funding for a further year to 2021.The Commonwealth consists of 53 countries with 19being in Africa; 7 in Asia; 13 in the Caribbean &Americas; 3 in Europe and 11 in Oceania & the Pacific.The CSN offers a significant opportunity to collaborateand share best practice.It empowers developing countries to have a strongervoice in the international standards community -something that has benefits on a global scale.CSN has its foundations in the Commonwealthadvantage promoting the use of standards across theCommonwealth to reduce technical barriers to trade.It aims to promote stakeholder engagement, whichhasn't happened before, the network hopes to increasethe number of Commonwealth countries participating inthe standards development process - to help thembecome standard writers not just standards takers.The forum is open to anyone and IFAN is an associatemember.The CSN has an online site which users can join andthen have access to a toolkit, publications and a forumfor discussion.https://www.commonwealthstandards.net/

Mr Henry Cuschieri of ISO was due to give an updateon ISO activities, unfortunately he was unable to attendand so Mr David Bell of BSI stepped in and gave MrCuschieri’s presentation which focused on the ISOstrategy 2030.

Mr. Joachim Lonien of DIN spoke next on Standardiza-tion in the context of Smart Cities and opened by de-scribing the large amount of standards work that isbeing done around this topic by many different stand-ards bodies, and how this lead to a great deal of frustra-tion in Germany - because so many people andorganizations were involved. So DIN held a series ofworkshops to find out what was really needed in Ger-many, 5 topics were covered: ICT and basic infrastruc-ture; Energy; Mobility; Governance and the DigitalAgenda and Waste Management. They looked at thenational interest such as AUDI's work on Urban FutureInitiative and started with a specification for an integrat-ed multi-functional humble lamppost. Other specifica-tions followed on topics such as Open Urban Platform

reference architecture; urban mobility data collection;data models for city data; cities and digital transforma-tion; terminology; definitions for testing of automatedvehicles.

The final presentation was from Graham Goring, BSSMember, Conformity assessment of the obsolescencemanagement discipline.BSS Member Graham Goring asked the President if hecould present his paper on obsolescence managementand permission was granted.Mr Goring gave some historic background to the topic ofobsolescence management and noted the huge andsometimes confusing number of subject specific QSMstandards.He noted that BSS had in fact published the first obso-lescent management guides which later became stand-ards.

All the presentations will be available in theConferences & Workshops section of the IFAN website,link to the folder is here.

After the workshop the formal part of the Members’ As-sembly opened and as usual there were reports fromIFAN’s Working groups, of number of whom also heldmeeting in the same week.This was followed by members reports on their activi-ties.Also covered in the MA were the budget, report from theauditor, the IFAN strategy and most importantly theelection for Board positions that were becoming vacantat the end of the year.

Elected to be Vice President [national] was Dr BurkhardRaith of ANP, Germany. Dr. Raith had already served 2terms as a member of the Board.

Elected as a member of the Board was Prof Albert Ca-lavelli of ACANOR, France.Both posts commence on 1 January 2020.

The President took the opportunity to thanks the out-going Vice President Ms Evelyne Thomann for all herhard work on behalf of IFAN and ACANOR.

Report on the 46th IFAN Members Assembly & Workshop, continued

HOLD THE DATE!The 47th IFAN Members’ Assemblyand associated meeting will beheld in Berlin, 12-16 October 2020