Flying the flag for European standards

A career in standardisation could take you to the very heart of EU industrial policy, writes Ian Mundell.

Look around your office and you will see European standards everywhere, from the light bulbs and radiator valves to the carpets. But if you check out the carpets at CEN, the European Committee for Standardisation, you will notice something non-standard about the angle of the floors. Hugues Plissart, CEN’s director for new standardisation opportunities, is happy to point out the irony: the building started life as a multi-storey car park, and cars are less sensitive to level floors than office chairs.

The offices were elsewhere and more modest when Plissart came to CEN as a young mechanical engineer. He intended to stay for five years, but thirty years on he is still there. Meanwhile CEN has expanded from a handful of officials to the current staff of 67. "I grew with the organisation," he recalls. Now he is responsible for selling the concept of standardisation to industries and policymakers not already convinced of its benefits.

Standards are essential to the smooth functioning of the internal market, allowing products and services to be sold across Europe and guaranteeing quality and safety. Sometimes the initiative to create a European standard comes from industry, but much of CEN’s work is driven by EU legislation. The division of labour is strict. Legislators set a task to be achieved by standardisation, but it is left to industry and other interested parties to reach a consensus on how this should be done. Companies meeting the resulting standards are presumed to conform to the legislation.

Standards are created in a vast system of technical committees and sub-groups overseen by CEN: 1,880 at present, involving some 60-65,000 experts. "It’s a monster," says Plissart. National standards bodies from 30 EU and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries can send delegations to each group, representing national business and other interests.

The people around the table tend to be highly competent technical engineers with some standing in their companies or officials from consumer groups, trade unions, trade federations and public authorities. All of these people might be considered ‘standard-isation engineers’, Plissart says, a speciality that is not taught but which comes with experience.

Overseeing the process does not mean that CEN’s programme managers are present at every meeting. There are simply too many groups. "Our task is to co-ordinate between the different countries, co-ordinate with the Commission or EFTA, and monitor the work," Plissart explains. "There are always difficulties between countries and it’s up to us to detect potential problems in order to avoid delays, and find people to help find solutions." The target is to produce each standard in less than three years.

A programme manager certainly needs diplomatic skills, but Plissart thinks industry experience is essential for an understanding of the motives that drive companies. "It’s not enough to study industry or pay a visit. If you have not worked in industry you have not lived the stress of manufacturing, of producing, of selling."

CEN officials also accompany policymakers in areas where standardisation has a role to play. They were present in the recent Mattel case, for example, where the safety of toys manufactured in China was called into question, and in negotiations between the EU, US and Brazil over biofuels. Working at this interface between business and politics is one of the attractions of the job. "You feel Europe living," says Plissart. "We see a lot here, we are privileged."

• Where to start: The EU recognises three European standardisation bodies: CEN (www.cen.eu); CENELEC, specialising in electrotechnology (www.cenelec.org); and ETSI, specialising in telecommunications (www.etsi.org).

Standardisation knowledge is also increasingly sought by the Commission, and many departments now have standardisation units. Other employers include national standards bodies and ISO, the International Organization for Standardization in Geneva (www.iso.org).

• Ian Mundell is a freelance journalist based in Brussels.

A career in standardisation could take you to the very heart of EU industrial policy, writes Ian Mundell.