Newsletter

February 2020

VmA 2020 Assembly: a great opportunity to celebrate an important

anniversary together

1

On March 12, EFESME will attend the General

Assembly of Vereinigung mittelständischer

Aufzugsunternehmen and V., the German member

of the Federation. The welcome invitation will allow

the Federation to meet one of its historic members to

learn more in detail about the reality of German lift

SMEs, and to act as a link between the European and

national spheres, showing how the results achieved

in Europe have direct and positive consequences

in the daily work of its members.

This year's edition, exceptionally organized in the

magnificent setting of the picturesque city of Prague to

celebrate the 35th anniversary of the German

association, will be attended by EFESME Vice-

President, Mr Damyan Petrov, and by the head of the

Brussels office, Ms Elettra Bilibio. EFESME's panel will

also be preceded by a video message from President

Massimo Bezzi, aimed at introducing the work of the

Federation and its constant commitment to protect

and support European SMEs in the sector.

During this important meeting, EFESME will have

the opportunity to present its activities at

European level and beyond, its ongoing projects,

and the latest developments in European and

international standardisation within CEN-CENELEC,

ETSI, and ISO. These topics will be discussed in detail,

explaining how collaboration with SBS - Small

Business Standards, the European organisation that

enables EFESME to participate in standardisation

processes within these standardisation bodies, is

essential to enable the production of standards that

are as SME-friendly as possible.

(continues)

EFESME will attend

the following events:

SBS Annual Conference 5th May,

Brussels, Belgium

AscenTec Exhibition

22nd/24th May,

Athens, Greece

ANACAM 2020 18th/20th June,

Milan, Italy

FEPYMA Lift SMEs Congress

14th/16th October, Sevilla, Spain

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February 2020

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Special attention will also be given to

digitalisation and cybersecurity, which have been

the leitmotif of EFESME's work over the last year and

a half, and to the activities carried out with experts

and members to inform SMEs about the potential and

risks of these global phenomena. In addition, the

participation of experts in various working

groups, some of which are internal to the Federation

itself, will be highlighted during the day, to show how

the EFESME experts discuss different topics, to carry

on their activities in support of SMEs with the

constant support of the members.

This General Assembly will be the perfect opportunity

to make the European dimension known to an

important national reality such as Germany, to

help understand how some of the needs of individual

member companies can be met at European level,

and to demonstrate how the work of the

Federation in the standardisation institutions

and bodies needs the support and input of its

members, so as to best represent their needs where

it matters most.

More information about the General Assembly can be

found in the dedicated post on the VmA website

(in German only), where the full programme will soon

be available as well.

Newsletter

February 2020

*** 2019 EFESME Activities ***

Articles Masterlist

3

* Mr Luciano Faletto and Mr Ivan Ferrarini attended the CEN TF HAS on the 10th of January in Bruxelles, Belgium.

* Mr Lars Odlen attended the ISO TC 178 AWG meeting from the 28th to the 30th of January in Madrid, Spain.

* Mr Tiziano Caresani participated to the CEN TC 10 WG 13 meeting on the 4th and 5th of February in Milan, Italy.

* Mr Tiziano Caresani participated to the Machinery Directive Working Group meeting on the 19th and 20th February in Belgium, Brussels.

* Mr Luciano

Faletto and Mr Ivan Ferrarini attended the CEN TF HAS on the 20th of Febraury in Bruxelles, Belgium.

Previous

meetings 2020

As part of the EFESME dissemination policy of the

contents developed during the year on several

important topics studied as part of the EFESME

activities, here below you will find the 2019

articles that EFESME and its experts wrote as part

of the SBS - Small Business Standards sectorial

approach for the lift sector.

1. February 2019 – Harmonisation of European

lifts standards: a rough process

2. April 2019 – The incoming new revision of EN

13015 and the essential requirements

3. June 2019 – Development, regression, and

further evolution of lift safety standards

4. September 2019 – The ongoing revision of all

CEN Safety Standards for lifts to comply with

the EC Mandate M/549

5. November 2019 – Standardisation, IoT, and

the potentialities for the lift industry

6. December 2019 – Are “Lifting Platforms”

becoming more and more popular, and can

they still be safe?

Feel free to share them with your partners,

members, networks, associates, and experts who

may be interested in these topics.

Contact EFESME at secretariat@efesme.org or visit the

EFESME website to know more!

Newsletter

February 2020

SBS Expert Meeting: a new opportunity for our experts

to discuss standardisation

4

Upcoming

meetings 2020

* Mr Marco Cogliati will participate to the ETSI Smart M2M from the 10th to the 12th of March in Sophia Antipolis, France.

* Mr Ivan Ferrarini will attend the CEN TC 10 WG1 meeting on the 24th and 25th of March, in Hamburg, Germany.

* Mr Tiziano Caresani will attend the CEN TC 10 WG 13 meeting on the 12th and 13th of May in Milan, Italy.

* Mr Marco

Cogliati will

attend the ETSI

Smart M2M from

the 16th to the

18th June, in

Saint-Etienne,

France.

* Mr Ivan Ferrarini will participate to the CEN TC 10 WG1 meeting on the 17th and 18th June in Vienna, Austria.

* Mr Lars Odlen will attend the ISO TC 178 AWG meeting from the 17th to the 19th of June in Brussels, Belgium.

On 11-12 February 2020, the first SBS Expert

Meeting of 2020 was held in Brussels. The

biannual meeting allows SBS - Small Business

Standards to meet its experts and take stock of their

work in the various working groups followed.

The meeting, now a regular appointment and an

excellent networking opportunity for experts,

was developed over two days, to allow

representatives of different organisations to have

adequate time to meet the experts and discuss with

them.

The first day, dedicated to new experts involved in

SBS activity in a variety of technical groups covering

a wide range of sectors, was characterised by a

series of introductory sessions, to explain to

newcomers what SBS is and what its role is in

protecting SMEs at European level, and what is

expected from a SBS expert in supporting SMEs in

the technical and working groups in which he or she

participates. This key part of the meeting was

presented by the new SBS Director, Ms Maitane

Olabarria, and by some members of the SBS staff,

Ms Maria Edvardson and Mr Alain Dechamps.

(Photo: SBS)

(continues)

Newsletter

February 2020

5

During the second day, on the other hand, there

were more technical presentations aimed at updating

the experts on the latest news from CEN-CENELEC,

ISO, and ETSI, also to take stock of the situation

on the various projects underway and how the

various WGs are working; several speakers

illustrated the latest developments, allowing the

various experts to get an idea of how the positions of

SMEs are being pursued within the various working

groups, without forgetting that the positions of the

representatives of other realities are frequently

different from those of SMEs and must be dealt with

accordingly.

The positive aspects identified by the EFESME

experts during this Expert Meeting are many and

cover a wide range of interests. From the point of

view of the interventions during the different panels,

our experts all agreed that the presentations

brought to their attention were all very

interesting and aimed at explaining and

exemplifying many different aspects of

standardisation. The interaction with the speakers

was encouraged and proved to be of great depth,

allowing the experts not only to ask for explanations

about what was presented, but also to discuss the

approach taken so far by standardisation bodies

towards SMEs, and to urge possible future changes

to this approach.

The possibility of organising the various

meetings, not only those of SBS, foreseeing the

participation via videoconference was also

discussed. This aspect is particularly important with

regard to meetings at international level, and for

experts coming from the world of SMEs, who may

not be able, not only from an economic point of

view, but also of time and human resources, to

participate as often as experts and representatives

from other realities. This important advantage

should be encouraged not only to facilitate the

participation of SMEs in the meetings, but also to

support and respect the Green Deal, and the set of

ambitious "green" policies that the new Von der

Leyen Commission is putting in place at European

level.

(continues)

Newsletter

February 2020

6

The new SBS video, to understand in a more

immediate, simple, and even funny way, what

standardisation is, was also presented during

the meeting. We know, in fact, and it's one of the

main problems when it comes to bringing

standardisation closer to the SME, that this topic is

not one of the most appealing, and that often the

concept and usefulness of a standard is not

immediately comprehensible to people who are not

closely involved, to "non-experts". The SBS video,

available here, which has been a good success

among both members and experts involved in the

two-day work, is instead a witty and very British

attempt to promote the work of SBS in favour of

SMEs for what concerns standards, and to publicise

some of the most diverse areas where the action of

SBS, and therefore of its countless experts, is

fundamental to the daily life of SMEs.

(Photo: SBS)

The EFESME experts in SBS have also had the

opportunity to discuss the problems they

encounter in their work; one of these issues, for

example, is the lack of recognition among the

various states, which prevents what should be the

free movement of products, and where SBS is

intervening to support the fundamental importance

of common and shared rules to support the Single

Market. (continues)

Newsletter

February 2020

7

Another important issue discussed by EFESME

experts is the failure to comply with Guide 17 in

the work of the CEN-CENELEC working groups.

Guide 17, in fact, is a set of instructions created

specifically to allow the writing of an SME-friendly

standard, i.e. a standard that takes into account the

needs of SMEs in their daily work, so as not to create

additional burdens for them. During the Expert

Meeting, the EFESME experts once again encouraged

colleagues to use Guide 17, despite the opposition

often encountered in working groups from non-

SMEs. In this respect, SBS can and should be a

support to experts when they point out their

difficulties in representing SMEs in these

working groups: to date, EFESME experts can

certainly say that the SBS hat is a valuable help in

promoting and asserting the positions of SMEs in the

meetings that matter.

According to the experts involved, the Expert

Meeting is a very important opportunity for

growth, which allows them to have an overall

picture of the work done and still in progress,

and which give them the opportunity to reflect on

the importance of the world of standardisation,

which is fundamental for the protection and

development of European SMEs. Meetings of this

kind, organised by SBS to provide its experts with a

forum for discussion, allow them to compare and

make available the most diverse experience acquired

over years of work, activities and research, in order

to give concrete form to the work done previously,

completing current projects and developing new,

increasingly ambitious ones.

In the end, SBS itself proves to be an irreplaceable

source for a continuous proactive discussion

among the various experts and members who

collaborate in its activities. The issues addressed

and discussed, as well as the strengths identified by

the various experts, always manage to be lively

starting points for more in-depth discussions, often

leading to the writing of articles and position papers,

or the organisation of targeted events to find

common and targeted solutions. As EFESME, the

participation of our experts is essential to keep

alive and active that network of knowledge in

the various, and often interconnected, sectors that

allow us to continue our work in support of SMEs

that we represent at European level.

EFESME aisbl 6, Rond-Point Schuman—7th Floor c/o Confartigianato Imprese - B-1040 Brussels Tel. +32 2 2307414

secretariat@efesme.org www.efesme.org

EFESME is member of