Standardization in the Field of Refrigeration

Voluntary standards provide a frame of reference for guidelines and technical specifications for products and services. Initiated by market players, they are based on consensus between all stakeholders. At a time when too many regulatory standards are being criticized (notably during the agricultural crisis at the start of 2024), it is important to remember that voluntary standards are useful for business competitiveness. The environment in which we evolve needs benchmarks, and one of these benchmarks is standardization.

A standard is "a document, established by consensus and approved by a recognized body, which provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, guaranteeing an optimum level of order in a given context" (International Organization for Standardization). Standards should be based on the combined achievements of science, technology and experience, and be aimed at the optimum benefit of the community.

In Europe, the systematic adoption of standards ratified by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) by all CEN member countries in their national collections (status quo rule) is a powerful unifying force for existing national standards. This makes Europe the first region in the world to have a harmonized collection.

Standardization focuses on global market products, test methods and management methods such as quality management and quality assurance.

On the whole, standardization helps economies move towards globalization:

• growing importance of international trade (capital goods, consumer goods);

• government efforts to harmonize national regulations (WTO, UN...).

At the local level, standardization enables :

• rationalize and better manage production processes, thus generating economies of scale and productivity gains;

• raise product quality thresholds;

• simplify commercial relations;

• access to certification (or proof of compliance with standards);

• set up a quality assurance system;

• to limit risks.

Standardization also enables a profession or industrial sector, such as industrial and commercial refrigeration, to develop a strategy that goes beyond the national framework. As a result, standards are of considerable economic importance to countries participating in standardization, as they promote their technology.

Today, the major players in global competition...