Clearview National September 2018 - Issue 202 | Page 65

FIRESAFETY&SECURITY
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ASTRA CONTRIBUTES
TO STANDARDS DEBATE
» » ASTRA DOOR
Controls MD Phil Gallagher
has been working with Small
Business Standards (SBS),
the European Commission
organisation representing the
interests of SMEs in Europe,
to help improve the way in
which European Standards can
help small businesses innovate
and compete in the European
market. This culminated in
him being part of the panel at
a standards Q&A chaired by
the political editor of the FT
and attended by senior figures
from BSi and the World Trade
Organisation amongst others.
SBS is a European non-
profit association which
aims to represent and defend
small and medium-sized
enterprises’ (SMEs) interests
in the standardisation process
at European and international
levels. Phil Gallagher was part
of the panel discussion at SBS’s
Annual Conference in Brussels,
entitled ‘SME-compatible
standards: a prerequisite for
market access?’
The debate addressed issues
around the ways in which
standards can help and hinder
SMEs to compete in the EU
and asked if all standards
be tested for their SME
compatibility, especially if they
are intended to support EU
policy.
Phil says: “Standards are a
very important factor in the UK
hardware industry and at Astra
we believe that it is vital that
standards drive and reflect the
very best practice in design, fire
safety and specification.”
Phil is one of the UK fire
door industry’s leading experts
on door closers, Philip is a
passionate advocate for the
correct specification, installation
and maintenance of fire doors.
He has been instrumental in the
specification of tens of thousands
of fire doors in apartments,
commercial buildings and
hotels across the globe, and
played a significant part in the
development of a number of
innovative door closers.
Adam Pinney is Expert
Coordinator at SBS and believes
that robust and objective
standards are a vital means to
help SMEs compete on a level
playing field across the EU and
further afield. “SMEs represent
99% of all European companies,
and standards are vital to help
them compete effectively,” he
says. “Strong and reasonable
standards facilitate product
compliance, foster innovation,
and promote competitiveness.
Improving compatibility and
interoperability will simplify
and reduce the cost of product
development, and speed time
to-market.”
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