A key element in what we do is the use of technical studies to help underpin and drive our work in standardisation. It is essential for consumer representatives to have scientific information available in order to support their arguments in standardisation committees and working groups. This is of particular importance where consumer representatives have to argue their case against a strong industry majority. The Technical studies commissioned by ANEC support the work of ANEC and assist in developing European consumer positions in the fields of European and international standardisation, including the legal background.

ANEC commissions technical studies in a systematic manner, on the basis of transparent procedures, selection criteria and a restricted call for tender. The technical study priorities are identified by the ANEC Working Groups according to their annual work programmes.

2022

Measurement of surface temperatures of a selection ofMeasurement of surface temperatures of a selection ofproducts in the Scope of IEC 60335 2 9'Household and similar electrical appliances SafetyPart 2 9: Particular requirements for grills, toasters andsimilar portable cooking appliances

This report provides thermal (IR) images of 10 different small electrical cooking appliances that were being heated in a manner similar to the test conditions of IEC 60335-2-9 Edition 7.0 2019-05, Particular requirements for grills, toasters and similar portable cooking appliances, the current published international safety standard for these types of appliances.This report provides thermal (IR) images of 10 different small electrical cooking appliances that were being heated in a manner similar to the test conditions of IEC 60335-2-9 Edition 7.0 2019-05, Particular requirements for grills, toasters and similar portable cooking appliances, the current published international safety standard for these types of appliances.

The images were commissioned to support further development of the 60335-2-9 standards where:

- at the EU level, there are ongoing concerns expressed by Member States’ authorities that temperature limits in the current standard are too high.

- at the IEC level, there have been challenges raised by stakeholders on the blanket use of the doubling temperature relaxation (widely referred to as “note b” by standards developers).

The tests conducted were not a replication of those specified in that standard because temperatures were not measured using the Probe for measuring surface temperatures specified in Figure 105 of that standard.

2020

ANEC study on trampolines and trampoline parks published

Bouncing/trampolining is much enjoyed by children and adults, from a range of age groups and skill levels. In the past two decades, the use of trampolines in leisure and recreational activities has greatly increased worldwide.

Despite several benefits for users - namely health benefits, improving fitness, dynamic balance and motor performance - trampolines are a common source of paediatric injury. Although fatalities and disabilities appear less frequent events, there are cases that have resulted in death or quadriplegia.

ANEC commissioned a study to understand the dimension and characteristics of the problem and risk factors behind injuries, and to undertake a gap-analysis of the existing standards for trampolines and trampoline parks, as well as those under development. The study was done by the Faculty of Human Kinetics of the University of Lisbon, together with APSI, the Portuguese Association for Child Safety Promotion.

The study consisted of the following tasks:

  • Task 1: a literature review of Trampoline Injuries and analysis of Trampoline Injuries in the EU-Injury Database (EU-IDB)
  • Task 2: identification of the most critical safety related aspects for design; construction; use and operation of trampolines, both related to the environment (equipment, surfaces, surroundings) and different types of usage. These included research and analysis of existing trampolines, recalled products, consumer reviews, online surveys, interviews, mystery clients and qualitative observation of users’ behaviours.
  • Tasks 3 and 4: a cross-analysis of existing relevant standards, published or under development, to identify whether the injury scenarios and critical aspects for safety resulting from Task 1 and Task 2.

The results of the ANEC study on trampolines and trampoline parks were published in October and can be found on our website: ANEC Technical Study: Trampolines and Trampoline Parks, Executive Summary, including its Annexes: Annex 1, Annex 2, Annex 3, Annex 4, Annex 5, Annex 6, Annex 7 and Annex 8.   

2019

Investigating Safe Sleeping Conditions for Children

The study has examined whether standards for several sleep products, mainly for babies, facilitate recognised safe sleeping practices. The report, Investigating Safe Sleeping Conditions for Children, presents the results of the analysis.

The analysis found there are inconsistencies among the standards for products that offer similar functions. The report also presents a review of the potential hazards associated with products that are not covered by standards, and makes recommendations on whether ANEC should seek the development of new standards. It recommends that standards be developed for bed nests (as they present soft, padded areas close to the baby’s face); cot beds, especially covering the transition from cot to bed and the bed function; and cots and travel cots supplied with accessories, such as changing tables and bassinets. 

The product analysis methodology used in the study could be employed in consideration of standardisation requests (mandates), as it uses a systematic assessment of hazards and risks, and defines key issues related to the development of new standards.

Should you be interested in the documents referred in the report, please contact the ANEC Secretariat. 

2018

ANEC study investigates consumer attitudes and experiences on cross-border healthcare

ANEC commissioned a technical study on cross-border healthcare that investigates how many consumers have used healthcare services (planned and unplanned) in a European country other than their home country and provides details of their experiences.

The study showed that legislation that gives EU citizens the right to access cross-border healthcare offers many potential benefits, but is still not working effectively for consumers. While access to unplanned treatment appears to be working relatively well, there is much work to be done to improve access to planned healthcare, to make this a viable option for EU consumers. Although 37% of respondents had received urgent and unplanned medical treatment in another EU country, only 4% had travelled abroad to receive planned medical treatment. The study reveals that lack of knowledge about rights and choices are key barriers to seeking planned treatment abroad.

At the beginning of the patient journey, the study highlights an urgent need to raise awareness of rights, and provide patients with clear, consistent guidance about cross-border healthcare options so that they can make informed decisions about care. At the other end of the patient journey, there is an urgent need for effective systems of redress so consumers know where to complain and can achieve satisfactory resolution to problems. The study concludes with recommendations to relevant authorities and organisations.

2017

ANEC study investigates if children are at increased risk of serious injury as a result of domestic products being used in non-domestic settings

ANEC commissioned a technical study to determine whether children are at increased risk of serious injury as a result of domestic products being used in non-domestic settings. 

AIJU, the contractor of the study, concluded that high chairs, baby prams and pushchairs, changing tables, cots, bunk beds and baby beds are more frequently involved in incidents than others, considering all sources of information consulted.

Conclusions on additional hazards of these products during non-domestic use were established by using the “Hazard and risk assessment table” from the ANEC 2015 Technical Study “The development of the safety requirements and hazard-based standards for child use and care articles” by product.

After the identification of hazards not covered in European standards and increased risks due to non-domestic use, the proposal of a set of safety requirements and test methods to be covered by these products was prepared, including general proposals and specific proposals by product.

Regarding the type of incidents, falls were the most common incident and the leading cause of injury in children using child care articles in non-domestic settings. Taking this information into account, some aspects like stability, structural integrity and durability were identified as crucial points to improve the safety of these products in non-domestic settings.   

As a conclusion, AIJU proposes a revision of the standards to cover the additional hazards and increased risk during non-domestic use.

Service Standards and Supervision

Services are one of the main drivers of the European economy and account for around 70 percent of GDP. Standards can ensure the quality of services, but only if they exist and are used. Today, ANEC publishes a report on the use of service standards by authorities as a tool in market surveillance.

Commissioned by ANEC, the Swedish Service Research Centre, Karlstad University, looked at how the development of service standards could be encouraged and how authorities approach the surveillance of services through standards.

Its report concludes with four recommendations:

  1. Both authorities and standardisation bodies need to take account of the inherent special characteristics of services compared with products;
  2. Further to this first recommendation, there are several elements that should be particularly considered when developing service standards and/or conducting the supervision of services;
  3. Although standardisation bodies expect the voluntary participation of interested parties, more emphasis is needed in encouraging market surveillance authorities to participate in standardisation committees;
  4. To strengthen the importance of service standards, the General Product Safety Directive (Directive 2001/95/EC) should be reviewed to consider including services under its umbrella.

2016

ANEC BEUC: the European Consumer Organisation

 

Ecodesign measures have been in the spotlight this week, with alleged EU plans to scrap the tool. But our new study confirms how crucial it is to safeguard Ecodesign.

Indeed, consumers save at least €330 annually thanks to Ecodesign, and by doing nothing! This is because EU laws have enabled manufacturers to produce less energy-hungry products. And if consumers choose the top class of the Energy Label, their savings can jump to over €450 per year.

These results come from a study commissioned by ANEC and its sister organisation, BEUC. It evaluates the financial savings resulting from Ecodesign and Energy Labelling for the typical European household.

In addition to economic benefits, Ecodesign delivers qualitative benefits to consumers such as quieter vacuum cleaners.

The study also highlights that savings for consumers could be considerably higher if Ecodesign requirements were more ambitious and timely in their delivery.

Background:
The typical family, taken as a case study, comprises a couple, their child and a dog. They live in a 3-bedroom house and have about 20 appliances and 45 light bulbs. The study methodology is based on the calculation of the total cost of ownership of all their appliances.

Useful links:

2015

ANEC technical study outlines possible improvements in standards development

Safety requirements, which are incorporated into the standardisation requests directed to CEN and CENELEC, are a key element in the development of new standards under the GPSD. They need to follow a hazard-based approach, an approach that comprehensively and systematically identifies, assesses and addresses hazards and risks.

The levels of safety set out in safety requirements should be relevant to the significance of the hazards and risks, especially when the risk of harm is high. These levels of safety should be defined by the European Commission’s GPSD committee, not left to technical committees to decide, their role being to find ways of addressing safety requirements, not deciding on their significance.

These are two of the important conclusions from the ANEC Technical Study 'The development of safety requirements and hazard-based standards for child use and care articles', undertaken by Anne Smith and Mike Hayes from the UK’s Child Accident Prevention Trust.

To support the development of safety requirements, the study presents a hazard and risk matrix, drawing heavily on the table in CEN/TR 13387:2015 Child use and care articles - General safety guidelines - Part 1: Safety philosophy and safety assessment.

The study also recommends that:

  • CEN/TR 13387-1:2015 should be amended in line with recommendations presented in the report to assist in the drafting of informative rationales in standards.
    after publication, a standard should be audited by the expert panel that drafted the safety requirements to determine whether or not it fulfils the requirements, both in
  • terms of completeness and the levels of safety provided. This determination should be undertaken systematically using proposals presented in the report. This process can be made easier by drafting safety requirements and standards in a hazard-based format.
  • the expert panels responsible for drafting safety requirements should have broad representation from key stakeholders to ensure that members have an understanding of all the issues that need to be included.

While the report focusses primarily on standards developed under the GPSD and for products with which children might interact, using child use and care articles as an example, the principles might also be relevant for those for adults and to those covered by other Directives.

Barriers to clicking cross-border

Cross-border online shopping within the EUOnly 10% of EU consumers regularly shop from internet retailers in other EU countries, compared with 63% from websites in their home countries, according to a new ANEC survey of more than 4.000 consumers in 22 EU countries. The study reveals that, despite European Commission policies to encourage e-commerce cross-border, consumers still face notable barriers to reaping the benefits of a digital single market.

The study ‘European cross-border online shopping - Learning from consumer experiences’ looks at the online shopping habits of EU consumers and identifies key problems met by those who buy from internet retailers in other EU countries.

Two-thirds of online shoppers surveyed have bought cross-border, with 15% finding a problem. Of these, 27% reported late deliveries and 22% said their orders never arrived. Respondents also reported problems when trying to place orders, such as unfair price differences, unclear or misleading information, and retailers refusing to sell or deliver to the address of the shopper.

An overview of the main findings can be found in the ANEC leaflet: Key Facts on Cross-border online shopping within the EU.

2014

The benefits of consumer participation in standardisation to all stakeholders

Much work has been done on macro-economic and micro-economic benefits of standardisation, but little on the societal benefits or the benefits to consumers in particular. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the societal benefits of standardisation at the national and European levels, with a particular focus on the benefits of consumer participation. The report "The benefits of consumer participation in standardisation to all stakeholders” synthesises the findings from three case studies examining ANEC’s contribution to different European standards. It focuses on analysing the different modalities of consumer contribution to standardisation as well as the impacts of this contribution, in particular for the industry. Since the study also aims to pave the way for further research in the area, the report also includes recommendations for future studies.

2013

European cross-border travel and tourism - Learning from consumer experiences and complaints

Travelling within Europe is not always easy, according to ANEC research study on complaints related to European cross-border travel and tourism carried out. In our survey of almost 6000 consumers, more than a quarter reported having problems when using cross-border tourism services within Europe. Car rental was seen as the most problematic area with almost one-quarter of users reporting a negative experience. People travelling by plane and train, and going on package holidays, also experienced a high level of problems, despite EU regulation in these areas.

Read more on the ANEC study on complaints related to European cross-border travel and tourism published in January 2014 and the ANEC leaflet: Key Facts on European cross-border complaints.

ANEC shared the findings with the Commission officials and relevant standardisation committees in CEN Strategic Advisory Group on Services (SAGS) and at ISO level in ISO TC 228 ‘Tourism and related services’. ISO TC 228 Newsletter featured an interview with ANEC on the subject.

ANEC also presented the study results at the European Tourism Day (ETD) 2014 that served as an occasion for the Commission to collect tourism stakeholders’ views for future European activities on European tourism promotion, challenges related to digital tourism, streamlining the regulatory and administrative framework and the feasibility of a quality initiative.

Following the results of this investigation, the ANEC Services WG developed the ANEC position paper: How can we make travel in the EU better for consumers?.

 

Models of special accommodation for older people across Europe


The study was commissioned by ANEC in order to inform future work on standardisation in relation to accommodation and care for older people. The aim of the research project was to compile an Information Record containing information on models of specialist accommodation and care for older people, and related standards, in use across the countries of the European Union, the acceding and candidate countries, and the EFTA countries: Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein (Total 38 countries).

A combination of primary (online questionnaire survey) and secondary research (literature review) techniques were used to gather information from as wide a range of sources as possible. The Information Record shows a considerable variation between countries in the amount of information recorded. The results of the study were sent to CEN SAGS during the discussion on future strategy on health care services standardisation with a view to consider ANEC findings in any potential standard related to social care.

More detailed information can be found in the report Models of special accommodation for older people across Europe.

2012

Requirements on Lighting (Light Intensity) and Reflectors of Bicycles


Lights and reflectors enhancing the visibility of bicycles are not harmonized in Member States. Thus, ANEC commissioned the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) to carry out a study, which has shown that there is sparse information or research on cycling accidents, safety and bicycle lighting. The report did find that many cyclists do not have functioning lights during times of darkness. Although there are often absolutely more accidents/casualties during the day, it is suspected that there will be relatively more accidents/casualties at night, however exposure figures are necessary in order to say conclusively. One known study that takes into account exposure figures came from the Netherlands which did conclude that night cycling was relatively more dangerous at night. However this was based on a country with a very high cycling modal share (25-35%) and could not be said to be representative of Europe. Confounding figures such as alcohol could also play a large part in night time accidents. Road safety and use of bicycle lighting in the EU are inconclusively linked.

Regarding traffic regulations and bicycle lighting there seem to be as many regulations as there are countries.

ANEC presented the study report at ISO level in view of the development of ISO 6742-1 'Cycles — Lighting and retro-reflective devices —Part 1: Lighting and light signalling devices' to ask for “to be seen lights” to be added to the standard to improve visibility and safety of the cyclist.

More detailed information can be found in the report 'Requirements on Lighting (Light Intensity) and Reflectors of Bicycles'.

2011

Requirements for finger entrapment in European safety standards


Currently static finger entrapment is addressed in most relevant European standards for children’s nursery equipment and child use & care articles, along with moving (dynamic) finger entrapment. However, there has been often considerable discussion about the dimensions and shape of the holes (or gaps) that pose risk. Furthermore, there has not been much input into dynamic finger entrapment. Hence, further research was required to fully prepare requirements for safety standards. The purpose of the ANEC study was to confirm requirements for static finger entrapment; to determine at what age/ability children start to put their fingers into gaps and openings, and to provide data to develop further requirements & test methods for dynamic finger entrapment. As the results showed children as young as 6 months use their fingers to explore, it can be concluded that children from 6 months should be protected by the requirements for finger entrapment.

ANEC presented the results of its research study into child finger entrapment to several CEN technical committees as well as a CENELEC committee.

 

Safety requirements, which are incorporated into the standardisation requests directed to CEN and CENELEC, are a key element in the development of new standards under the GPSD. They need to follow a hazard-based approach, an approach that comprehensively and systematically identifies, assesses and addresses hazards and risks.

The levels of safety set out in safety requirements should be relevant to the significance of the hazards and risks, especially when the risk of harm is high. These levels of safety should be defined by the European Commission’s GPSD committee, not left to technical committees to decide, their role being to find ways of addressing safety requirements, not deciding on their significance.

These are two of the important conclusions from the ANEC Technical Study The development of safety requirements and hazard-based standards for child use and care articles, undertaken by Anne Smith and Mike Hayes from the UK’s Child Accident Prevention Trust.

To support the development of safety requirements, the study presents a hazard and risk matrix, drawing heavily on the table in CEN/TR 13387:2015 Child use and care articles - General safety guidelines - Part 1: Safety philosophy and safety assessment.

The study also recommends that:

  • CEN/TR 13387-1:2015 should be amended in line with recommendations presented in the report to assist in the drafting of informative rationales in standards.
  • after publication, a standard should be audited by the expert panel that drafted the safety requirements to determine whether or not it fulfils the requirements, both in terms of completeness and the levels of safety provided. This determination should be undertaken systematically using proposals presented in the report. This process can be made easier by drafting safety requirements and standards in a hazard-based format.
  • the expert panels responsible for drafting safety requirements should have broad representation from key stakeholders to ensure that members have an understanding of all the issues that need to be included.

While the report focusses primarily on standards developed under the GPSD and for products with which children might interact, using child use and care articles as an example, the principles might also be relevant for those for adults and to those covered by other Directives.

shopping techincal study

Only 10% of EU consumers regularly shop from internet retailers in other EU countries, compared with 63% from websites in their home countries, according to a new ANEC survey of more than 4.000 consumers in 22 EU countries. The study reveals that, despite European Commission policies to encourage e-commerce cross-border, consumers still face notable barriers to reaping the benefits of a digital single market.

The study ‘European cross-border online shopping - Learning from consumer experiences’ looks at the online shopping habits of EU consumers and identifies key problems met by those who buy from internet retailers in other EU countries.


Two-thirds of online shoppers surveyed have bought cross-border, with 15% finding a problem. Of these, 27% reported late deliveries and 22% said their orders never arrived. Respondents also reported problems when trying to place orders, such as unfair price differences, unclear or misleading information, and retailers refusing to sell or deliver to the address of the shopper.


An overview of the main findings can be found in the ANEC leaflet: Key Facts on Cross-border online shopping within the EU.

Subcategories

Use of technical study reports

European cross-border travel and tourism - Learning from consumer experiences and complaints

Travelling within  Europe  is  not  always  easy,  according  to  ANEC research study on complaints related to European cross-border travel and tourism carried out. In  our  survey  of  almost  6000  consumers, more  than  a  quarter  reported  having  problems  when  using  cross-border  tourism  services  within  Europe.  Car  rental  was  seen  as  the most  problematic  area  with  almost  one-quarter  of  users  reporting  a negative experience.  People travelling by plane and train, and going on  package  holidays,  also  experienced  a  high  level  of  problems, despite EU regulation in these areas.

Following the results of this investigation, ANEC developed a position paper ‘How can we make travel in the EU better for consumers?’ including recommendations for policy makers and standardisers on services aspects aside safety: for example on the need for better awareness and enforcement of travellers’ rights, clear (pre-contractual) information provision, improved complaints handling, more clarity on liability of service providers (possibly through recently revised package travel directive).

ANEC position paper was shared with CEN Strategic Advisory Group on Services (SAGS) as input to the implementation of the mandate on horizontal services standardisation. M/517. We also sent it in 2014 to DG ENTR in reaction to their consultations on the future on EU tourism and possible administrative burden for tourism industry. Moreover, our position paper was useful in the response to DG SANCO consultation on false hotel reviews online.

Furthermore the key facts of the study have been turned into a leaflet and published on ANEC website and circulated to the network.

ANEC presented the study results at the European Tourism Day (ETD) 2014 that served as an occasion for the Commission to collect tourism stakeholders’ views on European tourism promotion, challenges related to digital tourism, streamlining the regulatory and administrative framework and the feasibility of a quality initiative. ANEC also shared the findings at ISO level in ISO Technical Committee 228 on ‘Tourism and related services’. The ISO TC 228 autumn Newsletter featured an interview with ANEC. ANEC was invited also in 2015 to present the study results and the position on how to improve the travel experience for European consumers in further European fora.


Requirements on Lighting (Light Intensity) and Reflectors of Bicycles

Lights and reflectors enhancing the visibility of bicycles are not harmonized in Member States. Thus, in 2012, ANEC commissioned the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) to carry out a study, which has shown that there is sparse information or research on cycling accidents, safety and bicycle lighting. The report 'Requirements on Lighting (Light Intensity) and Reflectors of Bicycles' did find that many cyclists do not have functioning lights during times of darkness. Although there are often absolutely more accidents/casualties during the day, it is suspected that there will be relatively more accidents/casualties at night, however exposure figures are necessary in order to say conclusively. One known study that takes into account exposure figures came from the Netherlands which did conclude that cycling was relatively more dangerous at night. However this was based on a country with a very high cycling modal share (25-35%) and could not be said to be representative of Europe. Confounding figures such as alcohol could also play a large part in night time accidents. Road safety and use of bicycle lighting in the EU are inconclusively linked.

In 2013, ANEC started participation in the meetings of ISO TC 149 SC 1 ‘Cycles and major sub-assemblies’, WG 9 ‘Revision ISO 4210 and ISO 8098’, WG 10 ‘Lighting and retro-reflective devices’ and WG 11 ‘Revision of ISO 11243-Luggage carriers’ to follow and contribute to the revision of the standards. The ANEC R&T study on bicycle lights and reflectors has been used for advocating the inclusion of lights and reflectors in the revised standards and also on commenting on ISO 6742 ‘Cycles - Lighting and retro-reflective devices’. ANEC is satisfied with the outcome as the EN ISO 4210 ‘Cycles -- Safety requirements for bicycles’ standard includes reflectors and active lighting and the new EN ISO 8098 ‘Cycles — Safety requirements for bicycles for young children’ includes reflectors, however, active lighting was not included as the bicycles covered in EN ISO 8098 are for children aged from 4 to 8 years and therefore not intended to be ridden on public roads. Additionally the draft standard ISO 6742 includes requirements for “to be seen light” as requested by ANEC. Publication of ISO 6742 series is expected beginning of 2015.  Publication as EN is still under discussion.
 
Child restraint systems (CRS)

Injuries to children can be significantly reduced if they use a suitable child restraint.

Until July 2013, all child restraint systems (CRS) on the market had to comply with regulation UN-ECE R44. This regulation does not have side impact test, allows forward facing transport of children from 9 kg on and is difficult to understand as classification is based on the mass of the child and characteristics of the car it is placed in (clarification: checking of vehicle lists for semi-universal, space requirements etc.). Further concerns for ANEC were the use of a child’s weight to determine classification and the classification of CRS into (semi)universal, vehicle specific, belts or ISOFIX. Consumers require clearer and less ambiguous information if CRS are to be used properly.

ANEC, representing consumers under the umbrella of Consumers International (CI) at the World Forum for the Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations (WP 29) of UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) and France made a proposal to set an informal group on child restraint systems to work on a new regulation (i-size regulation) in 2007.

The results of the ANEC R&T study 2007 to evaluate the limits of protection offered by both forward and rearward-facing restraints for children up to four years of age was presented to the informal group on CRS. The ANEC study concluded that the rearward-facing restraints offer a higher level of safety over forward-facing restraints to children until they are four years of age.

ANEC has been actively involved in the development of the new i-size regulation (Regulation 129), which came into force on 9 July 2013, advocating that ANEC’s view on rearward facing is reflected and the new regulation includes accessible classification for consumers as well as side impact protection and a support leg. The abbreviation CRS was replaced by E(nhanced)CRS when related to R129 seats.

ANEC is pleased with the adoption of the new I-size Regulation at the 158th session of UNECE WP 29 in November 2012. The new i-size regulation will   reduces misuse; requires rearward-facing transport until the child is 15 months of age; be is based on a simplified classification based on stature of the child, not mass; provides side impact protection and have has a better compatibility car-CRS.

Currently the Informal group on CRS continues to work on phase 2 of R 129 covering non-integral CRS which is expected to be adopted by GRSP in May 2015, additionally work started also recently on phase 3.
Environmental and health related criteria for buildings

Following a mandate from the European Commission, CEN/TC 350 “Sustainability of construction works” is tasked with developing standards for the sustainability assessment of buildings and building products. ANEC has repeatedly expressed its opposition to the way this work has been developed and stressed that the published standards will be of limited use, not only in B2C transactions but also for other purposes, such as public procurement. The need for an alternative approach with meaningful assessment methods for the sustainability of buildings became apparent.  We have submitted detailed proposals for modifications to the approach that have been rejected on the whole. Despite the unproven value of this work, a further set of criteria for buildings has been developed under the European Green Public Procurement (GPP) initiative.

According to several past ANEC research projects on environmental product information, it has become clear that indicators based on life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodology may not be the best means to characterise and declare the environmental performance of a product. In many cases, significant production or use-phase indicators (e.g. energy efficiency, indoor emissions) derived from a variety of tools (e.g. chemical risk assessment) are a better choice for product labeling and differentiation among similar products compared with LCA indicators. The purpose of the 2011 ANEC Environment study was to develop a set of environmental indicators, and corresponding minimum and excellence criteria, primarily for new residential buildings. The scope included provision of information to consumers on ways to achieve energy savings, for example.

The study results were released in September 2011 together with an ANEC position paper “Sustainable construction – a building site without end. Alternatives to flawed standards”. ANEC called for decision makers to urgently initiate a broad debate including all interested parties in order to work together and develop a stringent European concept for sustainability issues in the construction area.

ANEC is very pleased that the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) took the ANEC study into account when drafting the EMAS Reference Document for the Construction Sector (EMAS Article 46.1.). Indeed, the Reference document on ‘Best Environmental Management practice in the building and construction sector’ took into account the major findings of the ANEC Study on “Environmental and health related criteria for buildings" (ANEC-R&T-2011-ENV-001final).Child protective products

Young children have a natural curiosity and do not always understand the presence of danger. Hence it is often necessary to take measures to protect children from hazards. Many products sold on the European market are intended to be mounted to another product in order to protect children, i.e. a child protective locking device mounted to a window in order to prevent children from opening the window and falling. In 2003, ANEC commissioned a research project to develop proposals for safety requirements and test methods for locking devices for windows, socket protectors, locking devices for drawers and cupboards, and hob guards. Requirements and test method are needed to verify the properties of the products that are supposed to protect young children.

In 2007, CEN/BT WG 184 was set up to review the proposed specifications for child protective products, including existing European and national standards, based on the results of the ANEC study. In March 2009, after the approval of its final report, the CEN Technical Board (CEN/BT) decided to create a new Project Committee CEN/TC 398 ‘Project Committee - Child Protective Products’ to deal with the elaboration of European standards for several child protective products. In June 2009, the Commission’s General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) Committee unanimously adopted draft safety requirements for window locking devices, based on the ANEC research study on child protective products.

In 2010, a standardization mandate (Mandate M/465) issued by the European Commission to CEN for the elaboration of standards on consumer-mounted child-proof locking devices for windows and balcony doors, based on the ANEC research and report, was approved. The work to establish the new standard was allocated to CEN PC 398 ‘Project Committee - Child Protective Products’ where ANEC actively participates.

In 2011, prEN 16281 ‘Child protective products - Consumer fitted child resistant locking devices for windows and balcony doors - Safety requirements and test methods’ was out for enquiry. ANEC supported the draft standard for consumer mounted window locking devices, developed by CEN PC 398 "Child protective products", as it is based, inter alia, on the results of the ANEC research project.

In addition, FprEN 13126-5 "Building hardware - Hardware for windows and door height windows - Requirements and test methods - Part 5: Devices that restrict the opening of windows and door height windows" was also sent out for Formal Vote in 2011. CEN TC 33 WG3 TG13 "Building hardware" started to work on a standard for integral window locking devices following the ANEC research project on child protective products.

EN16281 ‘Child protective products - Consumer fitted child resistant locking devices for windows and balcony doors - Safety requirements and test methods’, developed by CEN PC 398, and based, inter alia, on the results of the ANEC research project, was adopted in 2012.

In addition, CEN TC 33 WG3 TG13 "Building hardware" started to work on a standard for integral window locking devices following the ANEC research project on child protective products. EN 13126-5 "Building hardware - Hardware for windows and door height windows - Requirements and test methods - Part 5: Devices that restrict the opening of windows and door height windows" was published in November 2011, following active ANEC participation.

In 2012, CEN PC 398 started to work on a draft standard for finger entrapment protection devices.
Reducing children injuries in playgrounds

In children’s playgrounds most of the injuries are caused by falls. It is considered that the most severe injuries are injuries to the head. The impact attenuating properties of surfacing in playgrounds are therefore of major importance to reduce the severity of those injuries. However, the standard dealing with the safety of playground equipment (EN 1177) was published in 1997 when only few test methods were available to assess the safety of playgrounds. Since then, many more test equipments became available, leading to serious disparities between test results and creating in turn uncertainty about the safety level of the surfaces used in playgrounds.

In 2006, ANEC commissioned a Research and Testing project to test the impact measurement on playground surfacing materials. The objective of this study was to improve the requirements of the latter in order to reduce the risk of head injuries (round robin test).In light of the study published in March 2007, ANEC issued a report which it presented at the CEN TC 136 SC 1 ‘Playground Equipment for Children’ meeting in June 2007. The changes to the EN 1177 standard proposed by ANEC in its report were accepted and, in addition to the report being referred to in the standard’s foreword so as to explain the main modifications, some parts of the ANEC’s proposals (calibrations and measurement of uncertainties) were already taken into account in the revised standard published in May 2008.
ANEC-R&T-2007-CHILD-002

In 2010, the EN 1177 standard was included in a standardisation mandate from the Commission’s General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) Committee for future referencing in the EU Official Journal (OJ). The publishing EN 1177 in the OJ is meant to provide legal certainty for the stakeholders using and implementing the standard.
Safety of household appliances for all

Consumers expect electrical household appliances to be safe, for themselves, their children and the older members of their families. For many years now, ANEC and other consumer organizations have been expressing concerns about the restrictive scope of the standards EN 60335 on the safety of household and similar electrical appliances. Indeed, the standards exclude the use of appliances by both children and “infirm persons”. ANEC believes this to be discriminatory and has asked for the deletion of this exclusion clause, against strong opposition from industry.

Since 2005, ANEC proposed changes to the standards for toasters, microwave ovens, hobs and ovens, hairdryers, water heaters, lawnmowers and trimmers, and grills and similar portable cooking appliances. The aim is to make those appliances safer for all. These ANEC proposals are based on a Research and Testing project to review Parts 2 of EN60335 series of standards.

In 2006, CENELEC set up, at the request of ANEC, a group responsible for addressing this issue (CENLEC TC 61 WG 4) and the European Commission issued a standardisation mandate to support its work. In November 2008, several revised Parts 2 of EN 60335, based on ANEC’s proposals, were submitted to the national delegations of CENELEC TC 61 for approval.

ANEC is pleased with the draft proposals for revision as they represent a step in the right direction to making household appliances safer for consumers of all ages and abilities. However, ANEC regrets that the issue of surface temperature limits for handles and knobs has been postponed as hot handles and knobs pose a serious safety risk to children and elderly people.
ANEC-R&T-2007-DOMAP-DFA-002final.pdf

These first six revised standards were adopted by CENELEC in April and were made available on 1 November 2010. They are the first to include requirements for use of household appliances by vulnerable consumers. Their adoption represents a huge achievement for ANEC and the consumer movement as they will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union as ‘harmonized standards’, so permitting manufacturers a presumption of conformity to European health & safety legislation in their application.

In 2011, the draft standard, FprEN 60335-1 “Household and similar electrical appliances – Safety – Part 1: General requirements”, was out for Formal Vote. The draft includes generic modifications (use of household appliances by children of 8 years and above; application of the larger child-sized finger; improvements to the visibility of the instructions etc.) at the centre of ANEC’ campaign to make electrical household appliances not only safer but more accessible for children, older people and people with disabilities, based on the results of the ANEC research project. These changes will automatically be valid for all Parts 2 of EN 60335, unless otherwise specified in the relevant Part(s) 2.

Despite ANEC’s concerns about the surface temperature limits in the draft not being in line with the limits of CENELEC Guide 29 ‘Temperatures of hot surfaces likely to be touched’, and despite the fact that the work on surface temperature limits for handles and knobs has been postponed, ANEC supported the adoption of  FprEN 60335-1.
Greening of standards

In order to assist standards-maker to address environmental issues and thus contributing to making products greener, an environmental helpdesk was set up (EHD) in CEN in 1995. Its aim was to identify and comment on relevant standards.

After almost ten years of existence, ANEC decided to review all comments so far produced by the EHD in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the system and provide alternative solutions if needed. The ANEC study examined sixty EHD comments and found that they had very little effect on the final or draft standards. In fact, only a few comments have been integrated in the draft standards and then, in general, only as informative notes. The ANEC study concluded that there is a need for substantial revision of the EHD mode of operation if environmental aspects shall be found on the agenda in standardisation.

ANEC issued a press release on the study and presented it at the March 2004 CEN SABE meeting. In May 2006, ANEC successfully lobbied for broadening the scope of EHD statements so as to cover not only draft standards but also existing ones and, for CEN to commit to draft its policy on the greening of standards. In 2008, CEN agreed to start addressing environmental concerns in a more systematic manner, as requested by ANEC. This includes the revision of the CEN templates for meeting agenda and new work items which will have a reference to ‘Environmental issues’.
ANEC2004/ENV/011

In March 2010, the CEN Technical Board (BT) endorsed a CEN approach to address environmental issues in product and service standards and asked the CEN EHD to report regularly on the results of implementation. The CEN guidance to technical committees was published in April 2010. ANEC welcomed the adoption of this this new CEN approach and has been encouraging and supporting the EHD in its activities. The EHD has organised several Environmental Training sessions for standards developers last year and recently launched a new e-learning package “Environmental aspects in standardization”. One of the main objectives of this online training is to provide knowledge and understanding of why and how to include environmental considerations in standards writing activities to a wide audience of Technical Committees delegates and other stakeholders with an interest in standardisation and environment.

In 2011, the EHD reported several successful activities related to the inclusion of environmental issues in standards such as in CEN TC 351 ‘Sustainability of construction works’. In response to an ANEC’s request, the EHD agreed to consider a ‘tailor-made module’ on handling chemicals in product standards. A project proposal for European Commission funding is being developed by a small team within the EHD to which ANEC is participating.
Rear seat strength in cars

Accidents show that luggage in the boot of a car can load the rear seat back in the case of a frontal collision and cause the seat back to deform heavily or fail altogether, exposing the rear seat occupants to additional loading. Such additional loading can cause restrained rear occupants, both adults and children, needless injury.

In 2002, ANEC commissioned a Research and Testing project to test rear seat strength. In the ANEC crash test, we tested two cars (representing a robust and a less robust design) and carried out the test according to the international regulation (ECE-R17) as well as according to a more realistic test. In the realistic test, the crash was more severe (the same pulse as in EuroNCAP) and there was more and heavier luggage in the boot of the car. ANEC also placed (child) dummies in the back of the car, in order to obtain some information about the danger for car occupants.

ANEC issued a press release in February 2003 and realized a CD-Rom which was offered for publication to national consumer magazines. High-speed films and digital pictures of the crash tests clearly demonstrate the danger that the luggage in the car boot presents to the car occupants in real life accidents. ANEC made several proposals in order to improve the international regulation such as the spacing of the luggage simulation from rear seat back and its relationship to car size.
ANEC2003/TRAF/005
Protecting consumers online

The purpose of this ANEC study was to investigate the extent to which unsolicited commercial communication (Spam) and Internet content filters should be testable and comparable to help consumers with their choice. The report, carried out in 2006 on behalf of ANEC, identified performance standards as being the most helpful way of ensuring product transparency and to help with consumers’ choice.

Seven countries (Austria; Belgium; Czech Republic; Italy; Poland; Sweden and UK) were investigated by interviewing concerned stakeholders. Tests carried out by consumer associations show that consumers’ requirements such as clear labeling and reliability are not met. The study also notes that protection of children is of prime concern but consideration for the special requirements of all users should be taken into account (eg: ease of use, ability to report filtering failures, etc).

Following ANEC’s proposal, CEN BT WG 194 was set up to define the scope of a standard on Internet filters in December 2006. Its final report was sent for endorsement to the CEN BT who decided to set up a new CEN/TC 365 ‘Project Committee: Internet Filtering’ in December 2007. The Convenorship and Secretariat are allocated to AENOR.
ANEC-R&T-2006-ICT-002 (part 1) &  ANEC-R&T-2006-ICT-002 (part 2)

The kick-off meeting of CEN/TC 365 ‘Project Committee: Internet Filtering’ was held on 12 March 2008, at which ANEC made a presentation. The Technical Specification (TS) on which the TC has been working since 2008, has been mainly drafted by ANEC. The prCEN/TS 16080 "Internet Content and communications filtering software and services" was finalized in November 2012 and launched for formal vote.

The prCEN/TS 16080 “Internet Content and communications filtering software and services” has been adopted in December 2012. The Foreword of the standard mentions ANEC’s contribution.
Core consumer elements for services standards

Standardisation of services will help to accomplish the Internal Market for Services, according to the legal framework adopted in December 2006. However, unlike products, services are much less subject to technical specifications. In order to define the core consumer elements which should ideally govern the standardisation of services in the future, ANEC commissioned a study published in 2007. Whilst the Services Directive encourages the development of voluntary standards to ensure quality of service provision, service standards suffer from incomplete coverage of key consumer aspects such as pre-contractual stage and contract conclusion information, after-sales services, dispute resolution and complaints handling.

On the basis of the study results, ANEC issued a position paper calling on the European Commission to introduce a horizontal legislative framework covering the safety, quality and liability of services, which is to be underpinned by formal standardisation. Such a legislative framework should make use of the comitology procedure, complemented by a stakeholder review process. The ANEC position was presented to the Commission and Member States at the Consumer Safety Working Party meeting in October 2007. It was then used as the ANEC contribution to the European Commission Programming Mandate M/371 in the field of services which aims to assess the benefits and feasibility of standardisation in different services fields – leading to the so-called CHESSS report (CHESSS - CEN’s Horizontal European Service Standardization Strategy). The study and related ANEC conclusions form the basis of ANEC contribution to the work of CEN BT/Working Group 163 “Services standardisation”, in charge of developing a CEN Guidance document for the development of service standards and of further elaborating the CEN strategy in the area of service standardisation.
ANEC-R&T-2006-SERV-004final

In 2010, ANEC also used the results of its study to contribute to the Commission’s consultation on the implementation of the Services Directive (Directive 2006/123/EC) 123/EC). The study is then helping ANEC influence the revision of the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD 2001/95/EC) and plea for the development of a comprehensive European legal framework for the safety of consumer products and services. Therefore ANEC welcomed the European Commission’s announcement to propose various legal options that could be used to address the safety of services and products used in the context of service provision in particular. Finally the study is a reference document which ANEC uses in the context of the ongoing discussion on tourism services with both the Commission and the standardisation organisations.