AENOR

Spanish Association for Standardization and Certification

AENOR (Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación)
Formation	26 February 1986
Purpose	National standardization
Headquarters	Madrid, Spain
Official language	Spanish
Staff	581
Website	http://www.aenor.es/

The Spanish Association for Standardization and Certification (AENOR) is an entity dedicated to the development of standardization and certification in all Spain industrial and service sectors.

Description

Aenor is a private, independent, non-profit-making (although they charge to access their standards) Spanish institution which contributes through standardization and certification to improve technology produced by companies. It was created by order of the Ministry of Industry and Energy on 26 February 1986, in accordance with the Royal Decree 1614/1985 and was recognized as a standardization organization and as an entity of certification by Royal decree 2200/1995, following the law 21/1992 of industry.

Functions

The functions of AENOR are:^[1]

1. Standardization: AENOR is the organization legally responsible of development and diffusion of technical standards in Spain.
2. Certification: AENOR certificates are one the most valued in the international ambit, since it has emitted certificates in over 60 countries. Therefore, AENOR is situated between the ten most important certificators in the world.
3. Publishment Activity: It offers a wide catalog of technical books, ebooks and magazines among others.
4. Software Design: AENOR designed Ceertol, which is family of computing solutions for the management of systems.
5. Training in different areas:

• Quality control
• Food quality and security
• Environmental Management
• Social responsibility and sustainable development
• Energy and climate change
• Security and health at work
• Information technology
• Human resources and training.

6. Information services: they provide general information about the followings issues:

• UNE (Spanish: Una Norma Española; English: one spanish standard) standards and others national, european and international regulations documents.
• Systems, processes, applicable standards and AENOR certification marks, for products, services, quality systems, prevention of occupational risks, among others.
• Spanish legislation related to standardization activities.
• Commercial information on the different publications and services of AENOR.
• Information on current certifications.

History

Coinciding with the incorporation of Spain to the European Economic Community, in 1986 AENOR was constituted. Until that date, standardization work was the responsibility of the Institute for Rationalization and Standardization (IRANOR).

First steps in standardization

In the first year 24 technical standards committees were created. A year later, AENOR assumed the representation of Spain before the European organizations (CENELEC, ETSI) and international (ISO, IEC).

Nowadays, AENOR has more than 200 technical standards committees involving nearly 6,000 experts in the field.

Milestones

Purpose and commitments of AENOR

Aenor contributes to improving the quality of companies, their products and services while protecting the environment and the welfare of society. Their commitments are five:

• They intend to involve all interested parties in the elaboration of Spanish technical standards.
• Contributing to products, services and companies a differential competitive value certifying them to promote international cooperation and trade relations.
• To obtain guarantees of a competitive development through the orientation of the management to the satisfaction of our clients, the active participation and with total quality criteria.
• To spread a culture related to quality and that identifies Aenor as a support for those who look for excellence.
• To express the values of Aenor and the guarantee of the rigor, impartiality and technical competence of the certification services manifested in the declaration approved by the Committee on Impartiality.

The certification of AENOR

Certification is an action carried out by an independent entity, which declares that an organization, product, process or service, meets the requirements that are defined in the standards or technical specifications. The brands of AENOR ensure that this certification is true and constitute a differentiating element in the market, improving the image of products and services offered and generating trust between customers and consumers. Through this certification, trust is created towards the organization, customers, shareholders, employees, public administrations and the social environment of the company. Also creating confidence regarding the quality and safety of the products or services, in the commitment with the environment, the safety of workers, as well as the bet on innovation. Given the current excess of information, organizations feel the need to simplify certain decisions, which is why they are looking for suppliers whose management and products already have this type of certification that provides confidence. AENOR offers its brands with the aim of granting this competitive advantage to organizations seeking excellence.

Members

Any entity that has interest in the develop of the standardization or certification can be member of AENOR, because of its associative character. Today, It has more than 800 members, among them are the main business associations, some of the first Spanish companies and a good representation of Public Administrations.^[2]

Categories

• Individual :Physical people
• Corporate members :business organizations and associations of customers of statal ambit.
• Members: Companies and institutions.
• Honor Members : Natural or legal persons who receive this consideration in recognition of the service of the purposes of the Association.

Advantages

Taking part in this entity allows:

• Participating in the activities of AENOR
• Acquiring standards and publications or enrolling in training courses with discounts
• Receiving a monthly AENOR magazine, an annually catalog of standards and the Annual Report.

Governing bodies

1. All Governing Bodies are called and chaired by the President.
2. The General Assembly is the supreme body in which all members participate. Its function is to elect the Board of Directors, which is responsible for the representation and management of the Association.
3. The Board of Directors consists of a maximum of 70 members representing the different classes of members and the interested parties, who then elect the Permanent Commission.
4. The Standing Committee is composed of 10 members and is responsible for supervising and controlling the guidelines established by the Board of Directors.

Participation in international and regional standardization bodies

AENOR is a Spanish member of the following international standardization organizations:

• International Organization for Standardization (ISO);
• International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

Likewise, at European level, AENOR is a Spanish member of the following recognized standardization organizations:

• European Committee for Standardization (CEN);
• European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC).

AENOR is the official Spanish national standardization organisation according to (ETSI).

See also

• Standardization
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
  • Countries in the International Organization for Standardization
• European Committee for Standardization (CEN)
• European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC)
• International Accreditation Forum (IAF)

References

External links

• AENOR Website

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