SBS published in January its updated SME Compatibility Test! The Test assesses the SME-friendliness of any given standard, published or under development, through 25 multiple choice and open questions covering 11 criteria focusing all aspects of a standard, from scope to quality of the drafting, to implementation to impact and costs incurred by SMEs and users.

Among the improvements of the new version of the Test are:

• A new, more stringent scoring system
• Increase in the weight of all questions concerning the cost of actions to be taken by SMEs to comply with the standard (testing; staff training or hiring…)
• Additional questions to assess the clarity of the standard
• Additional questions on whether the standard foresees specific tools or guidance for SMEs in its use and implementation

SBS is a European non-profit association that represents and defends the interests of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the European standardisation system. LEVA-EU is a member of SBS and LEVA-EU board member Eddie Eccleston works as SBS-expert. In that position, he watches over the interests of SMEs in CEN/TC333 Cycles.

The test is freely accessible on the internet here: https://sbs-sme.eu/tools/sme-compatibility-tests/.