Thanks to the work of SIEC, our sector also has its own certification, useful for establishing the ‘state of the art’ of systems, installation and configuration of integrated systems. In this case, the phrase that every goal is a new departure is truer than ever.
Covid imposed an orderly and staid Webinar, which took place last September 3rd, although a great celebration would have been needed due to the importance of the event. At the very least! But let’s start from the beginning, which would be, with the reasons that led SIEC (System Integration Experience Community, the association that in Italy represents companies and systems integration professionals) to undertake a multi-year and multi-stage journey that led to UNI certification for Audio Video and Control (AVC) systems integration services – Requirements for the design, installation, configuration, adjustment, programming and technical verification of the integrated system. And among the reasons we find, first of all, the need to establish a value chain capable of protecting the customer – but also the end user – with regard to the quality of the solutions designed and chosen, and the professionalism of the System Integrator; but also the possibility for the latter to express this value: a profession without a register and little known by the general public, would have greatly benefited from official recognition. Finally, the certification would have led to appropriate stakes’ in the case of tenders, thanks to a progressive institutional recognition of the standard itself.
In 2013 SIEC, with its President Carla Conca who has tirelessly worked towards this goal, therefore started the procedure with the creation of the Reference Practice, a para-normative document useful for transferring and creating the context for future standardisation activities, voluntary application, and to which some SIEC associates have already responded positively. In 2015 a working group was set up consisting of SIEC and Accredia (certification body accredited by the Single National Body – UNI) for the assessment of the Reference Practice (PdR) and to prepare a document with guidelines for the assessment of compliance with requirements defined by the Practice, with final approval of the document in November of the same year.
In 2018 SIEC started the transformation of the UNI / PDR 4: 2013 Reference Practice into the UNI standard: in December of the same year, at UNI, with the collaboration of professionals in the AVC sector and representatives of the category, the GL29 Working Group was established which, in May 2020, defined the final document of the new draft standard UNI 1604857.
On the 10th August the final public investigation phase ended and the new UNI standard, valid throughout the national territory, will be published soon. In the Webinar of September 3rd, the interventions of Mariko Ceccato of Certiquality followed one another, who made a brief historical excursus and explained the methods and requirements for access to certification, and Cesare Capitanio, SIEC Referent at the UNI table, who studied the technical part of the standard and explained the difference between standard and simplified procedures.
Operating according to the dictations of the new standard will lead to two significant advantages for the companies that will adopt it:
– Competitive advantage: it will allow you to operate with standardised schemes and procedures, repeatable and therefore better shared within your company organisation; it will also lead to the optimisation of company time and costs;
– Customer loyalty: the result will be the customer’s perception of a well-structured and organised service in all phases of the supply, from design to final commissioning. The customer/supplier relationship will therefore be clear and free from subjective interpretations and/or judgments, with increased customer loyalty.
And to mark this important milestone, we remind you that already three companies (all members of SIEC but this is not a condition) have completed the certification process according to UNI / PDR 4: 2013 – 3P Technologies, iTeck and Team Office. With the approval and introduction of the New UNI 1604857 standard, we hope that this number will increase quickly, enhancing the professionalism of the Systems Integration market in Italy.
