1.Standardization
Standardization is the procedure through which Standards are established. Standards are developed for activities, processes and products. Products may be tangible (e.g. industrial products), intangible (e.g. services and software) or a combination thereof.
In Greece, ELOT is the sole national organization responsible for the development, approval, publication, and distribution of Hellenic Standards. The development of Standards is entrusted to ELOT’s Technical Committees and Working Groups, in which interested parties from both the Public and the Private Sector are represented, in order to achieve maximum possible consensus among them.
In this framework, ELOT operates more than 190 Technical Committees and Working Groups, members of which are more than 1100 distinguished Greek scientists.
The participation of ELOT in the European and International Standardization activities through its membership to the relevant International and European Organizations (ISO & IEC for International Standardization, CEN, CENELEC & ETSI for European Standardization) give the Hellenic Standards the necessary international prestige and recognition.
Furthermore, ELOT’s participation in these Organizations provides the opportunity to formulate and support the Hellenic views and interests, while through the adoption of International and European Standards as Hellenic the required compatibility is achieved and valuable know-how is transferred.
2.Information – Training
ELOT provides information services either electronically via the internet or through communication with its services on Standardization issues.
ELOT also organizes training seminars, the topics of which are related to Standardization, Quality and other related subjects.
Purpose of the Hellenic Organization for Standardization and institutional framework
NQIS/ELOT is the Hellenic Organization for Standardization, a recognized member of the International and European Organizations for Standardization (ISO, IEC, CEN, CENELEC) and has the exclusive responsibility for the development, promotion and dissemination of standardization and for the development, adoption and distribution of Hellenic standards and all forms of normative documents in Greece.
The publication of Hellenic standards, specifications and other normative documents aim at maximizing the benefit for the economic and social system in the country. In particular, it aims to contribute to the upgrading of the quality of products, services and activities, the improvement of competitiveness and extroversion of the national economy while protecting public social goods as required by our common Greek and European culture.
Standardization concerns any object of common economic or other interest such as products, services, facilities, activities, processes, systems, materials, persons, entities and in general any resource in the value-added chain.
ELOT was established as a national organization for standardization in Greece in 1976 under Law 372 and today it operates as an independent functional unit of the National Quality Infrastructure System (NQIS), which was established under Law 4109/2013 (Government Gazette 231/A/23- 01-2013), within the framework of Regulation (EU) No. 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Standardization System.
Services provided by ELOT
The main services provided by ELOT as an Organization for Standardization are:
a) the development of National Standards and Specifications through consensual standardization mechanisms in all disciplines for the competitiveness of the economy and the safeguarding of public goods;
b) the representation of Greek interests in the International and European Organizations for Standardization;
c) the availability of Hellenic, International, European and national Standards of other countries, indicatively ISO, IEC, DIN, BSI, IEEE, ASTM, AWWA and
d) the dissemination of the implementation of the standards through
- d1) the technical information of the organizations and their staff on standards, relevant legal and regulatory requirements and know-how and technologies related to the field of knowledge of the standards;
- d2) education and training and
- d3) research on Standardization issues.
