Environmental or consumer protection aspects are more and more daily concerns and it is certainly for good; but this induces always heavier constraints on companies and can lead to dire consequences both in terms of turnover and impact on image. The REACH standard for example forces companies to manage risks related to materials. Laboratoire Dubois (La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland) offers a new service that addresses this problem. Meeting with its Director Mr. Pierre-Yves Soguel.
When law enters into chemistry or metallography, competitive advantages can also depend on techno-legal intelligence tools.
Customers part of the techno-legal assistance (ATL) "club" implemented by Laboratoire Dubois protect themselves against the risk of a normative evolution which can, from one day to the next, make a product obsolete and illegal. How does it work and why is the laboratory well positioned to provide such a service?
Daily follow-up The new ATL service operates by subscription and allows member companies to be informed continuously of any evolution of norms and regulations that concern their business. Mr. Soguel gives us an example: "You are a watch manufacturer and ask the laboratory to analyze a glued leather bracelet. The analysis shows that everything is correct and that the molecules are all authorized by Reach. With the ATL service, this information is stored in the database and if, a few months later, Europe decides that the M molecule (present in the glue you use for example) is no more acceptable, our monitoring system immediately notifies the customers". Otherwise and if by misfortune a customer develops an allergy following a sale happening after the change of standards, risks for the company are very important.
Specialized analyses If Laboratoire Dubois is in a good position to provide such services, it is because it has been specialized in many types of analysis and risk management for nearly 35 years. And if there is one area where things change very quickly, it is with materials used in the industry. It is for these reasons that the laboratory owns a technology intelligence tool; which is now opened to its customers. The founder of the laboratory, Mr. Dubois, started his activity by performing chemical analysis and giving advices for electroplating; then the company developed metallographic, microbiological and tribological analysis. Mr. Soguel says: "We are one -if not the only- laboratory offering a broad range of services in Switzerland. So, if we detect a bacteriological problem while performing a metallographic analysis, we can (in agreement with the customer) directly launch analyses in this field". Synergies are therefore very broad.
Competitive advantage? The ATL is a new service offered since summer 2011. Mr. Soguel says: "Companies to which we have presented the service have been very interested and first subscriptions have been signed". When questioned why to subscribe to such a service, he adds: "This is really a potential trouble management system, according to the kinds of marketed products, risk level is not the same and we can advise customers at best".
Evolution of the normative and techno-legal landscape is undeniable and not to face it will not make it disappear, on the contrary. Therefore being able to have concrete thinking bases and to rely on a partner capable to analyze and advise wisely can really become a clear competitive advantage.
Laboratory Dubois S.A. Alexis-Marie-Piaget 50 CH 2300 La Chaux-de-Fonds Tel + 4132 967 80 00 Fax + 41 32 967 80 01 [email protected] www.laboratoiredubois.ch
We will deepen this topic in one of our next issue. Meanwhile stay tuned!
Pierre-Yves Kohler
