CENELEC Workshop Agreement

This page describes the elements and actions required to develop and produce a CENELEC Workshop Agreement (CWA). It applies to all parties interested in developing a CWA (proposers), the CENELEC National Committees and the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre (CCMC). For more details read CEN-CENELEC Guide 29.

1 PROCESS

1.1 A party interested in developing a CWA reaches out to a CENELEC National Committee or to CCMC. If CCMC is the first point of contact, it assists the Workshop Proposer in finding a CENELEC National Committee to take on the CENELEC Workshop Secretariat, following the process described in CEN-CENELEC Guide 29, clause 4.1.

NOTE: In CENELEC, a Workshop cannot deal with safety aspects.

1.2 With the assistance of the CENELEC National Commitee, the Workshop Proposer of a CWA shall prepare the Workshop Proposal Form. The form is then sent by the CENELEC National Committee to the CEN-CENELEC Director Standardization for allocation to a CCMC Project Manager (see CEN-CENELEC Guide 29, clause 4.2 and Annex A).

1.3 The Workshop secretariat submits the CENELEC Workshop Proposal Form to relevant CEN and/or CENELEC Technical Committees (TCs), if any are identified in part A.2 of the form, for a 30-day consultation and to related CEN and/or CENELEC advisory and coordination groups. TC(s) use the same form to indicate if there is an active work item covering the scope of the proposed CWA and if there are any other arguments against the proposed CWA.

1.4 The CENELEC Workshop Proposal Form is submitted to the CENELEC Technical Board by the CCMC project manager for:

  • Decision if the CWA:  
    • address management system aspects;
    • A TC identified as relevant in the proposal has voiced arguments against the proposed CWA (see 1.3 above).
  • Information: in all other cases.

See also the summary of the consultation process of the launch of CWA.

1.5 The Workshop Secretariat and Workshop Proposer prepare the Workshop Draft Project Plan. If the consultation phase on the CENELEC Workshop Proposal Form is expected to take time (in particular if a CEN/CENELEC Technical Committee and/or CENELEC Technical Board consultation is needed), it is recommended to use this time to work on the Draft Project Plan. It is strongly recommended to define a dissemination strategy in the Draft Project Plan to ensure the optimum impact for the future CWA.

1.6 CCMC announces the proposal for a new CENELEC Workshop (CENELEC/WS) on the CEN-CENELEC Website at least 30 days before the Kick-off Meeting. (See also guidance on WS announcement.)

The information posted on the website will include:

  • the CLC/WS  Draft Project Plan;
  • initial information on the Kick-off Meeting (including Agenda and Venue);
  • the Workshop Secretariat (and the proposed Workshop Chairperson - if known);
  • how to submit comments to the Workshop Draft Project Plan.

Any comments submitted during this period shall be considered with the Workshop Secretariat and Workshop Proposer and in any case during the Kick-off Meeting at the latest.

1.7 During the Kick-off Meeting, the Workshop Secretary gives the participants information about the CLC/WS and the development process of the envisaged CWA, to help them understand how the WS will operate (see presentation template for generic information).

The comments received on the Workshop Draft Project Plan are reviewed and the Final Workshop Project Plan is approved by those participants wishing to proceed.

The formal launch of the CLC/WS happens at the Kick-off Meeting, provided there is sufficient support for the Workshop Project Plan.

Participation to the Kick-off Meeting does not automatically ensure registration to the CENELEC/WS. After the Kick-off Meeting the participants wishing to continue contributing to the development of the draft CWAs will be requested to officially register to the CENELEC/WS by means of signing the registration form, therefore becoming CENELEC/WS participants.

1.8 The CLC/WS participants draft the CWA(s) according to the specifications laid down in the Final Workshop Project Plan. The draft CWA is made available for comments to the WS participants.

To ensure transparency the documents of the CLC/WS should be uploaded on an electronic platform.

If the CWA is in the same domain as an existing CEN/CENELEC Technical Committee, the Workshop Secretary is encouraged to follow the guidance on WS-TC communication, to ensure proper exchange of information. In particular, whenever the draft CWA is sent to the CLC/WS participants for internal consultation, it shall be sent to that CEN/CENELEC Technical Committee for comments at the same time. In such cases, a commenting period of 30 days is recommended. Comments shall be sent to the Workshop Secretariat. These comments shall be considered by the CLC/WS participants.

If foreseen in the Final Workshop Project Plan, and in any case if the draft CWA covers safety aspects, an open commenting phase (minimum 30 days and 60 days if the draft covers safety aspects) is launched.

CCMC will make the draft CWA available for external comments on the CENELEC Website and the CEN-CENELEC Website.

CCMC will also notify the CENELEC National Committees.

In case of an open commenting phase, the Workshop Secretariat ensures the creation of a comments resolution report that compiles all the received comments. The comments are considered by the CLC/WS participants.

1.9 The Workshop Chairperson decides when agreement is reached amongst the CENELEC/WS participants on the final text of the CWA.

1.10 The Workshop Secretariat submits the approved CWA to CCMC, with the Cover Page text and the European Forward (see Annex B on CEN-CENELEC Guide 29).

CCMC ensures that:

  • the Cover Page and European Foreword are available and in line with Annex B of CEN-CENELEC Guide 29,
  • a reference number is allocated to the CWA and added before circulating the published CWA to the CENELEC National Committees for announcement.

1.11 The Workshop Secretariat shall inform any relevant TC of the publication of the CWA. At this stage, or at any later point in the CWA lifecycle, a TC can decide to take on the responsibility for the maintenance of the CWA. In this case, the TC Secretariat will conduct the consultation for the review of the CWA after 3 years. 

1.12 A CWA is valid for 3 years, after which the former Workshop Secretariat shall at least consult the former Workshop Chairperson and the relevant CEN/CENELEC Technical Committees, if any, and related CEN/CENELEC advisory and coordination groups, to determine whether the CWA shall be:

  • confirmed for another 3 years,
  • revised,
  • withdrawn from the market.

The former Workshop Secretariat shall inform CCMC of the result of the query.

CWAs have a maximum lifetime of 6 years. After 6 years from initial publication, the CWA shall be submitted to the (CEN and) CENELEC BT(s) for decision regarding its transformation into another deliverable or its withdrawal, taking into consideration the recommendations from relevant (CEN and )CENELEC  Technical Body, if any, and related CEN/CENELEC Sector Fora, Focus Groups and Coordination Groups.

1.13 At any point in its lifecycle, a CWA can be transformed into another standardization deliverable (e.g. a TS or an EN), at the initiative of CENELEC National Committees or of a CEN/CENELEC Technical Body. This transformation shall be conducted according to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations - Part 2

1.14 Once the work described in its Project Plan is completed, the CLC/WS is disbanded. (See also CEN-CENELEC Guide 29, Annex C: Overview of actions, responsibilities, and timeframes throughout the CEN/CENELEC Workshop Agreement process.)

2021-08-09

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