euro

European certification

 New ECBL standards

New system of validation and qualifying requirements to logisticians from ELA and European Certification Committee for Logistics.

Preamble

Over the period of 2003-2004 scientific committee and working group on standardization of European Certification Board for Logistics(ECBL) as well as basic committees and working groups of ELA were working out new version of digest «standards of competence in logistics and SCM»,which  is the basic normative document to provide the process of European three-phase certification in logistics. New rewritten edition of  «standards of competence» is characterized by balanced structure of requirements to knowledge, skills and proficiency of logisticians of operational, senior and strategic levels of management hierarchy. New system of requirements and standards of competence of logisticians, introduced in January 2005, makes the procedure of ECBL validation more objective, fair and reliable.

The system of qualifying requirements to logisticians has been extended in appliance of skills and knowledge in SCM. It is dictated by intensive development of SCM concept and technologies  in business. Titles and abbreviations of all three levels of European certification in logistics have changed. Instead of already familiar junior level (EJ log)  - junior logistician; Senior level (ES log) – senior logistician; Master level (EM log) – master of logistics the following titles/abbreviations were introduced:

·        Supervisory/operational level – ElogSO – (controlling/operational logistician)

·        Senior level – ElogSE – (senior logistician)

·        Strategic level – ElogST  -(logistician of strategic level)

The main thing is that contents of requirements to knowledge, skills, proficiency, defining hodiernal competence of logisticians, especially competency  in part of strategic direction of its activity and requirements to knowledge of modern methods of facing logistic problems and SCM technologies.

All national certification committees of countries, being members of ECBL (including National Certification Committee for logistics   - NCCL   - Russia) should introduce new qualifying requirements/standards in their procedure of three-phase European certification starting  from 2005. New structure of ECBL standards lets make the procedure of assessing competence of logisticians even better. Below new structure and basic requirements to competency of logisticians defined by new ELA/ECBL standards, follow.

1.      Introduction

The following  review unveils the structure and basic contents of «Standards in area of logistics/SCM (further «Standards»), on which base European Certification Board for Logistics – ECBL conducts certification of individuals, fitting the requirements of these standards.

ECBL is an independent organization, which includes countries which on volunteer basis are able to share their standards of competence and follow common European quality standard of validation of logisticians.

ECBL owns «standards» and is responsible for their updating how and when it is necessary , their discretion. ECBL possesses individual rights to award appropriate qualification to physical persons , to present national certification committees in the sphere of logistics. European committee regulates the work of national certification committees, which should be founded singly in every country and guarantees that standards in each country correspond common European directives. So applicants on getting qualification from any country, participating in given programme of European certification may be sure that standards are alike everywhere.

To make all countries, belonging to ELA and ECBL have equal notion of Supply Chain Management and logistics in «Standards» are introduced basic terminology and concepts, formulated by Scholar Council of ELA in the shape of  appendix – glossary to «Standards». In particular it relates to two fundamental terms:

Supply Chain Management – is organizing, planning, control and regulating of freight flow, starting from placing the order and purchasing raw materials to provide production and  through further production  and distributing processes  its reaching the  end user according to market requirements with optimal costs.*

Logistics is planning, implementing and control of flow and placing of people and/or goods, as well as maintaining, connected with such flow and placing within economic system, created to achieve its specific targets.**

Note:  logistics – noun, logistic – adjective, logistician – the person, engaged with logistics/SCM as functional block of the company/organization.

* © translated by professor V.I. Sergee

** ©  translated by  professor V.I. Sergeev

2. Reasoning for ELA/ECBL standards

Introduction of new standards is dictated by following fundamental targets:

1)Reciprocal desire of countries to have common level of standards for logisticians to reach mutual benefit.

2) Mobility of skills and competence of logisticians all over the world

3) Mutual recognition of standards within Europe

4) Determination of general requirements to logisticians in every country

3.Characteristics of ELA/ECBL standards

One may generalize characteristics of ELA/ECBL standards the following way (see chart1):

Chart1:

4. Basic characteristics

Adopted by ECBL system of competency reflects requirements of employers in European Union. Standards of competence were worked out in cooperation with companies and were approved by them. Standards were made up hence results of mutual work with companies  and are base for validation of applicants/candidates. Attestation is conducted independently from any educational programmes. The official text of standards is written down in English. However in different countries standards may be translated into other languages for further use.

National certification committees may supplement , but not reduce standards.

5. Levels/steps of certification

Requirements to applicants on each level/step of certification as well as enlarged description of managerial hierarchy and full powers of personnel  on each level are brought together in Chart 2.

Chart 2

Description of requirements to competency of applicants on levels of certification

The procedure of validation and its criteria

The main task of ECBL is certification of physical persons in logistics/SCM,  herewith the Committee is not engaged with education or working out educational approaches. The Committee by no means prescribes any methods or courses to countries, with the help of which applicants could receive or enlarge their knowledge and skills in order to meet the standards of competence. So official education is not essential requirement for obtaining ELA/ECBL certification.

National certification committees, created singly in each country, belonging to ECBL council, should evaluate applicants on meeting established  requirements of ELA/ECBL «Standards». Herewith programmes of staff education, training and retraining in area of logistics/SCM are worked out  and applied in each country independently basing on available practice, standards of higher and professional education and traditions, formed in the country-member of ECBL.

Standards of ELA/ECBL competency and any programmes, created on the basis of these standards, are intended for managers in the area of logistics/SCM. National independent certification committees may work out strategies of certification strategies, meeting educational  requirements in every separate country. Herewith supplement is possible, but not reducing the contents of validation base (set of competencies) of ELA/ECBL «Standards».

ECBL does not require from applicants to possess any appointed period of work experience. Independent national committees may determine the timescale of work experience by themselves, but three-phase list of standards should be basic requirement for validation of applicants. For assessors, conducting validation, it should be sufficient that the applicant has demonstrated his/her knowledge on proper level for every concrete step of certification .

7. Guarantee of quality

ECBL is constantly improving the process of certification, registering it in normative documents. Certification is conducted by the best experts – assessors, approved by national certification committees of countries, belonging to the Committee. ECBL is constantly monitoring the activity of all national certification committees and specialists, conducting validation as well s is constantly conducting education and validation of assessors.

8. Structure

Definite modules may be met only on single step of certification (for example «Innovations and alterations management» - ElogST level) or may be met on several steps, (for example, «Warehousing logistics» - on operational – ElogSO and on superior – ElogSE levels). Module «Basic competencies and technologies of logistics and SCM» is obligatory for all three levels of certification, though module programme gets complicated from step to step.

In the next section the list of modules for every step of certification is represented.

9. Standards of competency

9.1. Operational phase – ElogSo

Operational phase includes one obligatory module as well as three modules, which may be chosen from eight (see Chart 3). System of testing at this level is usually formed on the basis of closed tests.

Chart 3

Modules for passing exams on operational and superior levels of European certification

9.2 Superior stage – ElogSE

At this level an applicant as well takes 4 exams: one is obligatory in module «Basic concepts and technologies of logistics and SCM» and three optional exams from 8 modules in accordance with his/her professional interests from the structure of modules, listed in Chart 3.

However the contents of module programmes should be expanded and itemized in aspects of strategic management and controlling. System of testing should be preferably constructed on open tests and cases.

9.3. Strategic phase – ElogST

Strategic step consists of 6 obligatory modules, herewith exams in all listed in Chart 4 modules should be passed.

Chart 4

National certification committee for logistics

National certification committee for logistics as part was founded at State University Higher School of Economics by order of Chairman  № 970-OUP from 10 June 2002 in line with mutual decision of ELA and ECBL (see Appendix 1).

Chairperson of NCCL – is  head of HSE department of logistics, Ph.D. in economics, professor  Dibskaya Valentina Vladimirivna.

Vice-chairman, representative of NCCL in Scholar Council of ECBL – president of  HSE ICTL, Ph.D. in Economics, professor Sergeev Victor Ivanovich.

Structure of NCCL includes four regional departments:

• North-Western (Saint—Petersburg);
• Siberian(Irkutsk);
• Of the Volga (Nizhny Novgorod);
• Southern (Rostov-Na-Donu).

The staff of assessors of NCCL:

The chief assessor - Dibskaya Valentina Vladimirivna, Ph.D. in Economics, professor (State University – Higher School of Economics, Moscow)

Assessors:

-         Zaitsev E.I., Ph.D. in economics , professor (St-Petersburg State University of engineering and Economics, Saint-Petersburg)

-         Kuznetsov A.L., Ph.D. in Technics, professor (Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy), Saint-Petersburg);

-          Lukinsky V.S., Ph.D. in Technics, professor (St-Petersburg State University of engineering and Economics, Saint-Petersburg)

-         Meshalkin V.P., Ph,D. in Technics, professor (D. Mendeleev University
 of Chemical Technology of Russia, Moscow)

-         Moiseeva N.K., Ph.D. in Economics, professor (Moscow Institute of Electronic Technology (Technical University), Moscow);