Ram heads up European technical committee
26 August 2005

Digby Ram, Managing Director of IBP International, has been elected Convenor of the European Committee for Standardisation Technical Committee responsible for creating standards for stained note detection systems. (CEN TC263 WG4 [Comité Européen de Normalisation Technical Committee 263 Working Group 4]).

		Digby Ram, Managing Director of IBP International: “New standards will not impose unnecessary bureaucracy on companies.”

A veteran of the cash degradation industry with an appreciation of the technical issues involved in setting standards, Ram was a lead player in the creation of the British Standards Institute Publicly Available Specification 40/2002 document, which set UK minimum guidelines for cash degradation systems in 2002.

Ram insists that the new working group, which comprises nine European countries and the European Central Bank, will be led by end-users in order that the standards are bottom-up driven and do not impose unnecessary bureaucracy on the companies.

Ram comments: “It has never been more important that industry coordinates with central banks and Banknote Watch to ensure that the standards are reflected in central bank guidelines and communication campaigns to prevent degraded notes being spent by criminals.”

The Working Group was formed in January 2005 and involves representatives from Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. It is anticipated that the new standards will become operational within three years.

For more information, contact IBP International, or call +44 (0)1428 641399.