According to Miklos Konkoly-Thege, Chief Operating Officer of DNV’s Business Area General Industry, DNV is now in a transformation phase – ‘a transformation of one of the most important elements of the company, and that’s us and the way we work.’ He believes that the new economy, in its wider sense, is about more than just Information Technology. ‘It’s also about doing business differently from the way we’ve done it in the past. It’s about abandoning old-economy technologies and adapting to meet customers’ ever-changing needs and requirements.’

Konkoly-Thege believes that DNVs mission, values and behaviour all contribute to the evolution of the company, and that DNV has been able to accelerate this transformation for several reasons. First, global communications are vastly better. Second, we now have the internet and e-commerce. And third, borders, in terms of trade, are coming down. Theres much more openness in terms of markets, he says.

Indeed as international trade continues to grow, so too does the need for widely accepted documentation confirming that services, products and organisations comply with the requirements placed on them. Such confirmation can be Certification by an independent third party such as DNV.

The Certification features in this issue of DNV Forum reflect many of the changes and challenges at the heart of DNVs approach to its changing business world. The growing importance of product certification, a commitment to improve quality and environmental standards, and a willingness to embrace the certification world in all its forms, are recurring themes in the pages which follow.

For the principal players in the industries DNV serves, Konkoly-Thege believes it is important to focus on creating trust and confidence in DNVs certification procedures. Only by keeping this in mind can we contribute to a more open international trade, and eliminate costly re-testing, multiple inspections and repeated certifications which must inevitably be paid for by the end user.

We hope you enjoy this issue of DNV Forum, and that its contents will inspire innovation and help you, our clients, to meet the new challenges ahead.