AFNOR Éditions designs a high-performance standards monitoring system for ITER

Daniele Parravicini, Head of ITER’s Document Control Unit, shares his feedback on Standards WebPort, the solution used to access the bodies of standards and regulations vital to the success of this global research program.

Launched in 2006, the worldwide ITER research program aims to build a prototype nuclear fusion reactor for large-scale electricity generation. Reaching this goal is likely to take around forty years, during which time international teams will produce the specifications needed to build and test the technologies. In this context, ITER members need to refer to the standards and regulations in force at the time, in all the fields that interest them. This is where AFNOR Éditions comes in.

The right text at the right time

Standards WebPort now provides ITER users with access to over a million texts. “The platform has become essential for our teams: the number of connections has risen from 266 in 2010 to 4,602 in 2014. As for downloads, they exceeded the 9,500 mark last year.says Daniele Parravicini, head of the Document Control department at ITER. The success of the working relationship we’ve developed with AFNOR can be attributed to one key factor: the attention we’ve paid to ITER’s specific needs, and the construction of a platform and associated services tailored to our needs. The document collection, applications, support services and training sessions have evolved over time, in parallel with our needs.

Given the global nature of the project, Daniele Parravicini particularly appreciates the flexibility involved in drawing up the contract, the copyright and user license agreements, as well as the ability to network.

Our most popular services also include the rapid integration of multilingual translations. “For example, the NF EN 1998 standard, an appendix to Eurocode 8, was only available in French. Its translation, carried out by ITER staff, was quickly integrated and made available to all. This ability to “internationalize” specific texts will be a key factor for the future. As ITER moves into its operational phase, the technical specifications will have to be adapted for each country where the components will be built, without forgetting compliance with French standards and regulations, the country where the reactor operates.”

Find out more about AFNOR Editions’ solutions for monitoring and accessing texts…