JTCA conducts surveys about standards and customs concerning manuals and product information in foreign countries and encourage information sharing among TC professionals in Japan.
Coping with Foreign Markets
The Chinese market has continued to grow and develop in recent years, and authorities are rapidly developing national standards that govern how product information is presented for products sold in the country. In May 2007, the JTCA established the Subcommittee for Addressing Product Information and Product Labeling in the Chinese Market (Chinese Market Subcommittee) as the dedicated organization for this issue. The Overseas Market Committee plans to progressively take over the activities of the Chinese Market Subcommittee in conjunction with JTCA’s reestablishment as a general incorporated foundation.
Activities to Date
Presentation at the 2006 TC Symposium (September 1, 2006)
With increasing numbers of manufactures and production companies creating user manuals in multiple languages, Chinese language-related needs have mounted. A panel discussion at the 2006 TC Symposium took up this issue and provided up-to-date information specifically on user manuals in China. The panel discussion resulted in the TC Symposiums first overseas survey trip.
First JTCA Survey Trip to China (November 1-3, 2006)
A fact-finding team made up of volunteer companies was assembled to tackle the issues presented at the TC Symposium. The trip served to increase awareness of how Chinese national standards (GB) are handled within the country and how product information is defined there. The information obtained was judged to be of value to all JTCA members, which led to the holding of technical training seminars in Japan.
First Technical Training Seminar (February 21, 2007)
With the help of the five companies that participated in the survey trip to China, the JTCA held a training seminar on the specifics of Chinese national standards related to user manuals for the Chinese market. The seminar featured a presentation on two Chinese standards related to product information, GB 5296.1 and GB 9969.1, and a report on China’s interpretation of the standards and actions being taken by companies there—information acquired on the fact-finding visit. A GB original was also exhibited, which drew the interest of participants.
Second JTCA Survey Trip to China (April 1-6, 2007)
Companies volunteering on behalf of the JTCA embarked on a second survey trip to China in order to express the association’s gratitude to organizations in China that provided assistance on the first trip and to deepen understanding of the GB standard. The research conducted on the trip covered not only user manuals but also packaging, labeling and nameplates; in other words, the entire spectrum of product information. In addition, we received the cooperation of the Zhejiang Provincial Administration for Industry & Commerce and Zhejiang Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision and held discussions on market supervision in China, in light of the importance of having information not only on bodies involved in establishing national standards but also on those that enforce them.
Launch of Chinese Market Subcommittee (May 2007)
Building on momentum since 2006, including the seminars and other developments, the JTCA decided to include proactively addressing the Chinese market in its operational plan for fiscal 2007. This subcommittee was formally launched to serve as the body dedicated to this issue. Its main activities are collecting and disseminating information on national standards related to product information in China.
Second Technical Training Seminar (June 1, 2007)
Based on information acquired on the JTCA’s second survey trip to China, presentations were given on Chinese national standards related to user manuals, product nameplates, labeling, packaging, warranties and on-screen information in the Chinese market. This type of information is not available in Japan and is even difficult to obtain locally in China. It was organized systematically into a report, which was extremely well received by the seminar’s participants, according to a questionnaire that was conducted.
Third Technical Training Seminar (July 6, 2007)
This training seminar was held on GB 18030, a topic requested by many participants via the questionnaire conducted for the previous technical seminar. Though other seminars had been held in Japan on technology for embedding fonts in products in accordance with GB 18030, this was the first seminar to look at the standard in relationship to other national standards and assess it comprehensively--everything from embedding fonts in products to the impact on production processes for product information. The seminar featured the participation of a special guest from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which helped make the seminar especially substantive.
Third JTCA Survey Trip to China (June 22-24, 2008)
Volunteer companies went on the JTCA’s third survey trip to China in order to gather information on the latest developments related to revisions to GB 5296.1. Agreement was reached with the China Association for Standardization to submit a second article on future trends to China Standardization by the end of the year, and discussions were held with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on the latest trends related to China RoHS and the ministry’s interpretation of it.