RAL German Institute for Quality Assurance and Labeling
| RAL German Institute for Quality Assurance and Labeling e. V. and RAL GmbH | |
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| purpose | Recognition of quality marks, definition of color shades, awarding of environmental labels, awarding and tracking of abuse of logo licenses |
| Chair: | Doris Möller |
| Executive Director: | Rüdiger Wollmann, Thomas Roßbach |
| Establishment date: | 1925 |
| Seat : | Bonn |
| Website: | www.ral.de |
RAL German Institute for Quality Assurance and Labeling e. V. (abbr. For R eichs- A CoMMittee for L ieferbedingungen) is the independent organization that recognizes RAL quality mark for products and services. The basis of recognition are individually defined requirements for each quality mark. Compliance with the quality conditions is continuously checked by neutral test centers, institutes or sworn experts. RAL is the umbrella organization of all quality associations and the independent institution for quality assurance, which aims to protect the quality mark system and the term quality mark against abuse.
The RAL gGmbH is a non-profit and a 100% subsidiary of RAL. It combines the business areas RAL Environment , RAL Colors and RAL Logo License .
RAL Umwelt has been awarding the Blue Angel eco- label for over 30 years and the European eco-label since 1992 . RAL colors defined since 1927 RAL colors and names it unique worldwide by color names and color numbers. The RAL Logo License division is available to all institutions and companies that want their brand to be marketed independently and that want to prevent its misuse. In 2013 the Stiftung Warentest transferred the right to license marketing, including the award and monitoring of the Stiftung Warentest test logo, to RAL gGmbH.
history
As a joint initiative, the private sector and the then government of the Weimar Republic founded the Reich Committee for Delivery Conditions on April 23, 1925 in Berlin. The foundation served to rationalize the German economy. They needed an institution to which one could delegate self-regulating regulations in order to avoid legal regulations.
“Terms of delivery” did not mean legal or general terms and conditions , but technical and, above all, quality-related requirements that were stipulated uniformly for all traders in the respective industry for reasons of rationalization. Quality and test regulations for entire branches of industry were created after they had been developed jointly by the relevant specialist and trade groups under the leadership of RAL. At the same time, the quality marks were created as “IDs of constantly neutrally monitored quality”.
Under the umbrella of the Reichskuratorium für Wirtschaftlichkeit (RKW), RAL was in the area of responsibility of the Reich Ministry of Economics, but remained an independent, self-responsible body of the economy. He soon acquired his own legal personality in the form of a registered association. In this capacity he was the bearer of his association mark RAL, which he had nationally and internationally protected under trademark law. Since then, the RAL mark has served as identification for goods or services with special quality and test regulations both within and outside of Germany.
With the onset of the social market economy after the Second World War, the need for an institution that unites the self-regulating powers of the economy in order to bring about autonomous regulations became apparent again. In 1952, the RAL was initially affiliated to the German Standards Committee (DNA). 20 years later, the growing tasks made it necessary for him to work as RAL e. V. became its own legal personality again. The management body of the RAL - formerly the advisory board, now called the board of trustees - is supposed to reflect its strict neutrality on all sides in the balance of the business partners involved.
Since 1980 the organization has had the legal form of an association with the name RAL German Institute for Quality Assurance and Labeling e. V. On August 29, 2008, the institute spun off its RAL colors and RAL environment business areas into the newly founded RAL non-profit GmbH - a 100 percent subsidiary of RAL German Institute for Quality Assurance and Labeling e. V. Since 2013, the RAL Logo License division has also been part of the RAL gGmbH.
Bodies
RAL Presidium The Presidium consists of seven people and is elected by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Board of Trustees for a term of four years.
Board of Trustees The Board of Trustees consists of representatives from 15 central associations, four federal ministries, three federal offices and four full members of RAL.
Working method
Quality mark
The purpose of the quality mark is to identify the special quality of goods or services and to give the consumer neutral, reliable information for the choice of his products or services. Quality marks are created for product types and service categories. There is only one quality mark for each product type or service category.
RAL quality marks are issued by the RAL German Institute for Quality Assurance and Labeling e. V. recognized according to an individual recognition procedure.
As a rule, quality marks are created at the instigation of companies that apply to RAL for quality assurance. RAL defines the respective requirements for the award of the quality mark in a recognition process. In this process, u. a. affected authorities, associations, testing institutes and manufacturers included.
The quality associations recognized by RAL award the RAL quality mark to companies that meet the strict quality and test regulations for their product or service. Following an initial test, compliance with the provisions is guaranteed by regular internal and neutral external monitoring. The quality and test regulations are publicly available to everyone.
Quality marks are revised in accordance with technical developments. The scope of quality marks can be extended.
The quality associations
After successful completion of the approval process, RAL recognizes the quality mark and the quality association. It becomes a member of the RAL and awards the quality mark to manufacturers and providers who voluntarily comply with the quality and test regulations.
The quality associations monitor compliance with the regulations and are tasked with protecting the RAL quality mark from misuse. You have the right to punish violations, which can extend to the withdrawal of the quality mark.
Examples of RAL quality associations are:
- Quality association for windows and front doors
- Flat roof quality association
- Gütegemeinschaft multiple-pane insulating glass
- Quality association of engine repair companies
- Quality association for medium-sized local government
- Quality association for lightning protection systems
- Quality Association for Nutrition Competence
Products and services with the RAL quality mark
A company that would like to use a RAL quality mark for its product or service must prove in the context of an initial test that it meets the requirements specified in the quality and test regulations. As part of the initial test, it is also determined whether the requirements are met for the company to permanently comply with the quality and test regulations. The initial test is initiated e.g. B. from the quality committee of the quality association, which can commission a neutral test center or an expert.
After the initial test, the company must prove that it monitors compliance with the quality and test regulations as part of quality assurance. In addition, it is obliged to submit to regular surveillance by a neutral auditor.
Neutral monitoring
RAL quality marks are regularly checked to see whether their users comply with the quality requirements that apply to them. Companies that use a RAL quality mark for their products or services must prove to their quality association that they continuously monitor compliance with the regulations themselves. You also undertake to allow regular checks by a neutral auditor.
Quality assurance
In the RAL quality assurance, the entire process from the recognition of the RAL quality mark through the award to its monitoring is recorded. This system distinguishes the RAL quality mark from other labeling systems.
Number of quality marks
There are currently around 160 RAL quality marks awarded. The more than 130 quality associations include around 9,000 companies from Germany and abroad who use the RAL quality mark in the German and international market. Most of the quality marks are awarded in the construction industry, closely followed by the service sector. There are other quality marks in the agriculture and food industry and in other areas.
Other markings
In addition to the quality mark, RAL awards further markings:
- RAL registrations
- RAL certificates
- Geographical guarantee of origin mark
- Knife and fork sign
Individual evidence
- ↑ ral-guetezeichen.de: Imprint
- ↑ ral-guetezeichen.de: History ( Memento of the original from August 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Stiftung Warentest: Advertising with test results: Logo licensing system and offprints.
- ↑ RAL German Institute for Quality Assurance and Labeling e. V .: RAL quality mark ( Memento of the original from January 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
