The objective of the Pacte Industrial is to build a strategic alliance which will foster competitiveness, extend the concept of sustainability and reinforce social cohesion in the metropolitan region.

The Pacte Industrial brings together all the stakeholders involved in economic development and improvements in standards of living within the metropolitan area, in order to adequately respond to the challenges which are presented by globalised markets and competitiveness, overcoming factors such as localism which would otherwise limit this development in a more connected economy.

Its main working lines fosters the consolidation of the productive system and the entrepreneurial activities, the creation of a coordinated strategy which should make it possible to overcome the challenges presented by employment issues, and the incorporation of the objectives of sustainability and territorial quality, which are understood to be elements that will strengthen the competitiveness of the production network as a whole.

The Pacte Industrial realizes as well other activities such as publication of working papers and books, organisation of meetings and conferences, seminars, etc. To date it has held three Technical Conferences:

 

I Technical Conference “Economic and Social Councils: an approximation beyond the local reality (Los Consejos Económicos y Sociales: una aproximación más allá de la realidad local)”

II Technical Conference “Strategies for Supporting Quality Standards in Business (Estrategias de soporte a la Calidad Empresarial)”

III Technical Conference “The present model of Mobility and its impact on competitiveness, social cohesion and sustainability in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (El actual modelo de Movilidad y su incidencia en la competitividad, cohesión social y sostenibilidad de la Región Metropolitana de Barcelona)”

 

I Technical Conference “Economic and Social Councils: an approximation beyond the local reality”

In collaboration with the Consell Comarcal of Baix Llobregat in which the 10 Economic and Social Councils from within the metropolitan area of Barcelona took part. This event took place on October 19, 2000.

Description

Networks established throughout the entire metropolitan region are increasingly becoming more solid and complex; according to that, the need for coordination and consensus among administrative bodies and socio-economic agents is the and more complex.

The Pacte Industrial de la Región Metropolitana de Barcelona has come about through an intention to bring together, in a common space for work, discussion and proposals, the main actors involved in the economic dynamic, training and employment at the metropolitan level.

At present a dozen Economic and Social Councils have been identified in the metropolitan area. These plural bodies have the active participation of all the stakeholders and have a clear role in shaping the economic and social activity of the areas which represent.

The I Technical Conference “Economic and Social Councils: an approximation beyond local reality”, organised by the Economic and Social Councils from the metropolitan area and the Pacte Industrial de la Región Metropolitana de Barcelona, was held with the purpose of identifying and sharing information on the activities, objectives, results and proposals launched by the various Economic and Social Councils in the metropolitan region; the linking up of the different initiatives within the metropolitan area; and finally, the setting up and consolidation of a dialogue beyond issues that goes beyond administrative borders.

Results

As a result a first Economic and Social Council Directory covering the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona has been drawn up.

 

 

II Technical Conference “Strategies for Supporting Quality Standards in Business”

In collaboration with the Company Support Centre of Gavà. This event took place on November 9, 2000.

Descriptión

The territory’s competitiveness lies in the quality of the companies and their workers, given that, in a situation of crisis or economic recession, only high-quality companies with well trained workers will be able to guarantee good management of change, to keep jobs and social cohesion. For this reason a requirement of regional competitiveness is an efficient implementation of quality monitoring standards.

In terms of regional competitiveness, responsibility for social cohesion and sustainability lies both with privates as well as with public bodies. According to that, a strong commitment is often necessary present, both in public administrations as well as in the various social agents within the territory, and can be seen in the form of a broad range of tools/strategies for supporting quality standards in business: strategies for information on quality standards, training in quality standards, quality awareness and quality support.

The II Technical Conference held by the Pacte Industrial de la Región Metropolitana de Barcelona “Strategies for Supporting Quality Standards in Business” was framed within the European Quality Standards Week (Semana Europea de la Calidad). It was intended, on the one hand, to offer discussions on those tools which presented innovative aspects both through their field of application (business management, the environment, new industries) as well as through their methodology; and on the other hand, to analyse good practices and initiatives, which aside from being innovative, would also present specific interest for the various municipalities within the metropolitan area of Barcelona.

Results

In the first part of the conference, representatives from the public administration explained their strategies for supporting quality standards in business. Mrs Dolors Roig, head of the Economic Promotion Service of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (Servicio de Promoción Económica del Área Metropolitana de Barcelona) and director of the El Pla Business Centre (Centro de Empresas del Pla) and Mr Manel Narváez, councillor for Economic Promotion with the Town Council of Viladecans, presented two initiatives aimed at the evaluation and improvement of quality levels in industrial areas and its infrastructures (railway links and telecommunications networks, security and business services, integration of business and leisure activities in the industrial areas, amongst other aspects).

Mrs Dolors Roig presented the Quality Standards Plan for El Pla Industrial Estate (Plan de Calidad del Polígono Industrial El Pla). This initiative adapts quality methodology for analysing the quality levels of industrial areas. According to Mrs Dolors Roig “only industrial areas that can offer high-quality facilities will be able to attract high-quality firms and this challenge need to be tackle in order to make reach a balanced economic expansion.”.

The strategy of Viladecans City Council in favour of promoting quality in business is a more far-reaching strategy and one that is aimed at the industrial estates in its surrounding areas. In this case, the setting-up of high-quality businesses is not only a result of the presence of industrial estates in a high-quality environment. For Viladecans environmental improvement is a city-oriented strategy in as far as it integrates different issues such as urban planning, environment and economic promotion.

The City Council of Gavà, joint coordinator of the conferences with the Pacte Industrial, has presented a cutting-edge strategy within the field of local administration: it consists in a wide array of grants to help the small-sized companies to become ISO quality certified. The idea underlying this initiative is based on the fact that it is not enough to coach the setting-up of new companies in the municipal area, but that it is also necessary to foster the consolidation of companies already established in the area. This is especially focused for small-sized companies which are the ones more affected by managerial problems. The introduction of the ISO quality standards would help to consolidate those companies and, in doing so, would at the same time guarantee their future. “A company that goes out of business, with the resulting loss of jobs that this entails, are causing a damaging effect in terms of social cohesion and economic welfare for the city”, declared Mrs Bruguers Jardí, deputy major for Economic Promotion with the city Council of Gavà.

The strategy for supporting quality standards in business presented by the City Council of Vilafranca del Penedès expresses a vision of quality which, on the one hand, is based on the pact of progress made between public and private stakeholders; and on the other hand, on the city’s own vision and strategy. The director of the Centro Àgora, Mrs Maria Batet, head of Economic Promotion of the City explained different tools for supporting entrepreneurial business initiatives which are being developed with regard to the promotion of a cluster in the wine sector and industry. In this respect, the Centro Àgora’s facilities are used by a delegation from the Universidad Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona (Department of Oenology), the Regulating Body of the Penedès (D.O), and a considerably-sized representation of companies linked to the wine-growing sector and food-producing sector in general.

This presentation was followed by the participation of Mrs Olga Tomás, director of the Office of Unified Management (Oficina de Gestión Unificada) for entrepreneurial activities. This office was set up at the end of the 1990s with the purpose of simplifying the administrative procedures required for the setting-up of industrial companies. The OUM (OGU in Spanish) is a single tier facility which is intended to make essential procedures easier to carry out in connection with setting up a commercial business. This office is basically characterised by the emphasis it lays on its personalised service offered to users, and its commitment to quality standards in the delivering of services.

The second part of the conferences served to known about some of the initiatives launched by trade unions and entrepreneurs associations to supporting quality standards.

First, Mrs Rosa Fiol, general manager of the Association of Entrepreneurs L’Hospitalet and Baix Llobregat (Asociación de Empresarios de L’Hospitalet y el Baix Llobregat), explained the steps in quality awareness and development that have been taken by the association. In particular this strategy puts special emphasis on making companies aware of, and in particular the small and medium-sized companies, about the importance of Quality as a factor of competitiveness. It should be mentioned that in terms of training, the Association of Businessmen of L’Hospitalet and Baix Llobregat has been a pioneer as regards quality initiatives.

This was followed by Mr Andrés Senllé, director of ICFIDE, a consultancy firm specialising in aspects of quality, who explained the specific strategy used by this organisation aimed at obtaining certification for small and medium-sized companies. ICFIDE takes into consideration the high economic cost that is involved for each of the small and medium-sized companies, both in terms of specific training prior to obtaining certification, which is required for the purpose of certification, as well as the necessary steps to be undertaken to obtain the quality standard certification. For this reason ICFIDE provides small and medium-sized companies with joint certification, which results in an important part of the costs, in particular those costs related to training, being reduced by up to 50% for each of the firms that takes part of those activities.

Mr Manuel Jiménez, general manager of B-Braun and chairman of the Rubí Business Club for the Promotion of Quality Standards (Club de Empresas para la Calidad de Rubí), revealed that his club originated out of the concerns of a group of like-minded individuals concerned with encouraging companies to develop good working practices. Mr Jiménez mentioned that one of the great problems facing quality standards at present is that the concern for good work practices is not shared by many businessmen. This means that in many cases companies apply for certification “because they have no other choice and simply to get the “piece of paper” (the certificate)”. According to Mr Jiménez, who expressed his regret at the low numbers of businessmen attending the conferences, “the Rubí Business Club for the Promotion of Quality Standards came into existence to change this way of thinking; the certificate has to foster a culture in which good work practices are encouraged.

Trade unions are also concerned and worried about quality culture. According to the director of IDFO-UGT, Mr Francesc Miranda, new directions which production processes are heading in, such as networking makes it necessary for us to reflect on the concept of quality standards in business. To tackle these challenges successfully, it is necessary for the bodies who are involved in this process to intervene; these obviously being the workers themselves. In this respect, and according to the words of Mr Miranda, “high-quality work requires high-quality work standards”. The director of IDFO pointed out that “these winds of change, the new work methods, make continual training processes even more important throughout an employee’s working life”.

Mrs Emilia Macías, in charge of the area of Planning and Resources with the Fundación Paco Puerto CCOO, in the first place expressed her thanks at being invited to take part actively in these events which deal with an issue theme such as quality: traditionally associated with the business world. According to Mrs Macías quality in business requires quality in training of workers, quality which goes beyond simply training in the specific area of activity, and which goes beyond other fields which are more far-reaching such as: health and safety in the work place, safety and hygiene standards, working conditions and even the organisation of the work itself. Mrs Macías went on to add that quality training implies high quality in teaching standards and also in the centres in which the training is given.

By way of conclusion to the conferences, and in accordance with the words of Mr Marc Balaguer, coordinating director of the Pacte Industrial de la región metropolitana de Barcelona, “the broad-based participation of the various agents involved in quality standards, in addition to an integrated vision of the multiple perspectives of supporting quality in the administrative field, private enterprise and the workplace, has provided participants with a chance to witness the unanimous consensus concerning the need to enhance quality standards within the territory, within companies and within working practices in general”.

 

III Jornada Tècnica "L'actual model de Mobilitat i la seva incidència en la competitivitat, cohesió social i sostenibilitat de la Regió Metropolitana de Barcelona"

 

 

In collaboration with the Town Council of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. This event took place on July 11, 2001.

Description

The Pacte Industrial de la Región Metropolitana de Barcelona has as one of its founding objectives the aim of developing improvements in accessibility within its territorial boundaries.

Undoubtedly, mobility and connectivity represent fundamental elements for the competitiveness of the metropolitan area of Barcelona. In this respect an articulated model for mobility, an expanded and integral public and collective transport system, high standards in port and airport facility infrastructures and first-rate access routes free of toll charges are important elements for the consolidation and advancement of the metropolitan area of Barcelona in achieving the desired levels of competitiveness, social cohesion and substantial improvement in terms of sustainability.

Some facts such as an excessive use of private transport, the uncertainties as to the final trajectory of the High Speed Train (Tren de Alta Velocidad), the tardiness in the introduction of the integrated fare system by some of the transport operators, or the famous “whistle blowing” as a sign of protest at the tolls being charged on the Mollet and Gelida routes, are symptoms of the unsuitability of the metropolitan mobility model which are reflected in a growing level of social awareness. Problems associated with mobility increasingly represent a motive for disquiet not only among the experts but also among workers and businessmen, not to mention the general public.

The III Technical Conference held by the Pacte Industrial “The present model of Mobility and its impact on competitiveness, social cohesion and sustainability in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona” was held with the purpose of discuss some of the problems associated with mobility and accessibility in the metropolitan region of Barcelona. At this event was presented the l’ Hospitalet Declaration on Mobility (Declaración de L’Hospitalet sobre Movilidad). This declaration is the result of discussion held by the Pacte Industrial with city councils, businesses organizations, trade unions and other bodies.

Resultats

a.- Presentation of the L’Hospitalet Declaration on Mobility.
(See presentation)

b.-Report on “Information Service on Localisation and Access to Economic Activities in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (Servicio de Información sobre la Localización y el Acceso a las Actividades Económicas de la Región Metropolitana de Barcelona” (SILAE).
(See presentation)

c.- Transcription of the III Technical Conference “The present model of Mobility and its impact on competitiveness, social cohesion and sustainability in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona”
(See transcription)