The Scheme is intended as a catalyst to help companies offering services based on satellite Earth Observation data and provide confidence to their customers. It is applicable to all sizes of EO companies and allows the possibility of certification to scheme requirements without the need for full ISO9001 compliance.
Industry benefits will be focus on: – best practices for core processes – EARSC maintaining a list of appropriately trained and experienced certification bodies – exposure to potential customers by listing on the EARSC certified companies list – smaller companies are subject to less audit time certified to the EARSC Scheme than they do under ISO9001 – resulting in lower cost of entry into the market
Customers benefits will be focus on: – accessing to a list of companies successfully completing assessment – accessing a list of companies providing product information in a common format allowing comparison of like with like – continually maturing and improving EO Industry, increasing trust – future understanding on a common format for product specifications (DRD)
EARSC representes the Earth Observation geo-information services companies in Europe. Today EARSC has 75 members coming from more than 22 countries in Europe. Our members include both commercial operators of EO satellites, IT, downstream and value-adding companies. The sector plays a key role in providing value-added geo-spatial information to its customers in Europe and the world. In 2014, the revenue of the European EO services sector is estimated to be around €900m for approximatively 450 companies and giving work to over 6500 highly skilled employees. www.earsc.org