My Care – DNV GL’s infection risk management and digital certification

My Care – DNV GL’s infection risk management and digital certification

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With governments phasing out lockdown restrictions and with the new normal in mind, DNV GL has launched My Care – an infection risk management assessment that combines DNV GL’s risk and HSE (Health, Safety & Environment) management expertise with the ISRS (International Safety Rating System) maturity approach.

The proprietary methodology is designed to help companies assess, improve and validate their capabilities in preventing and mitigating infection risks in the workplace. Depending on the requirements, two My Care solutions are available; readiness and/or maturity. Both, however, analyse risk management policies based on 6 main criteria: governance, strategy, communication, actions, data analysis and continuous improvement.

My Care inspections are carried by DNV GL experts who, after the assessment, provide clients with insight reports and recommendations based on governmental compliance and industry best practices. When companies meet a benchmark-level, a dedicated digital My Care trust mark linked to a verification statement stored on the blockchain is also granted. Displaying the My Care certificate, enables companies to reassure customers and stakeholders that the right standards and risk-based preventive systems are in place. This certification process, complete with data and analysis from third-party inspections, is a great use of a verified public blockchain. 

In many countries, carrying fire and HSE risk assessments is already compulsory. This is particularly true for public facing businesses which, depending on the sector, might require additional licenses. Food serving companies, for example, usually need to obtain and display food hygiene rating certificates. In a post COVID-19 world, reducing infection risks of emerging pathogens will become vital and accreditations such as My Care could become part of the new norm.

“We have in the past combined our experience and expertise from HSE management systems and maturity models to develop healthcare standards. With My Care, we are building on this proven expertise, tailoring it for application in different industries, to help companies keep people safe.” Luca Crisciotti, CEO of DNV GL – Business Assurance

My Care in Action

It hasn’t taken DNV GL long to land customers. In China, where life has gradually gone back to normal, My Care has picked up a few big clients in the Suzhou Qingshan Hotel Convention Center and Hotel Nikko Suzhou. These clients are willing to go through extensive inspections from DNV GL to prove to their customer base that safety is their utmost priority during the current pandemic recovery. This was announced on June 5th from DNV GL’s Business Assurance team in China.  

The Hotel Nikko Suzhou was particularly gracious in their comment [translated] to DNV GL for their role in the verification process.

“With the help of DNV GL, Suzhou Nikko Hotel has discovered some blind spots and deficiencies during operations and the provision of services to guests, and have now perfected the hotel’s various emergency and standardized management systems. I believe that after this review, the hotel will achieve better performance and development in future management.” – Hotel Nikkon Suzhou

A representative of the Hotel Nikko Suzhou stands with DNV GL’s George Kang (member of the VeChain Steering Committee)

Moving forward, it’s clear that blockchain and third-party verification have a major role in returning businesses to normal. Customers will begin to take health measures more seriously at the commercial areas they frequent, demanding solutions like My Care. Potential government mandates could make My Care certification even more valuable, but it remains to be seen how widely adopted this solution will be. If this extends beyond the private sector to include public spaces like airports, train stations or subway networks, the amount of data could be quite large. All told, it’s good to see how fast DNV GL was able to respond to a crisis, bringing in blockchain technology to give customers a sense of safety as they transition to the ‘new normal’. 

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Norway in a Box launches prize draw to boost NiBchain adoption and obtain feedback

Norway in a Box launches prize draw to boost NiBchain adoption and obtain feedback

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We wrote about Norway in a Box last year, when we also documented their attendance in “The 1st Important Product Tracing Expo” in Shanghai.

Norway in a Box is an exporter of high-quality Norwegian products such as seafood, health products, mineral water, household goods. Their core product is known as NiBchain; a supplier and order management system that guarantees the origin, sustainability and safety of their food products. Integrated with MyStory™, NiBchain enables customers to verify information such as certificate of origin, health certificate, product journey, temperature log, producer information or farm information of individual items. Suppliers can enter product information into the NiBchain software suite, which then writes critical data to the VeChain mainnet.

 

The platform has now been used by thousands of end consumers and, to continue increasing user adoption and improve their goods and services, Norway in a Box has announced a monthly prize draw contest in China.

To participate, buyers simply need to locate the My Story™ QR code on their product’s box and scan it with the WeChat app. The user will then be redirected to a login page where they can find, fill and submit a questionnaire to share their suggestions, opinions and experience. It is important to note that to be eligible, customers also need to add the brand’s WeChat account to be added to the sweepstake’s WeChat group; where the winners will likely be announced.

Earlier this May, DNV GL Business Assurance (China) posted an article describing how Norway in a Box, DNV GL, and VeChain were working together to solve China’s food safety problems using digital solutions. This shows a renewed push by Norway in a Box to increase their exposure within China. It will also be encouraging to VeChain supporters to see another region continuing their commitment to the public blockchain platform as a tool to increase trade with China, with now Foodgates in France, APAC Provenance Council in Australia and New Zealand, and DNV GL’s Belt-and-road initiative throughout central and western Asia.  

NiBchain landing page

For more information about Norway in a Box and NiBchain visit their websites here and here.

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Electric vehicle batteries are another area where My Story could shine according to DNV GL

Electric vehicle batteries are another area where My Story could shine according to DNV GL

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The electrification of transportation always seems like a good thing from a renewable energy standpoint. Most people focus on the cleaner process of powering electric vehicles (EVs) compared to traditional engines, which burn carbon-based fuels and contribute to around 75% of the world’s carbon monoxide emissions. However, the challenge of switching to electric batteries is not just an issue of developing the technology. The demand for key raw materials such as Lithium is growing rapidly, up 20% in 2019 according to Forbes, adding to the strain on supply chains. This was an issue before COVID-19 – now it’s even more important. Currently market penetration for EVs is only at around 2.2%. That number is expected to skyrocket to around 70% by 2050 based on compound annual growth rate models.

The Financial Times discusses concerns with mining Lithium

This raises many new environmental concerns with the procurement and disposal of Lithium-powered batteries. As the demand and price for Lithium grows, many smaller suppliers are springing up in less regulated regions, and using alternative mining forms which are more damaging to the environment, reducing the potential positive impact EVs could have. This creates an opportunity for blockchain as a method of transparency, proving the clean production and mining of raw materials. 

A case for DNV GL & My Story

As a leader in the certification of energy industry processes, DNV GL is a natural choice to verify the supply chains of EV battery and raw material suppliers. Erik Dugstad of the DNV GL Energy Advisory for the Nordic & Baltic region spoke about this in an article published on DNV GL’s Energy official WeChat account. The article, entitled “What impact will the rising electric vehicle industry have on our grid” acknowledged that there are human rights and environmental considerations regarding the source of battery materials. Dugstad suggested that DNV GL’s My Story would be the perfect tool for battery manufacturers looking to provide customers and end consumers with verification that these eco-friendly vehicles were actually produced in a way that is friendly to the environment. For many buyers, the whole purpose of switching to an EV is to reduce their carbon footprint, and having proof of that on the public blockchain is a great way to build trust in that regard.

In fact, the risk of not providing verification is that as mining processes become more and more damaging, consumers could become disenchanted with EVs altogether, hurting the industry and setting back the natural progression of technology. My Story solves this by first uploading key supply chain data to VeChain’s public blockchain, with DNV GL providing a verification that the process was done correctly and free of human tampering. 

Source: DNV GL Energy

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Weekly Roundup – February 28

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One of those weeks where covering the VeChain ecosystem was like a box of chocolates…

Major Update: PoA 2.0 – SURFACE

Two of the brightest minds at VeChain – Chief Scientist Peter Zhou (PhD University of Southampton) and Senior Researcher Ren Zhijie (postdoc and PhD at TU Delft) put together a 21 page preprint on their new consensus algorithm, named SURFACE. If you aren’t a very technical person, don’t bother reading it, you won’t get very far. In layman’s terms, the main updates are to increase:

  • role determination and rules (to prevent attacks),
  • throughput (traffic that can pass through),
  • latency (speed of response),
  • finality (speed of block confirmation).

This combination of speed, scalability and security makes up the Holy Trinity of what a blockchain needs to perform efficiently. VeChain’s continued attention to this is necessary to keep pace with the rapid speed of R&D in the blockchain world. The full preprint is posted here: Link

DNV GL and VeChain’s Low-Carbon Ecosystem 2.0 (China) Webpage Released

With the launch of a new website, the initiative focuses around environmental protection and public welfare, two popular issues that blockchain has been tipped to solve in China. They aim to unite users, merchants, enterprises, and government organizations for charitable and sustainable initiatives. Right now, the goal seems to be focused on adding more enterprises willing to support the ecosystem. Read more about the award-winning initiatives here.

Real Items Marketplace Released

Authenticity-as-a-Service platform Real Items released a marketplace for blockchain verified items. This marketplace is meant to “demo” the capabilities of NFTs in products as they look to add more clients.

The products, including this VeChain101 shirt, all feature a 2FA QR code directly on the product. By entering the pin into the landing page, buyers can claim their items and connect with the brands behind the goods.

DNV GL speaks at the GSFI Conference in Seattle

The Global Food Safety Initiative event was a chance for DNV GL’s CEO of Business Assurance Luca Crisciotti to speak about My Story being used to track food products on the blockchain. In addition to wine makers Ricci Curbastro, Ruffino and Torrevento, two new logos were present. They were Buondioli, Italian olive oil producer, and La Fiammante, Italian tomato and canned vegetable producer. My Story is a blockchain solution to add transparency to supply chains.

https://twitter.com/DNVGL_Assurance/status/1233336657304313861?s=20

Chinese Media Blockbeats Features VeChain

The article, entitled What’s Next For Blockchain In The Post-Internet Age? was an in-depth look at how VeChain was challenging decentralization narratives in the industry to build a hybrid model that actually fits into business scenarios. It was picked up by major news portals including Tencent, Sina Weibo News, and many others.

You can view a translated version here: Link

Fashion Designer Sarah Regensburger adds VeChain to Collection

ToolChain showed its appeal to independent designers by popping up at Paris Fashion Week. Check the video in the Twitter post for more.

https://twitter.com/mikefrancesc0/status/1233360709863514112?s=20

Browser Plugins Galore

After the Totient revealed Comet would no longer be updated, an active group of community members decided to “crowdfund” development of a Google Chrome Wallet plugin, allowing users to interact with dApps from the comfort of their usual web browser.

Their efforts were successful, as they reached their target and announced a Ukrainian development team was preparing to undertake the task of creating the plugin, similar to Metamask for Ethereum.

A few days later, ecosystem project Safe Haven announced that they were purchasing the original plugin, Comet, with the intention of making it open-source and furthering development. This gives the community two potential browser plugins, as well as the return of the NFT marketplace Cometverse.

Blockbabies Registration Set to Open on March 5th

“Decentralized infant chaos” is descending on VeChain, thanks to the Blockbabies early bird registration announcement. The game will have NFT babies face-off in a “Baby Battle Arena” with a concept that is as both eye-catching as it is original.

Exchange Updates

OceanEx Telegram AMA

OceanEx’s CEO Nan Xiaoning responded to the dipping OCE token price by reassuring the community that the team was working hard to increase the token price. Nan took on hard hitting topics including issues with trading bots and token price, which can be read about here.

We would like to explore more practical OCE use cases for all OCE holders. For example, we are connecting with a crypto game company, to list our OCE as utility token in the online game. With OCE you could play a lot of fun games. Another idea is to create our OceanEx merch online store. Our supporters will have a chance to buy our tailored merch by using OCE. We are also looking for more third-party companies to form the cooperation to add more value and applications for our platform token. There is a lot more to be explored in the OCE use cases.

Cream Partners with Bitrue

Long a favorite of the XRP community, Bitrue reached a deal with Cream to offer benefits to VeChain ecosystem projects. This includes staking benefits for holders, as well as a way to list more VIP180 projects.

SNKr Announces IEO with Bitmart

Streetwear Ecosystem SNKr announced on March 4th they would hold their initial token sale on Bitmart. This Shanghai based project is partnered with streetwear event INNERSECT and has a BaaS platform and consumer app, known as Mine.

Return of Transactions

The mainnet lit up on Thursday and Friday with a wave of new transactions. The ToolChain contract, suspected as being linked to the Yunnan Tea partnership (source: Reddit) blew through yearly highs and set some optimism back in the ecosystem.

Vexplorer.io

Users watching the explosion on real-time blockchain visualizer vechainuniverse.com were treated to a wave of fireworks and sounds, capping off a busy week in the world of VeChain. Special nod to reddit user Thesandiegonite for vechainuniverse.com.

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VeChain, Tsinghua University, & DNV GL propose new Belt and Road Blockchain Application Technology Alliance

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December 19th – The Third “Belt and Road” Cooperation Forum took place at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai. The forum was co-organized by Tusstar, a large incubator in China with links to Tsinghua University, an institution consistently ranked as China’s top University. The forum’s theme was “New era, new ecology, new development.”

During the forum, three major platforms were announced: A Yangtze Delta AI Industry Alliance, A “Belt and Road” Blockchain Industry Alliance, and a Tusstar Industrial Empowerment Center.

For VeChain enthusiasts, the “Belt and Road” Blockchain Industry Alliance will have the most relevance. Tsinghua University’s Belt and Road Strategy Research Institute, China Industrial Internet Research Institute, Tusstar Blockchain Group, China Silk Road Group, VeChain Technology, and DNV GL jointly proposed and co-founded the “Belt and Road Blockchain Application Technology Alliance”, which aims to bring together research and cooperation for innovative new landing applications of the blockchain in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The “Belt and Road” is a global development policy designed to improve infrastructure and link China with more than 100 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania through trade.  Investment from China alone in the project is estimated to be between $1 trillion and $8 trillion. The bulk of it is going into shipping and overland trade routes, including roads, airports, railways, deep-water ports, as well as social projects like hospitals, schools, and other infrastructure. For a public blockchain that has dozens of use cases related to supply chain, this is a match made in heaven.

Besides just being an effort to accelerate trade, China puts exceptional pressure on the plan to increase their Geo-political weight and counter the US influence. President Xi Jinping has made this the focal point of his economic policy, and has pushed the BRI deep into society, including in primary school curriculums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KFBHBMatXk
The emphasis the government places on this development plan is enormous.

This announcement follows a recent flurry of calls for enterprise blockchain research and adoption, led by Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to the article appearing on state-run media portal Chinanews.com, VeChain Tech was the only blockchain partner of the industry alliance, showing the progress VeChain has made at building connections with influential organizations within China. And while this is still at the proposal stage, DNV GL and VeChain have managed to combine two of the president’s favorite things: enterprise blockchain solutions with the BRI. A very promising start, and definitely following a strategy that has been well-coordinated.

Tsinghua University’s role in this shouldn’t be underestimated, as they are widely regarded as the premium Chinese educational institution, attracting the best Chinese students each year. In 2019, US News and World Report Best Global University Ranking ranked Tsinghua at 2nd in Asia and 36th globally. Previously the Tsinghua University Sino-American Research Department had worked with VeChain’s ecosystem, making this the second time the prestigious institution has supported VeChain. They play an important role in shaping society, and count current president Xi Jinping, former president Hu Jintao, and many others among their famous alumni.

Additional Sources: https://medium.com/vechain-foundation/vechain-is-co-founder-of-the-belt-and-road-initiative-blockchain-alliance-briba-6bc70a0f6980?

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