Electronic Services

AWTA offers a wide range of online and electronic services including:

• Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
• TOPMARKTM Benchmarking
• Combined Certificates & Objectively Matched Lots (OMLs)
• Electronic Certificates including Chinese translations
• Online Certificate Verification

Electronic Data Exchange (EDI)

AWTA has been at the forefront of the development and adoption of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) systems within the wool industry through membership of the Wool Industry Electronic Data Processing Users Group (WIEDPUG).

This industry body is responsible for implementing data communication standards within the wool industry, with which all AWTA EDI services comply. This covers both the sending and receiving of test data, sale lot information and our EDI mailbox service, as well as many other transactions that occur in the trade of wool.

The electronic distribution of data is an integral part of AWTA’s services. Through our EDI facilities, AWTA provide electronic data for virtually every test we undertake. Customers can improve service turnaround and reduce testing costs by transmitting sale lot and bale weight data to AWTA as part of our standard core testing service.

Find out more:

Fact Sheet - Electronic Data Interchange

EDI Client Details Form

EDI Service - Update Notice - July 2010

TOPMARK - Global Benchmarking for Topmakers

TOPMARK is a free benchmarking service for processing mills and topmakers around the world. Independent trials have established there is a strong correlation between the predictive formulae used in this service and the processing performance of wool mills. This relationship is used to compare individual mill batches against the overall pool of data and identify areas where improvements can be made.

Participation is very simple, with mills providing AWTA with greasy wool test information on their batches as well as their own processing test data. We collate the data from all participating mills and determine ‘benchmarks’ for all the major processing results. These benchmarks will allow one mill to confidentially compare its performance against the average of all the other mills participating in this program. Confidential reports are provided regularly to mills detailing their performance against key characteristics such as Hauteur, Romaine, Top & Noil Yield, and Core/Comb Fibre Diameter.

Participation in TOPMARK is free. Simply contact us and agree to provide greasy wool and top test results on processing batches and these will be entered into a confidential database from which the processing performance of each mill can be compared. A standard form has been created to assist mills in submitting the required data.

What are the benefits of Benchmarking?

Benchmarking is the collection of performance information that allows comparisons to be made between organisations. It is typically designed to answer the question: “What are the most important performance yardsticks and where do we rank, compared with others in our industry?” It is generally recognised that, when used appropriately, benchmarking is one of the most effective tools for bringing about improvements in performance.

Some of the typical benefits are as follows:

• Allows a wide range of performance indicators to be studied
• Protects confidentiality of all partners
• Allows comparisons with competitors to be made and allows identifi cation of best practice
• Allows performance shortfalls to be clearly seen and assists in identifying priorities for improvement
• Encourages participants to seek fresh approaches to bring about improvements in performance

TOPMARK™ is a registered trademark of the Australian Wool Testing Authority 

Find out more:

Information Form - TOPMARK

TOPMARK Consignment Nomination Form

IWTO Combined Certificates & OMLs

Wool Exporters and processors require certificates that show the overall measurement specifications for consignments they are delivering to mills and banks which issue letters of credit. These consignments often consist of numerous sale lots purchased according to these specifications. As it is not cost effective for the individual sale lots to be resampled and measured again as a single test, AWTA provides a service where the tests of individual sale lots can be arithmetically combined to show the overall average measurements. These IWTO Combined Certificates are widely recognised and trusted throughout the wool supply chain. Similarly, the same process can be used to produce Objectively Matched Lots, however the combination of lots is restricted by minimum and maximum measurement ranges.

Combination Calculations

Fact sheets illustrating the procedures defined in IWTO-31 for combining Mean Fibre Diameter, CVD and Fibre Diameter Distributions are available for download. The IWTO-31 standard establishes the combination procedures for all certifiable parameters and other parameters that are provided for information.

These include:

Wool Base (WB) Vegetable Matter Base (VMB) Hard Heads (HH) Mean Fibre Diameter (MFD) Coefficient of Variation of Diameter (CVD) Fibre Diameter Distribution (FDD) Staple Length (SL) Staple Strength (SS) Position of Break (POB) Colour (X,Y,Z) Commercial Yields

Other rules and calculations that govern the creation of Objectively Matched Lots (OMLs) are provided in the Fact sheet below.

Find out more:

Combining Mean Fibre Diameters & CVDs

Core Test Combination Request

Objectively Matched Lot Request

Requirements for Combining OMLs 

Sample Spreadsheets

The spread sheets provided below show all Combination calculations, as well as the procedure for Combinations by Subtraction. The Combinations by Subtraction spread sheet is used when a small proportion (less than 5% by weight) is removed from a delivery. The removed component is retested and subtracted from the original combination.

Find out more:

Combinations

Combinations by Subtraction

Electronic Certificates (eCerts)

AWTA produces electronic Test Certificates and Guidance Reports as part of our standard services. These can be emailed in PDF format direct to the requestor as soon as testing is complete. The format is identical to that of the printed documents and includes multiple copies. Paper Certificates are still available by request but printing them will incur an additional fee. IWTO Combined Certificates are also available translated into Chinese.

AWTA has introduced a number of security measures that protect the integrity of our Electronic Certificates. One such feature is the use VeriSign digital signatures to secure the PDF files prior to distribution from our server. If the document is changed in anyway, then the signature becomes invalid. If the signature is intact, you will see the following banner in the Adobe Acrobat Reader window.

Recipients of any Electronic Certificates should setup their MS Windows Certificate store so that Acrobat Reader can check the digital signature is valid.

Find out more:

Electronic Certificates

Electronic Certificates - Chinese

Online Certificate Verification

The Online Verification system allows holders of AWTA Test Certificates to request additional PDF copies by simply entering the certificate number, some security information and an email address into an online form. It has been provided so that people who have Certificates in their possession can check that they are legitimate. It is not designed to allow Certificates to be reproduced by those that do now own them.

Simply go to our website and enter the full Certificate number, the security code (which is displayed at the bottom of the test certificate) and the email address that you want it sent to and press the “Verify Certificate Details” button. A PDF file is then sent automatically to the nominated email address. All entries and updates that take place on this web page are logged.

The Online Verification system was introduced to allow legitimate owners of AWTA’s Test Certificates or Reports to confirm the details of documents they have in their possession. It is not designed to allow Certificates to be reproduced or distributed by those that do not own them. Even contacting AWTA directly to ask for an Electronic Certificate may require the requestor to establish that they are the bona fide owner.

	to access the On-Line Verification service

Find out more:

Online Verification of Certficates

Online Verification of Certificates - Chinese