To help illuminate the role of standards in our everyday lives, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has published the educational piece, The Power of Standardization. The document gives the complete A-Z on standards: what they are, who creates them, and why they are so important to our everyday world.
In the U.S. alone, more than 100,000 standards are work behind the scenes in all industry sectors. With standards in place, our homes, workplaces, and daily lives are safer and more convenient. The Power of Standardization helps everyone better understand the standards in the world around them, from product-based standards and building codes to personnel certification standards, and everything in between.
The document also helps explain how conformity assessment activities — from testing and certification to accreditation — strengthen consumer confidence in the products we buy, services we use, and people with whom we do business.
Of course, standards could not exist without the significant efforts of the technical experts who develop them. The Power of Standardization illuminates the contributions of the volunteers and standards developing organizations (SDOs) that come together to meet a common marketplace need.
The Power of Standardization also serves to clarify ANSI's role as coordinator of the U.S. voluntary standards and conformity assessment system, and the Institute's capacity in the international arena as the U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee (USNC), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
The Power of Standardization is available free of charge to all interested stakeholders. To access the document, click here.