UL Offers Super Bowl Safety Tips
Just in time for Sunday's big game, Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a member and audited designator of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), has released suggested safety tips for Super Bowl parties.
The article includes guidance on avoiding television tip-overs, assuring safety when preparing party snacks, and child-proofing the area of the party. UL also warns fans to make sure that rooms are "adult-proof" as well, with no wires to trip over or clutter in walkways.
For more information, see the UL news item.
ISO Focus+ Magazine Highlights the Human Aspect of Standardization
The launch issue of ISO Focus+, a publication of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), provides insights into the "people" aspects of what it takes to develop International Standards.
The magazine features an interview with Tom Purves, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, an internationally known brand that makes extensive use of ISO standards, as well as articles on ISO standards in action.
"Showing the benefits of using ISO standards through real-life experience of their use demonstrates that they are not academic, amorphous or theoretical," said Rob Steele, ISO Secretary-General. "ISO standards are developed by experts in their subject who actually practice what they write in the standard. The ISO standard is therefore a treasure trove of best practice that can be applied."
For more information, see the ISO news item.
TIA Webinar to Examine Smart Devices and Mobile Growth
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), an ANSI member and accredited standards developer, will hold a free webinar on February 10 to address the mobile and wireless markets for 2010.
According to the TIA's ICT Market Review and Forecast, spending on wireless data will more than double during the next four years to $93 billion, from $43 billion in 2009. Webinar presenters will discuss this and other findings of the report, and will address questions by listeners that can be submitted ahead of time.
Registration is required, and attendance is free. To learn more about the webinar, see the TIA news release.
New NIST Clock is Now World's Most Precise
A new clock developed by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) has been declared the world's most precise. It is considered to be more than twice as precise as the previous pacesetter.
The clock is an enhanced version of an experimental atomic clock based on a single aluminum atom that is trapped by electric fields and vibrating at ultraviolet light frequencies. The clock will neither gain nor lose one second in about 3.7 billion years, according to measurements to be reported in Physical Review Letters.
For more information, see the NIST news release.
Belron Technical Applies for Accreditation as ANSI Accredited Standards Developer
Belron Technical (BT), a new full ANSI Organizational Member in 2010, has submitted an application for accreditation as an ANSI Accredited Standards Developer and proposed operating procedures for documenting consensus on proposed American National Standards. BT's proposed scope of standards activity is to develop and maintain standards for the automotive glass industry.
To obtain a copy of BT's proposed operating procedures, or to offer comments, please contact: Peg McKim, standards consultant, 176 Red Haven Road, New Cumberland, PA 17070; phone: 717.932.5834; email: [email protected]. Please submit your comments to BT by March 8, 2010, with a copy to the Recording Secretary, ExSC in ANSI's New York Office (facsimile: 212.840.2298; E-mail: [email protected]).
NSF International Applies for Accreditation for Proposed U.S. TAG on Traditional Chinese Medicine
NSF International has submitted an application for accreditation for a proposed U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to ISO/TC 249, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and a request for approval as TAG Administrator. The proposed TAG intends to operate using the Model Operating Procedures for U.S. Technical Advisory Groups to ANSI for ISO Activities as contained in Annex A of the ANSI International Procedures.
For additional information, or to offer comments, please contact: Jane Wilson, director of standards, NSF International, 789 N. Dixboro Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105; phone: 734.827.6835; fax: 734.827.6155; Email: [email protected] by March 8, 2010 (please copy [email protected]).