Did You Know? offers a quick look at the broad scope of activities underway within the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Federation of members and partners, highlighting recent accomplishments and new resources related to standardization.
Upcoming SPLC Summit to Address Institutional Sustainable Purchasing
The Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC) has announced that its 2015 Summit on sustainable purchasing will be held May 26 to 28. Professionals in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors will have a venue to learn best practices, share knowledge, and build valuable relationships as they work to advance sustainability in the purchasing marketplace.
The Summit will include a variety of 75-minute workshops in three areas: process workshops, which address the process of starting and running a sustainable purchasing program; purchasing category workshops, which address optimizing purchasing categories within an organization's spending; and a rating system development workshop, which will give attendees the opportunity to participate in the development of a system to rate sustainable purchasing and identify leadership in the industry.
The event will also include leadership awards, a half-day course on sustainability spend analysis, a buyer-supplier matchmaking event, and more. SPLC is offering all ANSI members a 10% discount with the use of the promotion code "ANSI." To register for the Summit, click here.
ATIS Requests Information on Public Safety Communications Infrastructure
The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), an ANSI member and accredited standards developer, has announced an open request for information (RFI) from organizations and stakeholders for input in identifying how to meet critical public safety-related needs as network operators implement migration from copper facilities, PSTN-based services, and traditional power arrangements to an IP-based network architecture that is increasingly reliant upon commercial power.
"This effort provides an essential national resource to address the IP transition's impact on critical public safety applications," said ATIS president and CEO Susan Miller.
ATIS is seeking input from the ANSI community. All interested stakeholders can access the RFI here. Input will be collected through the end of April. For more information, please send inquiries to ATIS at [email protected] and read the ATIS press release here.
AAMI and GE Collaborate to Support BMET Training in Developing Countries
ANSI members the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) and General Electric (GE) have joined forces through their foundations to support the training of skilled biomedical equipment technicians (BMETs) in developing countries. The AAMI Foundation and the GE Foundation will collaborate to develop recommendations for a time- and cost-effective training model that is efficient and scalable for such countries.
The project aims to develop a professional network through which BMETs can connect in developing countries and around the world. The foundations have announced that they will produce their recommendations within six months.
To learn more, see the AAMI news release.
NFPA Campaign Seeks to Increase Firefighter Participation in Standards-Making Process
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), an ANSI member and audited designator, has launched a new campaign called "NFPA Standards In Action: Your Voice Matters." The initiative seeks to increase fire service input in the standards-making process through an online platform that makes participation easy and free.
The campaign was developed as a result of a recent NFPA survey that indicated that most firefighters don't know how to get involved in developing standards, or don't think that their participation will have an impact.
"Letting the fire service know that we truly want their input and feedback on our standards is a priority, and we need to make the process as easy and straightforward for them as possible," said Ken Willette, NFPA's divisional manager of public fire protection.
NFPA has also committed to consistently reaching out to firefighters through social media and other venues to spread awareness of a variety of ways to participate in the standards process as they arise, such as committee meetings. To learn more, see the NFPA news release.
NEBB Becomes ANSI Accredited Standards Developer