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.
DOE Finalizes Rule on ASHRAE Energy Conservation Standard
ASHRAE, an ANSI member and accredited standards developer, announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has finalized a rule clarifying use of an ASHRAE energy conservation standard.
The final rule, entitled "Energy Conservation Program for Appliance Standards: Procedures for Use in New or Revised Energy Conservation Standards and Test Procedures for Consumer Products and Commercial/Industrial Equipment," outlines energy conservation standards for both consumer products and commercial equipment pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. It specifies that DOE must meet its statutory requirements to adopt energy conservation levels found in American National Standard ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2019, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, "except in extraordinary cases where a high evidentiary hurdle has been surmounted." The DOE final rule also states, "The language of the statute makes clear that Congress intended to establish a high bar for DOE to go beyond the levels in ASHRAE Standard 90.1, an intention clearly reflected by its decision to require a heightened evidentiary standard."
Read more in the ASHRAE news release.
CTA Report Reveals Record Highs in Consumer Tech Sales
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA), an ANSI member and accredited standards developer, has published a new report on consumer technology sales and forecasts.
The 2020 report states that spending in the U.S. consumer tech industry will reach a record $422 billion in retail revenues this year, driven by the rising popularity of streaming services, wireless earbuds, 5G connectivity, and artificial intelligence-enabled devices. Revenues are also projected to be high in the digital health category, including smartwatches, fitness trackers, and connected health monitoring devices, with projected sales of 64 million devices totaling 10 billion dollars this year. Other top revenue categories include laptops, televisions, and in-vehicle tech.
Learn more in the CTA news item.
Robotics Industry Association Offers Free Webinar Series
The Robotics Industry Association (RIA), an ANSI member and accredited standards developer, runs free webinars each week on topics including robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and related subjects.
The next webinar is "Introduction to Parts Feeding - Parts Singulation for Robot Automation." Scheduled for 12-1 p.m. ET on February 6, 2020, this presentation will cover parts feeding for those who have an assembly application and need to build parts, including discussion on selecting the right feeder, trends, and pitfalls to avoid. Future webinar topics to be covered in the coming weeks include emerging 3D vision technologies; the Industrial Internet of Things (IITOT) and big data in machine vision; and the intersection of AI, collaborative robots, and machine vision.
The one-hour webinars are offered at no cost, but registration is required. See RIA's website for a list of upcoming webinars and registration information.
ASABE Publishes Revised Standard for Slurry Tanks
The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), an ANSI member and accredited standards developer, has revised a standard guiding the operation of mobile liquid and slurry tanks.
ASAE S317.1 JAN2020, Improving Safety on Enclosed Mobile Tanks for Transporting and Spreading Agricultural Liquids and Slurry, is intended to reduce personal and public injuries in the normal use of mobile slurry tanks. It applies to truck-mounted units, self-propelled units, towed units with integral axle, and towed unites with single or multiple axle carriage. The revision for 2020 updates multiple key reference documents, and makes additional clarifications within the standard.
Read more about the revisions here. The standard can be accessed through ANSI's webstore.
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