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NIST Releases Document on Risk Management for Federal Information Systems for Public Comment
The U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC)'s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently published the second draft of its Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Federal Information Management Systems and Organizations document. The document covers approaches to securing information and communications technology (ICT) supply chains and protecting significant federal information systems, among other elements.

In conjunction with the release of the document, NIST has issued a call for public comment and is asking stakeholders to provide detailed feedback on the document as a whole and in connection with the draft's following notable changes:

• An increased focus on balancing the costs and risk associated with ICT supply chain risk management processes and controls
• The addition of an ICT supply chain risk management control summary table, including a baseline and related maps
• The inclusion of an annotated ICT Supply Chain Risk Management Plan Template in the document's Appendix H.

The full text of the draft document is available online. All comments must be entered using NIST's Comment Template Form and emailed to [email protected] with "Comments NIST SP 800-161" in the subject line. The final deadline for comments is July 18, 2014.

NFPA President James M. Shannon Awarded First-Ever James M. Shannon Advocacy Medal
James M. Shannon, the president of ANSI member and audited designator the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), was recently awarded the first-ever James M. Shannon Advocacy Medal. The award, which was named after Mr. Shannon, was created by NFPA to recognize individuals whose work has had a significant role in advancing NFPA's mission, among other achievements.

Mr. Shannon, who received the award during NFPA's 2014 Conference and Expo in Las Vegas, previously announced that he would retire from his position in June; Jim Pauley, former chair of ANSI's Board of Directors and former senior vice president of external affairs and government relations at ANSI member Schneider Electric will replace Mr. Shannon as president of NFPA [see related story].

ASPE Announces U.S. Victory in 2014 Water Innovation Challenge
ANSI member and accredited standards developer the American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE) has announced that Team USA won the first-ever Water Innovation Challenge, a competitive event held in early June during International Water Week in Singapore. This three-day competition pitted a U.S.-based team led by ASPE member William Erickson against teams from other nations, with Team USA defeating Team Australia in the event's finals.

The competition required teams to:

• Design new water solutions that would benefit a village in Bangladesh
• Design and document effective solutions to community problems experienced in Nepal
• Execute a series of hands-on tasks, including assembling a rainwater collection system and a solar pump, and then using these devices to be the first to successfully fill a 100 liter water tank
• Create installation and maintenance manuals that could be understood by individuals speaking different languages

ASPE was a financial sponsor of Team USA, along with ANSI member and audited designator the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA), Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association (PHCC), WorldSkills USA, and Sloan Valve.

For more information about International Water Week 2014, visit its official website.

SLAS Establishes Americas Regional Council
ANSI member and accredited standards developer the Society for Laboratory Automaton and Screening (SLAS) recently announced that it had formed a new body, known as the Americas Regional Council, with the goal of providing effective leadership to SLAS activities in the Americas region.

The members of the new council serve terms of one-to-three years, allowing the body to maintain institutional knowledge while also ensuring the regular influx of new participants. For more information about the SLAS Americas Regional Council and SLAS' other bodies and activities, visit www.slas.org.