The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), coordinator of the U.S. standardization system, has released the draft agenda for its "Through the Looking Glass" event, a cross-stakeholder discussion on Thursday, March 22, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The workshop will focus on ANSI's core procedural requirements as they relate to openness, balance, and disclosure within the American National Standards (ANS) process. The event will be hosted at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C.
Much like Alice in the famous tale, event participants can use this neutral and open opportunity to take an earnest and thorough look at our system's requirements, and come through that examination with a fresh perspective. ANSI president and CEO S. Joe Bhatia will provide welcoming remarks, and Lane Hallenbeck, ANSI's vice president of accreditation services, will participate as the day's moderator.
The session American National Standards (ANS) and ANSI's Essential Requirements, will engage ANSI Executive Standards Council (ExSC) and ANSI Board of Standards Review (BSR) leadership, together with ANSI staff, in a focused review and discussion about current procedural requirements that apply to American National Standards (ANS) as reflected in the 2018 edition of the ANSI Essential Requirements (www.ansi.org/essentialrequirements).
Robert S. Adler, commissioner at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), will share his personal thoughts on the role and value of ANS, as well as his thoughts for improving the ANSI process during the session, The Role of American National Standards: One perspective.
Four panel discussions will focus on key topics:
Panel 1- Openness and Participation in the ANSI Process
Panel 2- Balance and Interest Classification of ANSI Consensus Body Membership
Panel 3- Affiliation, Disclosure and Accurate Accounting of ANSI Consensus Body Members
Panel 4- Should the ANSI Essential Requirements be further refined to distinguish among types of ANS?
In addition, a final session will offer a moderated full group discussion, and will focus on the issues, commentary, and ideas voiced by attendees throughout the day. Panelists will consider the mechanisms that the ANSI ExSC has used to advance the ANS process in the pastguidance documents, best practice summaries, limited pilot programs to test a concept, and procedural revisions to the ANSI Essential Requirements. The session will also identify innovative ideas and suggestions that the ANSI Executive Standards Council (ExSC) can consider in the future.
For more information, access the draft agenda, to be updated regularly with more details. ANSI has also established a public folder in ANSI's online ANS library and posted documents including a basic slide deck about ANS, guidance documents, and several proposals that are pending before the ANSI ExSC.
Read more about the ANSI Essential Requirements or visit the Looking Glass event webpage.
ANSI offers <href="#dc">negotiated hotel rates in Washington DC.</href="#dc">
Please contact Anne Caldas ([email protected]) for additional information, or to submit a reference document for consideration for posting in the public library.