The U.S. National Committee (USNC) of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has published the Fall 2017 issue of its quarterly newsletter, the USNC Current. The issue examines strategies to strengthen membership engagement and activity and how executives can reap the rewards of standardization through Standards Boost Businessa collaborative effort of companies and organizations across the standardization community.
The USNC Current-Fall 2017 edition features an article by experts from the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), who pinpoint the association's key standards activities and opportunities for healthcare standardization development, in light of AAMI's 50th anniversary.
Additionally, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the critical role of ensuring safety of the nation's food supply and key consumer products, federal government participation in standards development continues to grow. The issue highlights statistics related to FDA-recognized consensus standards and updates on the FDA's participation in the USNC.
The USNC also recognizes professional milestones and achievements, including its own Joseph Musso, who was among recipients of IEC's Prestigious Thomas Edison Award, and news about the joint IEC, International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) team that was recently honored with a Primetime Emmy Engineering Award for video engineering.
Other highlights include standardization news briefings on a newly released IEC White Paper, and how to participate in the American National Standards Institute's (ANSI) Certificate Issuers' Accreditation Workshop.
A committee of ANSI, the USNC serves as the focal point for U.S. parties who are interested in the development, promulgation, and use of globally-relevant standards for the electrotechnical industry. The Committee is also engaged in the assessment of conformance to standards, undertaking work in areas such as testing, certification, and accreditation.
As the U.S. representative to the IEC and many related regional standardization bodies, the USNC is a conduit to the global standards-setting community for technical and policy positions arising in the U.S. and brings issues from the global arena to the U.S. for review, consideration, and response. Strong U.S. participation in the IEC is critical to national competitiveness and the continued growth and innovation in U.S. electrotechnical industries.