As the U.S. member body to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) encourages its members and relevant stakeholders to comment on a potential new work item proposal to ISO on the subject of Specifications for the Process of Remanufacturing, by close of business on Friday, December 22, 2017. Based on the input received, the ANSI ISO Council (AIC) will then be asked to approve whether ANSI submits this draft proposal to ISO.
The Remanufacturing Industries Council (RIC), an ANSI member and accredited standards developer, submitted the proposal for a standard would define and provide a benchmark for the process of global remanufacturing and establish specifications that characterize the remanufacturing process and differentiate remanufacturing from other practices. RIC recently published an American National Standard for remanufacturing process and is currently taking the lead in developing a global standard.
RIC defines remanufacturing as a comprehensive and rigorous process by which a previously sold, worn, or non-functional product or component is returned to a "like-new" or "better-than-new" condition and warranted in performance level and quality. Remanufactured items can include automotive and aircraft parts, among many other products. The process of remanufacturing is not the same as "recycling" or "repairing."
The proposal explains that as an industry, remanufacturing is expanding on a global scale, with an estimated revenue of $150B and over 2 million employees. A global standard for the process of remanufacturing would assure that remanufactured products are safe, reliable, and of good quality. In addition, such a standard would help to reduce trade barriers, if all countries recognized a standard definition for remanufactured products.
All interested stakeholders are invited to review the proposal, which includes a listing of relevant and existing documents at the international, regional, and national levels, and stakeholder categories that may benefit from the proposal.
Please submit comments to Steve Cornish, ANSI senior director of international policy ([email protected]), by close of business on December 22, 2017.
ANSI has published an explanatory information document outlining the process used to develop U.S. positions on issues and activities under consideration by ISO and IEC.