ANSI-HDSSC to Hold IAB First-Responder Standards Needs Roundtable in March

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Homeland Defense and Security Standardization Collaborative (HDSCC) has scheduled its 2015 InterAgency Board for Equipment Standardization and Interoperability (IAB) First-Responder Standards Needs Roundtable for March 26 in Washington, DC. The event will focus on discussion of the latest standards priorities identified by emergency response and preparedness practitioners from law enforcement, fire, and other public safety agencies.

Each year, the IAB—a collaborative panel of emergency preparedness and response practitioners, federal employees, and various subject-matter experts—reviews recommendations it receives regarding potential emergency preparedness and response standards needs, and uses that information as a starting point in developing its annual list of standardization priorities [see related article].

The top priorities for 2015 include:

• Product standard for personal protective equipment for emergency medical services providers.
• Standard test methods for body armor designed for female wearers.
• Standard test method for respirator fit machines.
• Standard test methods for localization and tracking systems.
• Product standard for body worn video cameras used by public safety practitioners.
• Product standard for duty gloves worn by responders in a law enforcement and corrections role.
• Standard test methods for robot operator evaluations - "Standard test methods in a box."
• Product standard for less lethal conducted energy devices
• Product standard for less lethal chemical devices
• Product standard for less lethal impact devices fired from a launching system
• Product standard for distraction devices (e.g., flash bangs)

For further information regarding this event, please contact HDSSC director Michelle Deane ([email protected]). To learn more about HDSSC, visit www.ansi.org/hdssc.