Did You Know? offers a quick look at the broad scope of activities underway within the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Federation of members and partners, highlighting recent accomplishments and new resources related to standardization.
SES to Host Webinar on Standards and Trade
A webinar hosted by SES - The Society for Standards Professionals will focus on Standards and Trade. It will be led by Eileen Hill, who worked on trade-related standards issues for over 20 years as part of the U.S. Department of Commerce's (DOC) International Trade Administration (ITA), and will take place September 16 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. EDT.
These webinars are offered free of charge to all current SES members and ANSI full member technical contacts; participation costs $50 for non-members. Additional information is available on the SES website.
CPSC's Colin Church Awarded ASTM's 2015 Cavanaugh Award
ASTM International, an ANSI member and audited designator, has awarded Colin Church its 2015 William T. Cavanaugh Memorial Award.
Mr. Church is the voluntary standards coordinator, Office of Hazard Identification and Reduction, for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in Bethesda. He has contributed immensely to protecting the safety of consumers by overseeing activities for over 80 voluntary standards for consumer goods. He helped to design the CPSC's laboratory accreditation program for third-party testing of selected consumer products, and has received several agency awards to honor his work.
Mr. Church is an ASTM Fellow, as well as a former U.S. Navy Lieutenant and graduate of Harvard and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of ANSI's Board of Directors and Executive Standards Council, and has served on UL's Consumer Advisory Council. He has been a member of ASTM's Committee F15 on Consumer Products since 1988, and serves on its executive committee as a member at large. He also sits on the Committee F08 on Sports Equipment, Playing Surfaces and Equipment.
Read more in the ASTM news release.
NISO Begins Project to Develop XML Standard for Producing Standards Documents
The National Information Standards Organization (NISO), an ANSI member and accredited standards developer, has launched a new project to standardize the ISO Standard Tag Set (ISOTS) in line with ANSI/NISO X39.96-2012, JATS: Journal Article Tag Suite. This initiative will develop an official relationship between ISOTS and JATS, ensuring that standards are interoperable and compatible with other technical documentation.
"There are currently several DTDs used for tagging standard-type information based on JATS and a number of other independently developed DTDs. This variation impedes interoperability across standards and inhibits collaboration between our organizations," said Robert Wheeler, director of publishing technologies for ASME, one of the project proposers. "ISOSTS is one of these JATS derivatives, created in 2011 by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization. The DTD and documentation have been openly available and used by a number of ISO members. It will be beneficial to all standards stakeholders to have the standards community collectively contribute to this new standard based on ISOSTS."
The organization welcomes participation from those familiar with standards production, publishing systems, XML, or JATS. To participate in the working group, contact Nettie Lagace ([email protected]). See the NISO news item for more details.
AIA and ICC Sign Collaborative Agreement
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the International Code Council (ICC), both ANSI members, have signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate in a number of initiatives, including code development, sustainability, and increasing building code knowledge among architects.
The MoU includes the following objectives:
Cooperate in the development of codes
Provide access to educational courses and promote code training for future generations
Advocate for important issues relevant to architects and code officials
Connect internal member committees and working groups
Communicate relevant news and information to their memberships
Support information and technology initiatives for the interface between architects, code officials, and the codes
Learn more in the ICC and AIA news release.
AWC Launches Redesigned Website
The American Wood Council (AWC), an ANSI member and accredited standards developer, has redesigned its website to include responsive features, making it easier to use on mobile devices. The new site also includes updates to its "Education" section, allowing users to sort courses by accreditations in addition to topic category and presentation type.
The website provides information on all AWC activities, including resources on green building, industry regulations for manufacturing processes, and AWC's work with the federal, state, and local government on behalf of the industry.
View the redesigned site at www.awc.org.
Free NFPA Webinar to Cover Wildfire Mitigation for Buildings and Communities
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), an ANSI member and audited designator, is presenting a webinar to assist builders, architects, and consumers in choosing materials and designs that are safer from wildfire.
Hosted by Green Builder Media, "Building Safer in Natural Areas - Firewise and Wildland Fire" will be led by Michele Steinberg, NFPA's wildland fire operations division manager. The webinar will address techniques for designing, building, and maintaining homes and landscapes that are more likely to resist ignition and survive a wildfire.
The free webinar will be held on August 19, 2015, at 2:00pm EDT. Click here to register.