As the U.S. member body to the International Organization for Standardization, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) encourages its stakeholders to participate in virtual meetings for the development of an ISO International Workshop Agreement (IWA) on building guidelines for emergency medical facility for respiratory infectious diseases.
The global coronavirus pandemic has caused massive casualties and has taken a toll on international labor markets. SARS-CoV-2 is among the most recent of potentially fatal diseases to have a worldwide impact, with characteristics that include strong infectious capability and fast transmission speed, necessitating higher requirements to emergency medical facilities.
The IWA document proposal summarizes outcomes from the construction of emergency medical facilities in China in the past (including an emergency facility that was built within seven days during the SARS outbreak in 2003); analyzes new problems that have occurred amid the current epidemic situation; and provides the technical standards for the design of emergency medical facilities.
The Standardization Administration of China and China IPPR International Engineering Co. Ltd will host the virtual workshops to develop an International Workshop Agreement (IWA 38) on building guidelines for emergency medical facilities.
SAC, a member of ISO, will facilitate the standards development process. Ultimately, the publication and implementation of ISO standards will provide a standard for the rapid and standardized design and construction of relevant emergency medical facilities worldwide.
The workshop dates are:
What is an IWA?
An IWA is a type of document that is developed with direct participation of stakeholders outside of the traditional ISO country representation system to enable players to negotiate in an open workshop environment. After the IWA workshop, text will be edited and published.
Register for the virtual October meeting no later than January 15, 2020. Access the IWA document for the working agenda and the workshop process.