Standards-developing organizations

Establish by a consensus of the national codes and standards development organizations such as the CDO or SDO that will have the lead in the development of codes and standards for establishing safety requirements for specific components, subsystems, and systems (as shown in the templates) and the organizations that will work collaboratively with (or in support of) the lead organization. 

ASTM (formerly American Society for Testing and Materials) International is a global fomm for the development of consensus standards organized in 1898, ASTM International is one of the largest voluntary standards developing organizations in the world. More than 12,000 ASTM standards can be found in the 80+-volume Annual Book of ASTM Standards. 

Structural testing takes into account the internal mechanism (structure) of a system or component. It is sometimes referred to as white box testing. Structural testing should show that the software creator followed contemporary quality standards (e.g., consensus standards from national and international standards development organizations. This testing usually includes inspection (or walk-through) of the program code and development documents. 

Because the purpose of this paper is to be both informative and persuasive, it presents methods of initiating contact with Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) and an appendix with some web site addresses. 

In a recent (April 1995) program review, the CDRH reported that, in 1994, 192 Center staff members served as primary and alternate liaison representatives on 440 committees and subcommittees in 38 standards developing organizations (domestic and foreign). The CDRH actively reviewed 286 draft standards of these, 134 were with nine international standards organizations. The experience the CDRH has acquired over the years has provided the foundation for the standards policy it announced on June 29,1993. The essential features of that policy are reflected in the FDA policy presented in FDA Policy on Standards. ... 

In some cases, the standards developed by the trade associations, instead of the standards-making bodies, are included within the codes. However, such types of standards are frowned upon in recent years and it is rare that they are newly included. They are, however, often grandfathered (i.e., allowed to remain because they have been in the relevant code or in its predecessor for years). Such standards must still comply with some consensus rules, and many of them tend to be eventually replaced by standards issued by the major standards development organizations. 

In Canada, the system is somewhat similar to the United States, in the development of building codes and an electrical code, but the organization developing them is a part of the National Research Council, and not a separate standards developing organization, as in the United States. 

Organizations such as FM Global and ULs compete with the broader-based standards development organizations (ASTM and NFPA) in developing some fire tests. However, in many cases, these tests are being replaced by those from ASTM and/or NFPA. A number of trade associations also develop test methods, but these are being replaced. Appendix A contains the key fire test standards from ASTM, NFPA, and UL. 

The Department of Energy should continue its work with standards development organizations and ensure increased emphasis on distributed production of hydrogen. 

ASTM International. 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, U.S.A. Phone +1 610-832-9585, Fax +1 610-832-9555. E-mail service astm.org. URL http //www.astm.org. Formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM was formed over a centimy ago. It is one of the largest voluntary standards development organizations in the world, known for technical standards for materials, products, systems, and services. ASTM standards cover a diverse range of industries, and are developed by over 30,000 ASTM members who are technical experts in their fields. Standards, technical publications, journals, and other publications are available at the site. 

In early 1999, the fuel cell literate world had no clear, defined direction or globally accepted leadership in standards development for transportation applications of fuel cells. In fact, the major standards development organizations, both domestic and international, were anticipating a not recommended landscape of work duplication, mismatched data, non-consensus documents and chaos that would certainly inhibit commercialization and negatively impact rulemaking. 

ANSI has an accredited Standards Developing Organization. This organization reviews procedures for writing standards in many of the standards bodies. For example, ANSI will review and accept the manner in which an organization resolves differences of opinion during the consensus phase of... 

ANSI oversees the development and nse of voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems for almost every U.S. indnstry by accrediting the procednres of standards development organizations, which work to develop standards through ANSI s requirements for openness, balance, consensus and due process. ... 

As an ANSI-accredited standards developing organization, ISEA understands the process by which all parties come together to reach consensus on a voluntary standard. The association combines this procedural knowledge with the technical and market expertise of its member companies to provide an efficient and effective way for manufacturers views to be heard and considered. By monitoring the development process of each standard, ISEA staff can ensure that comment deadlines are met, and that the ISEA position or vote reflects the consensus of the product group. 

Consensus standards are developed by industrywide, standard-developing organizations discussed and substantially agreed on through consensus by industry. OSHA has incorporated standards of the two primary standards groups, the American National Standards... 

Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs) with specific focus on LIB hazards and safeguards are the SAE, the NFPA, and the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) [63]. 

Chairs, conveners, and task group leaders of aU Standards Development Organizations in the USA and Canada developing codes and standards for hydrogen technologies such as NFPA, ICC, API, CSA America, ASTM, ASME, NIST, CGA, SAE, and BNQ (Canada). 

The focus of this book concerns the properties and the accepted means of transportation, storage, and handling of compressed gases. This handbook is simultaneously intended as an overview of the subject and a source of supplementary information. It is also intended to serve as a guide to pertinent federal regulatory requirements and published standards of the Compressed Gas Association and other standards-developing organizations. 

Standards-developing organizations identify standards by test methods, guidelines, recommended practices, codes, specifications, and even manuals. Usually society names are reduced to acronyms in use, so books on abbreviations are useful for identification. Single volumes, such as Stahl, and multiple volumes (e.g., the set compiled by Peschke) identify initials or acronyms. Online sources provide another approach to identification. Information Handling Service developed its Standards Expert as a site that could be used to identify a specific standard or perform subject searches. 

Industry standards are developed by many engineering societies, acting as standards developing organizations, each covering its own specialty. Some society members are part of technical... 

Fire Protection Handbook, 20th ed. 2008. (2 vols.) Boston, MA National Fire Protection Association. This is a handbook for more than fire safety because, besides being a source for the fire codes, it refers to building codes, electrical codes, and chemical substances. It is an example of a quick reference tool for engineering, published by one of the largest standards developing organizations. 

Thompson, D.C. 2003. A Guide to Standards. Miami, FL Standards Engineering Society. An update to the 1989 edition by Albert L. Batik, this is an excellent overview of the industrial standards process from initial committee work of the standards developing organizations to litigation. 

American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), www.astm.org/Standard/index.shtml (accessed August 6,2010). Known today as ASTM International, this society is one of the oldest and largest standards-developing organizations. Founded in 1898, it now produces more than 12,000 standards contained in subject groups or a complete collection. The entire annual set, single volumes, or subsets are available on subscription, and individual standards may be purchased online. 

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