Standards Organizations and Information
I. International Bodies
The International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) is a worldwide federation of national
standards bodies from over 120 countries, one from each country. ISO
is a non-governmental organization established in 1947. The mission
of ISO is to promote the development of standardization and related
activities in the world with a view to facilitating the
international exchange of goods and services, and to developing
cooperation in the spheres of intellectual, scientific,
technological and economic activity. ISO's work results in
international agreements which are published as International
Standards. There are more than 11,000 voluntary International
Standards and Guides.
The International Electrotechnical
Commission (IEC) is the international standards and conformity
assessment body for all fields of electrotechnology.
II. National Bodies
The American National Standards
Institute (ANSI) serves as administrator and coordinator of the
United States private sector voluntary standardization system.
Founded in 1918 by five engineering societies and three government
agencies, the Institute remains a private, nonprofit membership
organization supported by a diverse constituency of private and
public sector organizations.
The American Society for Testing and
Materials (ASTM) has grown into one of the largest voluntary
standards development systems in the world. ASTM is a not-for-profit
organization that provides a forum for producers, users, ultimate
consumers, and those having a general interest (representatives of
government and academia) to meet on common ground and write
standards for materials, products, systems, and services. ASTM
members develop the standards within the ASTM consensus process.
III. Standards Service
The National Maritime
Resource and Education Center's Marine Industry Standards Library
provides technical assistance to U.S. shipbuilders, ship repair
facilities, and marine equipment suppliers in obtaining and using
copies of domestic and international industry standards. A technical
staff is available to receive and investigate questions and assist
industry in the area of standards, such as ASTM, ISO, and others,
and how they compare, relate, and their applications to shipbuilding
and the marine industry.
The NSSN service is the result of a
partnership between ANSI and the U.S. Commerce Department's National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NSSN users will be
able to obtain information on technical specifications from a wide
range of standards developers, including ASTM and the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO).
IV. Additional Standards
Information
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