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Standards in Trade Electrical Safety Workshop for Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama
Mar 27 - 31, 2006 ( Gaithersburg, MD )
The Global Standards and Information Group (GSIG) organized a one week Standards in Trade Electrical Safety workshop for Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama on March 27-31, 2006. The workshop brought together 18 participants who are considered key people in each economy representing standards development, product certification, and installation enforcement and industry association activities related to the safety of electrical systems. U.S. participants included representatives from NIST, the International Trade Administration (ITA), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL), and other private sector companies involved with electrical safety.
Discussions during the workshop addressed the development and implementation of the safety of electrical systems in the United States and the participating countries; namely in the areas of, (1) the electrical installation code, (2) electrical product standards, (3) product testing and certification, and (4) inspection and enforcement. For each topic, participants described their country's practices, including information on why their system has evolved the way it has.
The workshop was supplemented by two site visits. The participants were given a tour of the NIST AML Laboratories and also traveled to MET Laboratories in Baltimore, MD which demonstrated their testing and certification services. Participants also had ample opportunities throughout the week to network with U.S. cosponsors and interested observers.
+ Objectives
- Familiarize standards and regulatory officials, and industry representatives from the invited countries and the U.S. with the electrical codes and safety systems of each country.
- Provide a forum to discuss issues to assess the relevance of different requirements to the needs of the participating countries.
- Promote adoption and use of minimum criteria for levels of protection for each participating country.
- Identify concerns and emerging issues related to electrical products such as harmonization of standards, energy efficiency, electromagnetic compatibility, and restricted substances/recycling.
- Identify means to disseminate workshop information among stakeholders in invited countries and the U.S.
+ List of Participating Organizations
Country |
Organization |
Costa Rica |
Colegio Federado de Ingenieros y Arquitectos de Costa Rica |
Costa Rica | National Insurance Institute |
Costa Rica | Instituto de Normas Tecnicas de Costa Rica |
Dominican Republic | Dominican Association of Engineers and Architects |
Dominican Republic | Dirección General de Normas y Sistemas de Calidad (DIGENOR) |
El Salvador | Superintendencia General de Electricidad y Telecomunicaciones (SIGET) |
El Salvador | Cuerpo de Bomberos de El Salvador |
El Salvador | Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) |
El Salvador | Asociacion Salvadoreña de Industriales (ASI) |
Guatemala | Comision Nacional de Energia Electrica |
Honduars | Proyecto de Eficiencia Energetica para los Sectores |
Honduras | Colegio de Ingenieros Mecánicos, Electricistas, Químicos de Honduras y Ramas Afines (CIMEQH) |
Nicaragua | Direccion General de Bomberos Ministerio de Gobernacion |
Nicaragua | Instituto Nicaragüense de Energía |
Nicaragua | National Energy Commission |
Panama | Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute-STRI |
Panama | Technical Board of Engineering and Architecture |