September 2013 ASTM Officers Training Workshop September 2013 ASTM Officers Training Workshop...

September 2013ASTM Officers Training WorkshopSeptember 2013ASTM Officers Training Workshop

Government Interface & Corporate Outreach

September 2013

ASTM Virtual Officers Training Workshop

Anthony Quinn & Sarah Petre


U.S. Standards System

• Voluntary and led by the private sector • Requires cooperation among stakeholders

– Standards organizations– Industry, consumers, and users– Government representatives– Academia

• Meets stakeholders’ needs– Protect safety, health, and environment– Improve industry competitiveness– Facilitate global trade and market access

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ASTM International

• About ASTM International– Non-governmental, not-for-profit and international organization

– Develops voluntary, consensus standards

– Provides certification programs on limited basis

– Does not provide accreditation services

• ASTM’s objectives– Promotes public health and safety, and the overall quality of life

– Contributes to the reliability of materials, products, systems and services

– Facilitates national, regional, and international commerce

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WTO Principles for Standards

ASTM International principles:

– Transparency

– Openness

– Impartiality and consensus

– Effectiveness and relevance

– Coherence

– Consideration of developing

nations’ views and concerns

WTO principles:

– Transparency

– Openness

– Impartiality and consensus

– Effectiveness and relevance

– Coherence

– Consideration of developing

nations’ views and concerns

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I. Government Interface

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ASTM in Washington, DC

• Connects ASTM’s work and builds awareness among policymakers.

• Represents ASTM before Congress, Federal agencies, ANSI, other SDOs, and trade associations.

• Engages in legislative, regulatory, and trade matters.– Ensure proper recognition of ASTM standards in laws and regulations.

• Strengthens relationships with ASTM stakeholders, including private companies, embassy officials based in Washington, DC, industry associations, and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

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U.S. Legal and Policy Framework• National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act

of 1995 (NTTAA)

– Requires federal government agencies to use standards

developed by voluntary consensus standards organization when

possible

– Encourages federal government agencies to participate in

standards development organizations

• OMB Circular No. A-119

– Reinforces goals of National Technology Transfer and

Advancement Act

– Discourages federal agencies from using government-unique

standards7


Other U.S. Laws of Interest

• Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act– 15,000 different types of consumer products

• Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Modernization Act of 1997– Food safety, drugs, and cosmetic products

• Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970– Workplace safety and health

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U.S. Government Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards

• All ASTM standards are voluntary unless they are used by the federal

government in the following ways:

– Procurement and Contracts with the Federal Government• Standards are furnished to ensure that materials and services are obtained in an effective manner and in compliance with the

provisions of applicable Federal statutes and executive orders

– Regulation that incorporates standard by reference• An agency may adopt a voluntary standard (without changes) by incorporating the standard in a regulation by listing (or

referencing) the standard by title.• This approach eliminates the cost to the agency of creating a new standard

– Regulation based on existing standard• An agency reviews an existing standard and makes changes to match its goal or need.

• Agency conducts rulemaking process to solicit public opinion and stakeholder input

– Statute references standard

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Federal Agencies & ASTM Standards

• U.S. Federal Register– Provides public notification of standards adoptions

and instructions for public comments

• U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

– Over 10,000 references to voluntary consensus

standards in federal law

– Over 2,250 references to ASTM standards listed in

CFR for regulations and procurement

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Top 10 Regulatory SDOs in US

11 Source: http://standards.gov

Standards Developing Organization Acronym Number

American Society for Testing and Materials ASTM 2254

American National Standards Institute ANSI 573

American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME 555

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA 472

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE 436

National Fire Protection Association NFPA 420

International Maritime Organization IMO 316

American Petroleum Institute API 280

Insulated Cable Engineers Association ICEA 274

AOAC International AOAC 246


Benefits to the U.S. Government

• Eliminate/reduce costs of developing standards

• Decrease costs of good purchased – Commercial off the shelf procurement

• Promotes efficiency and economic competition

• Relies on the private sector to meet needs– Access to industry experts and technology– Process is faster and more dynamic

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U.S. Government Participation in ASTM

• U.S. Government is a partner and key stakeholder– Active U.S. Government participation in 93% of ASTM committees

– Broad range of federal agencies represented on ASTM committees

– Over 1400 representatives from the U.S. Government participate in ASTM committees

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U.S. Government Participation in ASTM

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U.S. Federal Agency

ASTM Members

Agriculture 17

Commerce (incl. NIST) 190

CPSC 39

Defense 308

Energy 135

EPA 108

FAA 12

HHS (incl. FDA) 136

HUD 4

U.S. Federal Agency

ASTM Members

Interior 27

Justice 21

NASA 52

NRC 16

OSHA 13

Transportation 90

Treasury 13

VA 12


Facts and Challenges•Standards are not always a top priority

– Constant educational process •Agencies must use lengthy rulemaking process to update or revise references•Roles and attitudes vary across federal agencies •At the U.S. state-level, no NTTAA-like policy exists

ASTM Strategy•Communicate •Understand agency needs, concerns and goals, and how ASTM fits into their agenda•Seek advice from agency reps and other committees•No one size-fits-all approach

– Be flexible to meet the needs of agencies


ASTM Initiatives with U.S. Government

• Educate about the U.S. system standardization, current relevant policies, and the value of ASTM standards

• Ensure proper reference to current ASTM standards– Regular review of the Code of Federal Regulations and Congressional

Record

– Coordinate technical committee communications to policymakers

• Understand agencies’ procurement and regulatory standards needs– Review of Regulatory Plan and Agenda

– Encourage government liaison with and participation in committee activities

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II. Corporate Outreach


ASTM Objective

• “Promote a greater corporate awareness regarding the importance of standards and the

value of ASTM.” – ASTM 2006 objectives approved by the Board.

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Challenges

• Executives lack standards knowledge

– Casual knowledge of international standardization

– View it as technical issue instead of trade barrier

• Preconceived notions and misinformation

– Confusion about what makes an ‘international

standard’

• Often make quick standards decisions

– Easiest or cheapest rather than strategic

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ASTM Engages Decision-makers

• Raise awareness of standards and ASTM • Identify opportunities for collaboration on policy (regulatory

and trade) issues of mutual interest

• Seek industry feedback on activities and challenges– including the removal of global barriers to the acceptance and use of ASTM

standards

• Ensure ASTM is meeting stakeholder needs– ASTM Board and Staff completed meetings with industry, trade associations,

consumer groups, and other stakeholders around the world• Washington, Stockholm, New York City, Moscow, Mexico City, Brussels,

Beijing, London, Tokyo

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Benefits to Industry

• Minimize safety hazards • Manage liability while reducing risk• Satisfy regulations and laws • Facilitate global trade• Reduce internal company specifications

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ASTM Standards Impact the Global Economy

• Standards facilitate trade and boost GDP • The U.S. Commerce Department estimates that standards-related

issues impacted 80% of world commodity trade.

• ASTM standards impact the global economy• 7,000 ASTM standards are used in regulation or adopted as national

standards around the world.

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Helping Industry Meet Global Challenges

• ASTM’s MOUs with 80 developing countries and 3 with regional bodies

– MOUs facilitate the use of ASTM standards directly into the national portfolios and technical regulations

• ASTM standards open doors and open markets

– The ability to export products made and tested to ASTM standards

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III. Questions and Discussion

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Contact Information Anthony Quinn

Director, International Trade and Public Policy [email protected], 202 223-8484

Sarah Petre Manager, Federal and Industry Affairs

[email protected], 202-223-8399

1850 M Street, NW, Suite 1030Washington, DC 20036 USA

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