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and others as needed, conducts an initial review. The scope of the proposed project is then matched to the scope of one of the Standards Committees and the proposal is put out for vote by that Committee. If approved, the project is added to the Committee's work program and a new Working Group is formed. As with most volunteer activities, it is likely that the person who proposes the idea will serve as its project leader. When the scope of the current project has been focused, a
2
project initiation notice is published. These and other stan-
dards notices are summarized in Standards News in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America every two months. At this early stage outreach is also initiated to attempt to ensure that the Working Group includes a repre- sentative group of people with expertise from all interest cat- egories. There is no fee to participate in a Working Group and ASA membership is not required either. In most cases Working Group members are subject-matter experts, but several Working Groups have found it advantageous to include lay people who have experience or first-hand knowl- edge that is useful to the Working Group.
The task of the Working Group that is limited to drafting the standard for eventual approval by the Standards Committee may take as little as one year or many years. In some cases, Working Groups may work for many years only to determine that it is not possible to reach “consensus.” Once the Working Group has completed its draft, the document is returned to the Committee for voting.
The voters on the Committee are appointed by the orga- nizational members of that Committee (i.e., companies, gov- ernment agencies, professional societies, trade associations, etc.). Each organizational member has one vote and is is asked to select one interest category (user, producer, govern- ment, trade association, or general interest). The Committees strive to maintain a balance of interests and to make sure that no one interest or industry dominates the Committee.
The draft standard is made available to the voting mem- bers and the Chairs of all the other Working Groups in the voting Committee and to the roster of Individual Experts associated with that Committee. These people may comment on the draft standard but may not vote on its adoption. At the same time, a public comment period is launched through ANSI with notices published in ANSI’s publication, Standards Action. Public comments are welcomed and treat- ed the same as comments from within the Committee.
Once the ballot is closed, the comments received are compiled and the effort begins to resolve the comments and revise the document by the Committee. Depending upon the number and complexity of the comments and the willingness of the parties to compromise, this may be a lengthy or a short process. When a revised draft is prepared, another public comment period is launched and the document is returned to the Committee for another review. If there are any unre- solved objections, the parties are notified that they have the right to appeal the standard. At the end of the process, when the Committee has approved the document and all appeals have been exhausted, the Secretariat will certify to the ANSI Board of Standards Review that consensus has been achieved and that all the requirements of the ANSI-Accredited operat-
ing procedures have been followed. Based on this certifica- tion and other evidence they may require, ANSI will grant the right to designate this document as an “American National Standard.” Note that ANSI's approval is not based on the content of the standard; that is entirely under the juris- diction of the responsible Committee.
Once the project is completed, the ASA Standards Secretariat will work with the project leaders and Committee leaders to edit and publish the standard and make it available for sale. These standards are copyrighted by ASA and the rev- enue generated from their sale helps offset the cost of main- taining the program.
Standards may have a long life span or may soon become outdated. To ensure that the standards are still useful and current, each standard is subject to review every five years. At that point, the document must either be reaffirmed without change, revised and a new edition published, or withdrawn. Again, these actions are taken by a vote of the Committee, often with a recommendation from the Working Group or the Committee's Advisory Group, if the Working Group no longer exists. Comments, suggestions for improvement, and notification of errors may be sent to the ASA Standards Secretariat at any time during the life of a standard.
Currently, the ASA Standards Program encompasses more than 75 Working Groups under the four national Committees. Nearly 600 people volunteer their time and tal- ents to work on these Working Groups. About 40% are ASA members and of those 34% are ASA Fellows. We would like to take this opportunity to invite you to join with us to devel- op the standards that are needed in your subject area. Standards Committee meetings and Working Group meet- ings are open to all.
References
1 “ANSI Essential Requirements: Due process requirements for American National Standards,” January 2006 edition
2 These notices and other required publications appear in ANSI's Standards Action, a weekly online publication that serves as an information source about national and international standards activities.
For information about the ASA Standards Program, contact any of the following:
S1, Acoustics
John P. Seiler, Chair, 412-386-6980, seiler.john@dol.gov George S.K. Wong, Vice Chair 613-993-6159, george.wong@nrc.ca
S2, Mechanical Vibration and Shock
Ronald L. Eshleman, Chair, 630-654-2254, vib- inst@anet.com
Ali T. Herfat, Vice Chair, 937-493-2898, ali.herfat@emersonclimate.com
S3, Bioacoustics
52 Acoustics Today, October 2006