Introductory note:

1
International Conformity Assessment System

• Introductory note
• The information contained in this presentation
  was compiled by the American National Standards
  Institute (ANSI). The primary purpose of the
  chart is to attempt to portray a representation
  of the various actors in global conformity
  assessment on one slide.
• While many organizations have many subdivisions,
  only those subdivisions most directly related to
  conformity assessment are shown.
• The chart is one perspective of the system, with
  emphasis on identification and representation of
  the various entities. The chart would look
  different if the entities were drawn proportional
  to their relative work volumes in the systems, or
  if they were drawn proportional to their
  respective standards and conformity assessment
  revenues or budgets.
• Such a representation will have inaccuracies
  which will require correction. The chart is a
  work in progress and we welcome comments and
  suggestions for consistent improvement for
  purposes of accuracy and education.
• Thank you,
• The ANSI International Policy Department
• Please send comments or suggestions to
  intl_at_ansi.org

2
Snapshot of the International Conformity
Assessment Systemwith relationships to regional
and national systems
National
Stds Developers NSBs, NCs, SDOs, SSOs, Consortia,
etc.
Regional
International
Accreditation
Govs
CA Requirements
Mandatory Tech Regs (inc. Laws)
Voluntary Standards, Testing Criteria, Use
Cases, Other CA Criteria
IAF
ILAC
IEC
ISO
MRA
MLA
ISO/IEC Guides 17000 Conformity
Assessment 17011 Accreditation 17020
Inspection Bodies 17021 Management
Systems Guide 65 Products (17065) 17024
Personnel 17025 Testing Labs 14065 Greenhouse
Gas Verification 17050 Self Declaration of
Conformity
CAB
CASCO
Liaison Members BIPM IAF IFAN IFIA IQNet ILAC IPC
OIML UILI
IAF-ILAC-ISO MOU Joint Working Group
Systems IECQ IECEx IECEE CB Scheme IECEE
CB-FCS Scheme
IAAC
SADCA
PAC
APLAC
EA
IAAC MLA
PAC MLA
EA MLA
APLAC MRA
Various National Accreditation Bodies (see
separate slides 14)
Corporate Inventory/ Project Assertion
1st Party Producer and Supplier testing, etc.
3rd Party Independent Party testing,
inspection, certification, etc.
2nd Party Buyer testing, etc.
3
What is Conformity Assessment?
ISO/IEC 17000 demonstration that specified
requirements relating to a product, process,
system, person or body are fulfilled NOTEincl
udes activitiessuch as testing, inspection and
certification as well as the accreditation of
conformity assessment bodies
4
Conformity Assessments Role
Confidence
Money
Supplier
Buyer, User
Contract
Standards and
Standards and
Technical Requirements
Technical Requirements
Product, Service or System
Supplier's
Regulation
Inspection
Certification
Registration
Declaration
Testing
Calibration
Laboratory
Laboratory
Registrar
Certification Accreditation
Inspection Accreditation
Government
Accreditation
Accreditation
Accreditation
This slide is courtesy of Underwriters
Laboratories
5
The Conformity Assessment Balance
value
confidence
for suppliers
for acceptance interests
6
Confidence/Regulation Spectrum
complete trust
paperclip
produce
very regulated
unregulated
pharmaceuticals
100 inspection
7
Conformity Assessment and Risk
8
Accredited Third-Party Hierarchy(ISO/IEC 17011
standard for accreditation bodies)
Accreditation bodies
Assess competence 1
Conformity assessment bodies
Assess conformity 2
Supplier Organization
1 More specifically, ABs access fulfillment of
competence requirements 2 More specifically,
CABs assess fulfillment of product, process,
service, or personnel requirements
9
Third Party Conformity Assessment Structure
ISO/IEC 17011
Accreditation Bodies (ABs)
ISO/IEC 17021
ISO/IEC 17025
ISO/IEC 17020
ISO/IEC 14065
ISO/IEC 17024
ISO/IEC Guide 65
CABs
PersonnelCertifiers
QMS/EMSCertifiers
ProductCertifiers
InspectionBodies
TestLabs
Greenhouse Gas Verifiers
Products (Procedures, Services)
Personnel
QMS/EMS (ISO 9000/ ISO 14000)
Buildings, Facilities, Mines, Procedures,
Services, etc.
Products (Procedures, Services)
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
10
1st, 2nd, and 3rd Party Conformity Assessment

• First-Party Conformity Assessment
• Conformity Assessment measures completed
  internally by companies, suppliers or importers
• Second-Party Conformity Assessment
• Conformity Assessment measures completed by
  acceptance interests(e.g., buyers, purchasers,
  regulators, users)
• Third-Party Conformity Assessment
• Conformity Assessment measures completed by an
  independent party called a Conformity Assessment
  Body (CAB, e.g., testing laboratory, inspection
  body, etc.) which is accredited by another
  independent party called an Accreditation Body
  (AB).
• A party qualifies as independent in that they do
  not possess an interest in the person or
  organization that provides the object for
  conformity assessment or any user interests in
  that object.

11
1st, 2nd, and 3rd Party Conformity Assessment

• Testing
• Completed by 1st, 2nd, or 3rd parties, testing
  occurs at the end of the design or production
  cycle to determine that one or more
  characteristics of an object comply with the
  appropriate technical standards and requirements.
  
• Inspection
• Completed by 1st, 2nd, or 3rd parties as a series
  of examinations of a product design, product,
  process, or installation that determines its
  conformity to specific requirements.
• Suppliers Declaration of Conformity (SDoC)
• Procedure by which a 1st party conveys assurance
  that the object of conformity fulfills specified
  requirements.
• Certification/Registration
• Attestation by a 3rd party declaring that
  specified requirements pertaining to a product,
  person, process, or management system have been
  met. Certification also involves an element of
  surveillance. Under international standards, the
  term self-certification does not exist.
• Accreditation
• Statement from an independent 3rd party
  (Accreditation Body) declaring that specific
  requirements related to conformity assessment
  bodies have been met and that the accredited body
  is competent to perform certain functions.
  Accreditation bodies conduct evaluations based on
  criteria set forth in the ISO/IEC Guides.

12
Roles in Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs)
Regulatory Authority (RA)
Government agency which develops and publishes
mandatory technical regulations.
Designating Authority (DA)
Government entity responsible for designating
competent conformity assessment bodies (CABs).
Responsible for accrediting competent CABs in
accordance with international standards and to
the importing partys technical requirements.
Accreditation Body (AB)
Responsible for testing and/or approving products
in accordance to the importing partys technical
requirements.
Conformity Assessment Body (CAB)
Supplier
Manufacturers and importers of products must
ensure that they comply with all necessary
requirements.
Consumers are the end users of products and as a
result, trust that products sold on the market
are safe to own and operate.
Consumer
13
Clarification of Terms(Mutual Recognition
Arrangements and Agreements)

• Multilateral/Mutual Recognition Arrangements are
  non-governmental commitments between
  accreditation bodies to accept each others
  accreditations, eliminating the need for CABs to
  be re-accredited by various national
  accreditation bodies, thereby reducing barriers
  to trade
• IAF, PAC, IAAC, and EA haveMultilateral
  Recognition Arrangements (MLAs)
• ILAC and APLAC haveMutual Recognition
  Arrangements (MRAs)
• Mutual Recognition Agreements/Arrangements (MRAs)
  are government-to-government agreements that help
  to facilitate trade by promoting acceptance of
  the results of each partys conformity assessment
  procedures by allowing products to be tested in
  one country to another countrys technical
  requirements. This reduces the time it takes a
  product to be placed on the market, reduces
  costs, and increases transparency of technical
  regulations, laws, policies, and procedures.
  Arrangements are agreed templates for such
  Agreements.

14
International Accreditation Organizations

• International Accreditation Forum (IAF)
• www.iaf.nu
• World association of Accreditation Bodies in the
  fields of management systems, products, services,
  personnel and other similar programs of
  conformity assessment.
• The list of current IAF members and MLA
  signatories is available at theIAF Website.
• International Laboratory Accreditation
  Cooperation (ILAC)
• www.ilac.org
• An international cooperation of laboratory and
  inspection accreditation bodies.
• The list of current ILAC members and MRA
  signatories is available at theILAC Website.

15
International Accreditation Forum (IAF)

• MLA Signatories
• The mechanism by which IAF implements its
  objective is the IAF Multilateral Recognition
  Arrangement (MLA). Accreditation body members of
  IAF are admitted to the MLA only after a most
  stringent evaluation of their operations by a
  peer evaluation team which is charged to ensure
  that the applicant member complies fully with
  both the international standards and IAF
  requirements. Once an accreditation body is a
  member of the MLA it is required to recognize the
  certificates issued by certification/registration
  bodies accredited by all other members of the
  MLA.
• IAF has also granted Special Recognition to two
  Regional Accreditation Groups, the European
  co-operation for Accreditation (EA) and the
  Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC), on the
  basis of acceptance of the mutual recognition
  arrangements established within these
  organizations. Membership of the IAF MLA is
  recognized as being satisfied by membership of
  either the EA MLA or PAC MLA and IAF members who
  are also signatories of these regional MLAs are
  automatically accepted into the IAF MLA.
• Special Recognition was granted to the
  Interamerican Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC)
  for Quality Management Systems.
• Please click here for a full list of the
  International Accreditation Forum (IAF)
  Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA)
  Signatories.

16
International Laboratory Accreditation
Cooperation (ILAC)

• MRA Signatories
• The ILAC Arrangement supports international
  trade by promoting international confidence and
  acceptance of accredited laboratory data.
  Technical barriers to trade, such as retesting
  products each time they enter a new economy would
  be reduced. The aim of the ILAC Arrangement is
  to develop a global network of accredited
  testing, calibration and inspection facilities
  that can be relied on to provide accurate data.
• Each ILAC Arrangement signatory must go through
  an intensive evaluation carried out by peers and
  in accordance with the relevant rules and
  procedures outlined in the ISO/IEC guidance
  documents.
• The European cooperation for Accreditation (EA),
  the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation
  Cooperation (APLAC) and the Inter-American
  Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC) are the current
  ILAC-recognized regions with acceptable mutual
  recognition arrangements (MRAs) and evaluation
  procedures. The Southern African Development
  Community in Accreditation (SADCA) is currently
  developing their MRA evaluation processes for
  recognition by ILAC.
• Please click here for a full list of the ILAC
  Arrangement (MRA) Signatories.

17
IEC Conformity Assessment Board (IEC CAB)

• The IEC Conformity Assessment Board (IEC-CAB),
  represents the IECs Conformity Assessment
  community. It sets IECs conformity assessment
  policy and oversees all IEC conformity assessment
  activities (IECEE, IECQ, and IECEx).
• The IEC has three multilateral conformity
  assessment systems the IECEE, the IECQ, and the
  IECEx. Using IEC standards for certification at
  the national level ensures that a certified
  product has been manufactured and type-tested to
  well-established international standards.
• IECEE The IEC System of Conformity Assessment
  Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and
  Components. The IECEE has two branches
• CB Scheme for mutual recognition of test
  certificates for electrotechnical equipment and
  components
• CB-FCS Scheme for mutual recognition of
  conformity assessment certificates for
  electrotechnical equipment and components
• IECQ The IEC Quality Assessment System for
  Electronic Components
• IECEx The IEC System for Certification to
  Standards relating to Equipment for use in
  Explosive Atmospheres.
• The US National Committee to the IEC (USNC) is a
  committee of ANSI.
• The US member body to the IECEE is the National
  Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) which
  works in collaboration with the USNC.

18
IECEx IEC System for Certification to Standards
relating to Equipment for use in Explosive
Atmospheres.

• The IECEx has as part of its scheme an
  international mark.  (www.iecex.com)
• Review of the program rules (next slide) can
  provide parties with a better understanding of
  what is involved with a global conformity
  assessment mark from an operational view.
• Use of the Ex Mark is based on a Type 5 product
  certification scheme.
• The Ex Mark Licensing system for IECEx and the
  operational documents have been produced on the
  basis that a full and thorough Conformity
  Assessment System exists to underpin the Mark
  Licensing system.
• Thus a manufacturer can only get a Mark License
  if their products are covered by an IECEx
  Certificate through the IECEx 02 Certified
  Equipment Scheme, which has its own set of rules
  and Operational Documents.

19
IECEx Rules

• The administration of the IECEx System is
  governed by the IECEx Rules which are available
  for free (www.iecex.com/rules.htm)
• IECEx 01 IEC System for Certification to
  Standards relating to Equipment for use in
  Explosive Atmospheres (IECEx System) - Basic
  Rules
• IECEx 02 IEC Scheme for Certification to
  Standards relating to Equipment for use in
  Explosive Atmospheres (IECEx Scheme) - IECEx 02
  Equipment Certification Program covering
  equipment for use in explosive atmospheres -
  Rules of Procedure
• IECEx 03 IEC Scheme for Certification to
  Standards relating to Equipment for use in
  Explosive Atmospheres (IECEx Scheme) - IECEx
  Certified Service Facilities Program covering
  repair and overhaul of Ex equipment - Rules of
  Procedure
• IECEx 04 IEC Scheme for Certification to
  Standards relating to Equipment for use in
  Explosive Atmospheres (IECEx Scheme) - IECEx
  Conformity Mark Licensing System Regulations
• IECEx 04 Supplement A IECEx Guide - Guidance
  for making Application for and Use of IECEx
  Conformity Mark

20
ISO Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO)

• ISO/CASCO is ISOs policy development committee
  on conformity assessment.
• CASCO has a number of external liaisons with
  international organizations concerns with various
  specific aspects such as accreditation and
  testing. The aim underlying many of these
  liaisons is to promote cross-border mutual
  recognition arrangements (MRAs) between
  conformity assessment bodies, including
  accreditation bodies.
• CASCO also has a liaison with ISOs
  standardization partner, the International
  Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The vast
  majority of CASCO documents are published as
  joint ISO and IEC documents (guides).
• ANSI is the US National Standards Body member to
  ISO. The ANSI International Conformity
  Assessment Committee (ICAC) is the US mirror
  committee which formulates input to CASCO.

21
Regional Accreditation Organizations

• Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC)
• www.apec-pac.org
• PAC is the APEC Specialist Regional Body for the
  Accreditation of certification and registration
  bodies. It is an association of accreditation
  bodies and other interested parties whose
  objective is to facilitate trade and commerce
  among economies in the Asia Pacific region (one
  of the five APEC-SCSC SRBs together with PASC,
  APLAC, APMP, APLMF). The U.S. member to PAC is
  ANSI.
• Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation
  (APLAC)
• www.aplac.org
• APLAC is the APEC Specialist Regional Body for
  the Accreditation of laboratories, inspection
  bodies and reference material producers. It is a
  group of accreditation bodies in the Asia Pacific
  region responsible for accrediting calibration,
  testing and inspection facilities (one of the
  five APEC-SCSC SRBs together with PASC, PAC,
  APMP, APLMF). U.S. members to APLAC are A2LA,
  IAS, ACLASS, National Voluntary Laboratory
  Accreditation Program (NVLAP-NIST), Perry Johnson
  Laboratories, and the Laboratory Accreditation
  Bureau.
• InterAmerican Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC)
• www.iaac-accreditation.org
• An association of accreditation bodies in the
  Americas and other organizations interested in
  conformity assessment.The U.S. full members to
  the IAAC are A2LA (and MLA signatory), ACLASS,
  ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB),
  American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors /
  Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB)
  (Associate), IAS, National Voluntary Laboratory
  Accreditation Program (NVLAP-NIST). The U.S.
  IAAC stakeholder members are Intertek Testing
  Services (ITS).
• European Cooperation for Accreditation (EA)
• www.european-accredition.org
• EA is a network of nationally recognized
  accreditation bodies located in the European
  geographical area. The U.S. testing and
  calibration organization, A2LA, has a contract of
  cooperation with the EA.
• Southern African Development Community
  Accreditation (SADCA)
• www.sadca.org
• The regional accreditation structure of
  Standardization, Quality Assurance, Accreditation
  and Metrology (SQAM) tasked with defining a
  suitable accreditation infrastructure, enabling
  organizations in the SADC Member States to access
  accreditation services from internationally
  recognized National Accreditation Bodies within
  their countries.

22
Pacific Accreditation Cooperation - MLA

• Multilateral Recognition ArrangementMembers of
  the who have successfully completed a peer review
  process for accreditation of certification bodies
  have signed a Multilateral Recognition
  Arrangement (MLA) for Quality Management Systems
  (QMS), Environmental Management Systems (EMS),
  and/or accreditation of Product Certification
  Bodies (Product).
• Under the terms of the arrangement,
  certification bodies accredited by PAC MLA
  signatories are recognized as equivalent, and
  users of services can have the same confidence in
  organizations accredited by one PAC member as in
  those accredited by other PAC members.
• For a complete list of PAC MLA signatories please
  click here.

23
PAC MLA Signatories (as of Aug 2009)
Name of Organization QMS MLA EMS MLA Product MLA
JAS-ANS (Australia, New Zealand) X X X
SCC (Canada) X X X
CNAS (PR China) X X X
HKAS (Hong Kong, China) X
NABCB (India) X X
KAN (Indonesia) X X
JAB (Japan) X X
KAB (Korea) X X
KAS (Korea) X
Standards Malaysia X X
EMA (Mexico) X X X
PAO (Philippines) X X
SAC (Singapore) X X
TAF (Chinese Taipei) X X X
NAC (Thailand) X X
ANSI (US) X
BoA/STAMEQ (Vietnam) X
24
Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation
- MRA

• Multilateral Recognition Arrangement
• One of the primary aims of APLAC is to harmonize
  accreditation practices in the region and to
  extend the APLAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement
  (MRA). The APLAC MRA forms a regional network of
  laboratories and inspection bodies accredited by
  accreditation bodies that have been
  peer-evaluated and recognized as being competent.
  This network facilitates the acceptance of test,
  calibration and inspection reports in the region,
  thus contributing to the facilitation of trade.
• Currently 27 of 37 full APLAC members are
  signatories to the APLAC MRA for various scopes.
  
• For a full list of APALC MRA signatories and
  their scopes, please click here.

25
APLAC MRA Signatories (as of Aug 2009)

• PNAC (Pakistan) testing
• PAO (Philippines) testing, calibration
• AAC Analitica (Russian Federation) testing
• SAC (Singapore) testing, calibration,
  inspection
• TAF (Chinese Taipei) testing, calibration,
  inspection
• DMSc (Thailand) testing
• DSS (Thailand) - testing
• TLAS (Thailand) testing, calibration
• A2LA (US) testing, calibration, inspection
• ACLASS (US) testing, calibration
• IAS (US) testing, calibration, inspection
• LAB (US) testing, calibration
• NVLAP (US) testing, calibration
• PJLA (US) testing, calibration
• BOA (Vietnam) testing, calibration, inspection
• JAS-ANZ (Australasia) - inspection

• NATA (Australia) testing, calibration,
  inspection
• SCC (Canada) testing, calibration
• CALA (Canada) testing
• CNAS (PR China) testing, calibration,
  inspection
• HKAS (Hong Kong) testing, calibration,
  inspection
• NABL (India) testing, calibration, inspection
• KAN (Indonesia) testing, calibration,
  inspection
• JAB (Japan) testing, calibration
• IA Japan testing, calibration
• VLAC (Japan) testing
• KOLAS (Republic of Korea) testing, calibration
• Standards Malaysia testing, calibration
• EMA (Mexico) testing, calibration, inspection
• IANZ (New Zealand) testing, calibration,
  inspection
• PNAC (Pakistan) testing, calibration

26
InterAmerican Accreditation Cooperation - MLA

• Multilateral Recognition Arrangement
• The IAAC Multilateral Recognition Arrangement
  (MLA) is an agreement among accreditation bodies
  by which they recognize the accreditations issued
  by each other.
• By reducing the need for multiple assessments,
  IAACs MLAs facilitate international trade by
  encouraging regional and worldwide acceptance of
  valid certificates, registrations and results
  issued by signatory accreditation bodies.
• IAAC MLA Signatories are highlighted in the IAAC
  Members section.

27
IAAC MLA Signatories (as of Aug 2009)
Name of Organization Scope
OAA (Argentina) QMS, EMS, products, testing and calibration laboratories
Cgcre/INMETRO (Brazil) QMS, EMS, products, testing and calibration laboratories
SCC (Canada) QMS, EMS, products, testing and calibration laboratories
ECA (Costa Rica) Testing laboratories
ONARC (Cuba) Testing and calibration laboratories
OGA (Guatemala) Testing laboratories
ema (Mexico) QMS, EMS, products, testing and calibration laboratories
INDECOPI-SNA (Peru) QMS
A2LA (US) Testing and calibration laboratories
ANSI-ASQ (US) QMS, EMS, testing and calibration laboratories
ASCLD/LAB (US) Testing laboratories
28
European cooperation for Accreditation - MLA

• Multilateral Recognition Arrangement
• The EA MLA is an agreement signed between the EA
  accreditation body members to recognize the
  equivalence, reliability and therefore acceptance
  of accredited certifications, inspections,
  calibration certificates and test reports across
  Europe.
• The MLA eliminates the need for suppliers of
  products or services to be certified in each
  country where they sell their products or
  services.
• EA has MLAs for calibration, testing, product
  certification, quality systems certification,
  certification of persons, EMS certification, and
  inspection.
• Click here for a full list of EA MLA signatories.
  

29
EA MLA Signatories (as of Aug 2009)

• LA (Lithuania
• NAB-MALTA (Malta)
• RvA (Netherlands)
• NA (Norway)
• PCA (Poland)
• IPAC (Portugal)
• RENAR (Romania)
• SNAS (Slovakia)
• SA (Slovenia)
• ENAC (Spain)
• SWEDAC (Sweden)
• SAS (Switzerland)
• TURKAK (Turkey)
• UKAS (United Kingdom)

• BMWA (Austria)
• BELAC (Belgium)
• BAS (Bulgaria)
• CAI (Czech Republic)
• DANAK (Denmark)
• EAK (Estonia)
• FINAS (Finland)
• COFRAC (France)
• DACH, DAP, DKD, TGA (Germany)
• ESYD (Greece)
• INAB (Ireland)
• SINAL, SINCERT, SIT (Italy)
• LATAK (Latvia)

30
EA Bilateral Agreements
Organization, Country Scope
NATA (Australia) Testing, calibration, inspection
INMETRO (Brazil) Testing, calibration
HKAS (Hong-Kong) Testing, calibration
TELARC now IANZ (New Zealand) Testing, calibration, inspection
SANAS (South Africa) Testing, calibration, EMS, inspection
A2LA (US) Testing, calibration
JAS-ANZ (Australia New Zealand) Products, EMS
SAC (Singapore) Testing, calibration
TUNAC (Tunisia) Testing, calibration
ISRAC (Israel) Testing, calibration, inspection
31
Common Acronyms

• TERMS
• AB Accreditation Body
• ANS American National Standard
• CA Conformity Assessment
• CAB Conformity Assessment Body (e.g. testing
  laboratory, inspection body, certification
  body, etc.), can be accredited by an AB
• DA Designating Authority
• EMS Environmental Management System
• IECEE IEC System for Conformity Testing, Safety
  of Electrical Equipment
• IECEx IEC System for Certification to Standards
  Relating to Equipment for use in Explosive
  Atmospheres
• IECQ IEC Quality Assessment System for
  Electronic Components
• MLA Multilateral Recognition Arrangement
• MRA Mutual Recognition Arrangement
• MRA Mutual Recognition Agreement
• NC National Committee (to IEC)
• NSB National Standards Body (to ISO)
• QMS Quality Management System
• RA Regulatory Authority
• SDO Standards Developing Organization
• SDoC Suppliers Declaration of Conformity

32
Acronyms (continued)

• ORGANIZATIONS
• A2LA American Association for Laboratory
  Accreditation
• ACIL American Council of Independent
  Laboratories
• ACLASS Assured Calibration and Laboratory
  Accreditation Select Service
• ANAB ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board
• ANSI American National Standards Institute
• AOAC Association of Official Analytical
  Chemists, International
• APLAC Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation
  Cooperation
• COPANT Pan-American Standards Commission
• EA European Accreditation Cooperation
• IAAC InterAmerican Accreditation Cooperation
• IAF International Accreditation Forum
• IAS International Accreditation Service
• ICAC ANSIs International Conformity Assessment
  Committee
• IEC International Electrotechnical Commission
• IEC-CAB IEC Conformity Assessment Board
• ILAC International Laboratory Accreditation
  Cooperation
• ISO International Organization for
  Standardization
• ISO CASCO ISO Council Committee on Conformity
  Assessment

33
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

• General Information
• www.ansi.org
• The American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
  is a private, non-profit organization that
  administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary
  standardization and conformity assessment
  systems. As the voice of these system, the
  Institute works in close collaboration with
  stakeholders from industry, government and other
  stakeholder groups to identify consensus-based
  solutions to national and global priorities.
• The Institute's mission is to enhance both the
  global competitiveness of U.S. business and the
  U.S. quality of life by promoting and
  facilitating voluntary consensus standards and
  conformity assessment systems, and safeguarding
  their integrity.
• ANSI was founded in 1918 through a
  public-partnership between three government
  agencies and five private-sector organizations.
• Today ANSIs membership is comprised of
  government agencies, companies, standards
  developing organizations (SDOs), conformity
  assessment bodis (CABs), academia, and other
  interests. ANSI represents the interests of more
  than 125,000 companies and 3.5 million
  professionals worldwide.
• ANSI is the U.S. representative and dues-paying
  member of the two major non-treaty international
  standards organizations, the International
  Organization for Standardization (ISO), and, via
  the U.S. National Committee (USNC), the
  International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
• ANSI is the U.S. representative of two major
  regional standards organizations the Pacific
  Area Standards Congress (PASC) and the Pan
  American Standards Commission (COPANT).
• ANSI is the U.S. member of the Pacific
  Accreditation Cooperation (PAC). The ANSI-ASQ
  National Accreditation Board (ANAB) is a U.S.
  member of the International Accreditation Forum
  (IAF) and the Inter-American Accreditation
  Cooperation (IAAC). The ANSI Federation
  membership also includes Accreditation Bodies
  which are also U.S. member bodies to various
  international accreditation fora.
• ANSI is the sole accreditor of developers of
  American National Standards (ANSs).

34
For more information
American National Standards Institute

• Headquarters Operations
• 1819 L Street, NW 25 West 43rd Street
• Sixth Floor Fourth Floor Washington, DC 20036
  New York, NY 10036
• Tel [phone] Tel [phone]
  Fax [phone] Fax [phone]
  
• www.ansi.org webstore.ansi.org
  www.nssn.org
• Please send comments or suggestions to
  intl_at_ansi.org