Online: Check Out ANSI Web Site for Information on Standardization

The Web site for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is http://www.ansi.org/. It is a private, nonprofit organization (501(c)(3)) that administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. If you visit the site, you'll find information on consumer affairs, meetings and events, training and education, library Internet resources and career opportunities. ANSI'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, which is active in both national and international standardization, recently worked with representatives from the public and private sectors to develop a National Standards Strategy (NSS) for the United States. This document establishes a framework that can be used by all interests including companies, government, nongovernmental organizations, standards developers and consumers to further improve U.S. competitiveness abroad while continuing to provide strong support for domestic markets. Using the NSS as a guide, ANSI says it is successfully facing the standardization challenges of a global economy while addressing key quality-of-life issues such as safety and the environment.