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Priorities of the American National Standards Institute
105
Commentary
Priorities of the American N a t i o n a l Standards Institute * George S. W H A M American National Standards Institute, 1430 Broadway, New York, N Y 10018, USA
Dr. George S. Wham, Vice-president and technical director of Good Housekeeping Magazine and Institute, has been chairman of the Board of Directors of the American National Standards Institute since January 1986. A leader in ANSI activities, he had served on the Board since 1977 and chaired the Institute's Consumer Interest Council and an ANSI coordinating board on textiles. He has also led delegations to international meetings on textile standardization. Dr. Wham is a leading authority on the development of performance standards and test methods for consumer products. Under his direction, Good Housekeeping Institute has played a prominent role in this area. As vice-president and technical director, Dr. Wham is responsible for overall supervision of the organization's laboratories and the development of acceptable product standards. Dr. Wham is past president of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, past chairman of ASTM's Committee on Consumer Product Standards, and is active in Underwriters Laboratories and other organizations. He has served on advisory committees of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Academy of Sciences. In 1985, Dr. Wham was awarded the American National Standards Institute's Howard Coonley Medal for "invaluable contributions to voluntary standardization at all levels." He is also a recipient of AATCC's Harold C. Chapin Award. Dr. Wham holds a Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University, an M.S. from the University of Tennessee, and a B.S. degree from Clemson University.
* Presented at ANSI's Annual Business Meeting Luncheon, March 19, 1986, Alexandria, VA, USA.
North-Holland Computer Standards & Interfaces 5 (1986) 105-106
I welcome this opportunity to report on the state of the Institute and to suggest some priorities for 1986 and the years ahead. ANSI today is in an excellent position to carry out its responsibilities in national and international standardization. The Institute's standards coordination and approval services are being constantly used by organizations representing both mature and emerging technologies. Productivity remains high, with some 1,150 new and revised American National Standards approved last year to satisfy the needs of industry, business, government, and consumers. Finances are in reasonable shape. Publication sales continue to rise. Last year, there was a small excess of revenue over expenses. Corporate membership, however, remains a challenge. With a rash of company mergers and acquisitions, memberships get lost. Centralization of standards functions makes improved communications and frequent contact with companies essential. ANSI's high level of active participation in the programs of the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission are being sustained. Relations with federal government agencies, which have been good under this administration, continue to improve. Although this is a positive picture, we must not use it as an excuse for complacency. We must continue to seek increased support from every sector of society. We must build on our strength to gain more recognition that the voluntary system is absolutely basic and essential to the free enterprise system. Here are some of the actions and initiatives that I think should be taken: We must find a way to enlist the support of all standards-developing organizations so that virtu-
0920-5489/86/$3.50 © 1986, Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland)
106
G.S. Wham / Priorities of ANSI
ally all voluntary standards are processed through the Institute. That's the ultimate goal. Organizations must be convinced that they cannot afford not to submit their standards to the Institute. And educational efforts are required to stress that ANSI does not develop standards and does not compete with standards-writing groups. While I am emphasizing ANSI's national functions, I think we all recognize that without strong national programs there would be no international programs. Steps must be taken to dramatically increase top-level company support. This can only be accomplished by showing that such support will have a positive impact on the bottom-line of the company - that it will pay off. We must stress the value of standards to the marketability of products. Companies cannot afford to support the Institute for altruistic reasons. They must see the effects of standards on the marketing efforts of the company and on an improved balance sheet. Increased services must be provided to members. We are a service organization and if we fail in this respect, our primary purpose for existing disappears. ANSI must foster improved cooperation among the various interests that make up the voluntary standards system - between, for example, standards-developing organizations and government. A model for this type of cooperation is the ANSIConsumer Product Safety Commission Coordinating Committee Consideration should be given to using it in other areas. Consumers should be made more aware of how they benefit from industry's application of voluntary standards for the performance and safety of products they use in and around the home. Billions of dollars are spent on the development of such standards. But most consumers have no conception of the direct benefits from this activity. H o w can A N S I achieve increased support from standards developers, industry, and business? How can it obtain deserved recognition of the accomplishments of the voluntary standards system and
for its own coordinating role? In my view, proper marketing is the answer publicity, information dissemination, education to every segment of this nation. But before intensive marketing can be launched, goals must be refined and agreed upon. A N S I ' s product, the benefits of support for the Institute, and our audience - our markets - must be clearly defined and continually addressed. For these reasons, I am establishing a longrange planning and study committee to look at every aspect of the Institute - its finances, support, marketing, and staffing - and to provide recommendations on what ANSI should be at the end of the next decade. What we do today affects what we should be doing in the decade of the nineties. And we must find ways to speed up the standards-developing process. When my oldest son was a very small boy he asked me, " D a d , when is tomorrow yesterday?" Certainly in this fast-moving economy with its emerging technologies, tomorrow becomes yesterday all too soon. And, unless we move more rapidly to produce and promulgate the m a n y standards so necessary to the success of these emerging technologies, the tomorrow of the voluntary standards system as we would like it to be may never come. In closing, I should like to emphasize that ANSI's officers, directors, and staff want your views on the goals and directions of A N S I and any and every aspect of the organization program. The Institute is its members - it is owned, controlled, and run by its membership. It must be responsive to members' needs and suggestions and, as chairman, I shall make sure that your suggestions are given every consideration. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the membership for its cooperation, and D o n Peyton and his dedicated staff for their hard work and cooperation. Working together, we can make A N S I truly the American National Standards Institute.
Commentary
Priorities of the American N a t i o n a l Standards Institute * George S. W H A M American National Standards Institute, 1430 Broadway, New York, N Y 10018, USA
Dr. George S. Wham, Vice-president and technical director of Good Housekeeping Magazine and Institute, has been chairman of the Board of Directors of the American National Standards Institute since January 1986. A leader in ANSI activities, he had served on the Board since 1977 and chaired the Institute's Consumer Interest Council and an ANSI coordinating board on textiles. He has also led delegations to international meetings on textile standardization. Dr. Wham is a leading authority on the development of performance standards and test methods for consumer products. Under his direction, Good Housekeeping Institute has played a prominent role in this area. As vice-president and technical director, Dr. Wham is responsible for overall supervision of the organization's laboratories and the development of acceptable product standards. Dr. Wham is past president of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, past chairman of ASTM's Committee on Consumer Product Standards, and is active in Underwriters Laboratories and other organizations. He has served on advisory committees of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Academy of Sciences. In 1985, Dr. Wham was awarded the American National Standards Institute's Howard Coonley Medal for "invaluable contributions to voluntary standardization at all levels." He is also a recipient of AATCC's Harold C. Chapin Award. Dr. Wham holds a Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University, an M.S. from the University of Tennessee, and a B.S. degree from Clemson University.
* Presented at ANSI's Annual Business Meeting Luncheon, March 19, 1986, Alexandria, VA, USA.
North-Holland Computer Standards & Interfaces 5 (1986) 105-106
I welcome this opportunity to report on the state of the Institute and to suggest some priorities for 1986 and the years ahead. ANSI today is in an excellent position to carry out its responsibilities in national and international standardization. The Institute's standards coordination and approval services are being constantly used by organizations representing both mature and emerging technologies. Productivity remains high, with some 1,150 new and revised American National Standards approved last year to satisfy the needs of industry, business, government, and consumers. Finances are in reasonable shape. Publication sales continue to rise. Last year, there was a small excess of revenue over expenses. Corporate membership, however, remains a challenge. With a rash of company mergers and acquisitions, memberships get lost. Centralization of standards functions makes improved communications and frequent contact with companies essential. ANSI's high level of active participation in the programs of the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission are being sustained. Relations with federal government agencies, which have been good under this administration, continue to improve. Although this is a positive picture, we must not use it as an excuse for complacency. We must continue to seek increased support from every sector of society. We must build on our strength to gain more recognition that the voluntary system is absolutely basic and essential to the free enterprise system. Here are some of the actions and initiatives that I think should be taken: We must find a way to enlist the support of all standards-developing organizations so that virtu-
0920-5489/86/$3.50 © 1986, Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland)
106
G.S. Wham / Priorities of ANSI
ally all voluntary standards are processed through the Institute. That's the ultimate goal. Organizations must be convinced that they cannot afford not to submit their standards to the Institute. And educational efforts are required to stress that ANSI does not develop standards and does not compete with standards-writing groups. While I am emphasizing ANSI's national functions, I think we all recognize that without strong national programs there would be no international programs. Steps must be taken to dramatically increase top-level company support. This can only be accomplished by showing that such support will have a positive impact on the bottom-line of the company - that it will pay off. We must stress the value of standards to the marketability of products. Companies cannot afford to support the Institute for altruistic reasons. They must see the effects of standards on the marketing efforts of the company and on an improved balance sheet. Increased services must be provided to members. We are a service organization and if we fail in this respect, our primary purpose for existing disappears. ANSI must foster improved cooperation among the various interests that make up the voluntary standards system - between, for example, standards-developing organizations and government. A model for this type of cooperation is the ANSIConsumer Product Safety Commission Coordinating Committee Consideration should be given to using it in other areas. Consumers should be made more aware of how they benefit from industry's application of voluntary standards for the performance and safety of products they use in and around the home. Billions of dollars are spent on the development of such standards. But most consumers have no conception of the direct benefits from this activity. H o w can A N S I achieve increased support from standards developers, industry, and business? How can it obtain deserved recognition of the accomplishments of the voluntary standards system and
for its own coordinating role? In my view, proper marketing is the answer publicity, information dissemination, education to every segment of this nation. But before intensive marketing can be launched, goals must be refined and agreed upon. A N S I ' s product, the benefits of support for the Institute, and our audience - our markets - must be clearly defined and continually addressed. For these reasons, I am establishing a longrange planning and study committee to look at every aspect of the Institute - its finances, support, marketing, and staffing - and to provide recommendations on what ANSI should be at the end of the next decade. What we do today affects what we should be doing in the decade of the nineties. And we must find ways to speed up the standards-developing process. When my oldest son was a very small boy he asked me, " D a d , when is tomorrow yesterday?" Certainly in this fast-moving economy with its emerging technologies, tomorrow becomes yesterday all too soon. And, unless we move more rapidly to produce and promulgate the m a n y standards so necessary to the success of these emerging technologies, the tomorrow of the voluntary standards system as we would like it to be may never come. In closing, I should like to emphasize that ANSI's officers, directors, and staff want your views on the goals and directions of A N S I and any and every aspect of the organization program. The Institute is its members - it is owned, controlled, and run by its membership. It must be responsive to members' needs and suggestions and, as chairman, I shall make sure that your suggestions are given every consideration. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the membership for its cooperation, and D o n Peyton and his dedicated staff for their hard work and cooperation. Working together, we can make A N S I truly the American National Standards Institute.