STANDARDS

Standard

A prescribed set of conditions or requirements concerning definitions of terms; specification of performance, operation, or construction; delineation of procedures; or measurement of quantity and/or quality in describing features of products, processes, systems, interfaces, or materials.

Compatibility Standard

A standard that defines the interface between components of a system or network, allowing them to function or communicate with one another.

De Facto Standard

A standard arising from uncoordinated processes in the competitive marketplace. When a particular set of product or process specifications gains market share such that it acquires authority or influence, that set of specifications is then considered a de facto standard.

Design Standard

A standard that defines a product's characteristics in terms of how it is to be constructed.

Mandatory Standard

A standard set by government. A procurement standard specifies requirements that must be met by suppliers to government. A regulatory standard may set safety, health, environmental, or related criteria. Voluntary standards developed for private use often become mandatory when referenced within government regulation or procurement.

Performance Standard

A standard that defines a product's characteristics in terms of how it is to function. Because this type of standard leaves open to the designer the issue of how the product achieves the desired functionality, performance standards are considered less restrictive of innovation than design standards.

Voluntary Consensus Standard

A standard arising from a formal, coordinated process in which key participants in a market seek consensus. Use of the resulting standard is voluntary. Key participants may include not only designers and producers, but also consumers, corporate and government purchasing officials, and regulatory authorities.

CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT

Conformity Assessment

The determination of whether a product or process conforms to particular standards or specifications. Activities associated with conformity assessment may include testing, certification, accreditation, and quality assurance system registration.

Accreditation

The process of evaluating testing facilities for competence to perform specific tests using standard test methods. The test methods for which a facility seeks accreditation may or may not be associated with a particular certification program.

Certification

The process of providing assurance that a product or service conforms to one or more standards or specifications. Some, but not all, certification programs require that an accredited laboratory perform any required testing.

Certification Mark

A sign or symbol that is used exclusively by the operator of a third-party certification program to identify products or services as being certified. In the United States, certification marks are registered with the U.S. Patent Office. A well-known example is the Underwriters Laboratories' "UL" mark.

Manufacturer's Declaration of Conformity

A form of certification in which a manufacturer or supplier declares that his or her product meets one or more standards based on (1) confidence in the manufacturer's own quality assurance program, and/or (2) the results of testing the manufacturer performs or has performed on his or her behalf.

Mutual Recognition Agreement

Agreement between conformity assessment entities to accept some or all aspects of one another's work. Both public- and private-sector parties may be involved.

New Approach Directives

Directives produced by the Commission of the European Union specifying "essential requirements" for safety that regulated goods must meet in order to be placed on the market anywhere within the European Union. Producers may demonstrate conformity to the directives via a choice among eight Commission-specified assessment modules, three of which involve quality system registration to portions of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9000 series. As of 1994, new approach directives exist for toys, simple pressure vessels, construction products, electromagnetic compatibility, gas appliances, personal protective equipment, machinery, weighing instruments, certain medical devices, and telecommunications terminal equipment.

Recognition

The process of evaluation and designation, by a government entity, that an accreditation program is competent to carry out its activities.

Third-Party Certification

A form of certification in which the producer's claim of conformity is validated in a third-party certification program by a competent body other than one controlled by the producer.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

Quality Assurance

The procedures and resources a manufacturer uses to control variables in product design, production, and handling in order to produce a product of consistent quality that meets defined specifications or standards.

Environmental Management System

The procedures and resources an organization uses to implement its policies regarding the impact of its activities, products, and services on the environment.

ISO 9000 Standard Series

A series of five international standards for quality assurance management systems (ISO 9000, 9001, 9002, 9003, and 9004) published in 1987 by the International Organization for Standardization and revised in 1994. The standards are being applied worldwide in an increasingly broad range of circumstances, including government regulations and public- and private-sector purchasing specifications.

Quality System Registration

Assessment and periodic audit of the adequacy of a producer's quality assurance system by a third party known as a quality system registrar. ISO 9000 quality system registration, for example, certifies that a producer's system conforms to the registrar's interpretation of one or more of the ISO 9000 standards; interpretations may vary among registrars.

A2LA

American Association for Laboratory Accreditation

AAMI

Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation

ACIL

American Council of Independent Laboratories

AFNOR

Association Francaise de Normalisation (French Standardization Association)

AGA

American Gas Association

ANSI

American National Standards Institute

APEC

Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Council

ASC-T1

Accredited Standards Committee T1—Telecommunications

ASME

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

ASQC

American Society for Quality Control

ASTM

American Society for Testing and Materials

ATIS

Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (formerly, the Exchange Carriers Standards Association, ECSA)

ATP

Advanced Technology Program, NIST

BSI

British Standards Institution

CASCO

ISO Council Committee on Conformity Assessment

CBEMA

Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturers Association

CCITT

ITU International Telephone and Telegraph Consultative Committee (recently reorganized as the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector, ITU-T)

CEN

European Committee for Standardization

CENELEC

European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization

CNAEL

Committee on National Accreditation of Environmental Laboratories

COPANT

Pan American Standards Commission

COS

Corporation for Open Systems

CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

CSA

Canadian Standards Association

DIN

Deutsches Institut fur Normung (German Institute for Standardization)

DoC

U.S. Department of Commerce

DoD

U.S. Department of Defense

DSN

Dewan Standardisasi Nasional (National Standardization Council of Indonesia)

EFTA

European Free Trade Association

EOTC

European Organization for Testing and Certification

EPA

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

ETSI

European Telecommunications Standards Institute

EU

European Union (formerly, the European Community)

FCC

Federal Communications Commission

FDA

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

FY

fiscal year

GAMA

Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association

GATT

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

GDP

gross domestic product

GSA

U.S. General Services Administration

ICSP

Interagency Committee on Standards Policy

IEC

International Electrotechnical Commission

IEEE

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

IFAC

Industry Functional Advisory Committee, U.S. Department of Commerce

IIE

Institute for International Economics

IPR

intellectual property rights

ISAC

Industry Sectoral Advisory Committee, U.S. Department of Commerce

ISO

International Organization for Standardization

IT

information technology

ITA

International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce

ITU

International Telecommunication Union, United Nations

ITU-T

ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector

JISC

Japan Industrial Standards Committee

JSA

Japan Standards Association

JTC1

ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1—Information Technology

MAP

Manufacturing Automation Protocol

MBNQA

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

MITI

Japanese Ministry for International Trade and Industry

MOU

memorandum of understanding

MRA

mutual recognition agreement

NADCAP

National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program

NAFTA

North American Free Trade Agreement

NAM

National Association of Manufacturers

NAVFAC

Naval Facilities Engineering Command

NCASR

National Conformity Assessment System Recognition Program (proposed)

NCSCI

National Center for Standards and Certification Information, NIST

NCWM

National Conference on Weights and Measures

NEMA

National Electrical Manufacturers Association

NFPA

National Fire Protection Association

NHTSA

National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration

NIST

National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce

NRTL

Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory Program, OSHA

NSSN

National Standards Systems Network

NTB

nontariff trade barrier

NTE

National Trade Estimate

NVCASE

National Voluntary Conformity Assessment Systems Evaluation Program, NIST

NVLAP

National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program, NIST

OMB

Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President, U.S.

OSHA

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

OSI

Open Systems Interconnection

PASC

Pacific Area Standards Congress

PAT

Process Action Team on Military Specifications and Standards, U.S. Department of Defense

QML

Qualified Manufacturers List

QPL

Qualified Product List

R&D

research and development

RAB

Registrar Accreditation Board

RVC

Raad voor de Certificatie (Dutch Council for Certification)

SAE

Society of Automotive Engineers

SASO

Saudi Arabian Standards Organization

SCC

Standards Council of Canada

SCI

Standards Code and Information Program, NIST

SDO

standards developing organization

SPS

sanitary and phytosanitary

TAG

technical advisory group

TBT

technical barrier to trade

TC

technical committee

TQM

total quality management

UL

Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.

US&FCS

U. S. and Foreign Commercial Service, U.S. Department of Commerce

USDA

U.S. Department of Agriculture

USNC

U.S. National Committee of the IEC

USNRC

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

USTR

United States Trade Representative, Executive Office of the President

WTO

World Trade Organization