Paul D. Schomer
U.S. Army Construction Eng. Res. Lab., Champaign, IL 61826-9005
This paper documents the more than ten-fold growth in the number of Standards and the program of work carried out by the ASA Standards directorate for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and for related international work with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC). Not only has there been a huge increase in the work effort, but the emphasis has changed greatly. Now we work to ensure that ISO Standards are fair to all players and to ensure that ANSI Standards are compatible with ISO. While major U.S. industries are participating in this effort, more participation is needed by industry and government. Case histories are used to show how our efforts in the standards process are currently helping some U.S. manufacturers to market their products worldwide. Major industries with some significant involvement include automotive, construction and agricultural equipment, computer and business machines, hearing conservation equipment, and audiological testing, and sirens and alarms. Many other industries such as aircraft, mining, rotating electrical machinery, and manufacturers of acoustical materials, attenuators, mufflers, and soundproof enclosures currently lack significant involvement in the ISO process. Thus greater involvement is required by significant sectors of U.S. industry.