FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMedia Contact:
January 31, 2007Penny Gamaché 800-606-5394
Michael Pflughoeft
414-271-1314
World of International Standards Coming to California
IAF Meetings to be held March 24-30 in San Francisco
MILWAUKEE – Whether you’re boarding an airplane in Tokyo, eating a salad in Boston or putting together a bookcase manufactured in Malaysia, you are affected by internationalstandards. From ISO 9001, which governs quality management systems, to ISO 14001, governing environmental performance, global standards make the world a better place for business and consumers. Leaders of the global standards industry will converge on San Francisco March 24-30 for meetings of the International Accreditation Forum’s (IAF) Technical and Executive Committees.
“International standards are the oil in the machine of global trade,” according to RobertKing, president of the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB). “IAF members cooperate to ensure that no matter where an accredited certificate to international standards are issued, they are accepted the world over. Decisions made by this group affect everyone.”
IAF is a global association of accreditation bodies with the goal of creating a single worldwide program for conformity assessment that reduces risk for businesses and customers. IAF member bodies offer accreditation programs for management systems standards used in industries as diverse as aerospace, chemical, automotive, telecommunications and food, among others. IAF’s purpose is to ensure that its accreditation body members accredit only bodies that are competent and not subject to conflicts of interest. Mutual recognition arrangements are established by IAF to eliminate technical barriers to trade.
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IAF Meeting / ADD ONE
IAF will welcome the public[h1] on March 28 to its first-ever “Industry Day” Event. Industry representatives will discuss ways in which the standards industry can better meet the needs and expectations of companies and customers. The event is open to interested individuals, but registration is required.
For more information about the IAF Technical Committee meeting or to register for Industry Day, contact Penny Gamaché, communication manager for ANAB, at 800-606-5394 or . More information is also available online at
About ANAB
The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB), the U.S. national accreditation body, provides management system accreditation services to Certification Bodies (CBs) for ISO 9001 quality management systems, ISO 14001 environmental management systems and other industry-specific requirements. As a member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), ANAB cooperates with other national accreditation bodies to ensure that companies certified by ANAB-accredited CBs maintain an equal footing with competitors anywhere in the world. ANAB is a not-for-profit organization that is financially self-supported and governed by a board of directors representing stakeholders. More than 75 management systemsCBs are accredited by ANAB.
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[h1]I am nervous about this word. We could get some off the wall visitors and we may not have room to accommodate even the legitimate ones.