Welcome to ASTM
in the International Arena
2012 Officers’ Training Workshop
Jeff Grove
Jim Olshefsky
1
What We Will Cover
• Global Objectives
• Global Acceptance and Use
of ASTM Standards
• Global Policy Initiatives
• MOU Program
• International Membership
• Engagement
• Your suggestions and thoughts
2
ASTM International’s Global Aim
To ensure that ASTM International standards
that you develop are the most widely recognized,
accepted and used standards around the world
3
Global Cooperation
Objectives
 Minimizing the barriers to the use
and application of ASTM
International standards
 Facilitating increased active
participation by technical experts
from around the globe
4
International
Standards
WTO / TBT Principles
ASTM Principles
Transparency
Transparency
Openness
Openness
Impartiality and consensus
Impartiality and consensus
Effectiveness and relevance
Effectiveness and relevance
Coherence
Coherence
Consideration of developing
nations
Consideration of developing
nations
“Constraints on developing countries, in particular to effectively participate
in standards development should be taken into consideration in the standards
development process.”
5
Who Uses the
Standards?
• China – 683
• Colombia – 1213
• Ecuador – 329
• Jamaica - 530
• Philippines – 518
• Saudi Arabia – 1764
• South Africa – 538
 5906 citations of ASTM standards that
have been adopted, referenced or used
as the basis of a national standard
around the world.
6
• Trinidad and Tobago – 261
• Turkey – 826
• Vietnam - 162
MOU Objectives
• Promote communication
• Avoid duplication of work efforts in standardization
• Promote knowledge of the standards development activities of
each partner
• Utilize ASTM standards/resources to benefit the national
standards system of developing nations
• Promote participation to enhance international input and multidimensional content into ASTM standards
• Enhance the worldwide acceptance and use of ASTM
International standards
7
MOU Partners
ASIA
EUROPE
LATIN AMERICA
CARIBBEAN
MIDDLE EAST &
NORTH AFRICA
SUB-SAHARAN
AFRICA
AFGHANISTAN
ALBANIA*
BOLIVIA
BELIZE
BAHRAIN
BOTSWANA
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
BOSNIA
CHILE
CROSQ
EGYPT
CONGO
CHINA
BULGARIA
COLOMBIA
DOMINICA
GCC (GULF STATES)
ETHIOPIA
INDONESIA
CROATIA
COSTA RICA
DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC
IRAQ
GHANA
KOREA
KAZAKHSTAN
ECUADOR
GRENADA
ISRAEL
KENYA
MALAYSIA
MOLDOVA
EL SALVADOR
GUYANA
JORDAN
MAURITIUS
MONGOLIA
ROMANIA*
GUATEMALA
JAMAICA
KUWAIT
MOZAMBIQUE
NEPAL
RUSSIA
HONDURAS
ST. LUCIA
MOROCCO
NIGERIA
PAKISTAN
SERBIA
PANAMA
ST. VINCENT AND
THE GRENADINES
OMAN
RWANDA
PHILIPPINES
PERU
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
PALESTINE
SADC
SINGAPORE
NICARAGUA
QATAR
SOUTH AFRICA
SRI LANKA
URUGUAY
SAUDI ARABIA
SWAZILAND
TAIWAN
TUNISIA
TANZANIA
VIETNAM
TURKEY
UGANDA
U.A.E.
ZAMBIA
YEMEN
ZIMBABWE
8
* Former MOU partner
Standards Expert
Program
• 2005 (2) - China
• 2006 (3) - Indonesia, Vietnam, Zambia
• 2007 (2) – Colombia, Saudi Arabia
• 2008 (2) – Peru, Korea
• 2009 (4) - China, Ghana, Israel, Jamaica
• 2010 (2) – South Africa, Vietnam
• 2011 (3) – Jordan, Malaysia
•2012 (4) – Mongolia, Zimbabwe,
Qatar, Turkey
9
Training Offered to
MoU Signatories
ASTM International in
Mexico
 Vanessa Corona and Luis Ordoñez
10
ASTM International in
China
 Liu Fei and Hu Yanan
11
ASTM International in
India
 Jayakumar Gopalakrishnan
12
ASTM International in
Europe
13
Multiple Paths to International Standards
 ASTM International and the U.S. Government, a WTO member, believe that there are
many ways to develop international standards.
 Reflected in:
• U.S. Standards Strategy
• http://www.ansi.org/standards_activities/nss/usss.aspx
• U.S. Department of Commerce
• http://www.ita.doc.gov/td/standards/International%20Policy.htm
14
ASTM Relationship
to ISO
 Both international standards developers
 Different standards systems and participation models
 Industries need to develop a standards strategy that meets their needs
• Minimize duplication
• Harmonize where possible – biofuels and toys
• Respect intellectual property
 May be multiple paths in an industry’s standards strategy
 Some industries rely on ASTM to serve as ISO Technical Advisory Group
(TAG) Administrator or Secretariat (ASTM currently houses 55 U.S.
TAGs)
15
Resources for US
Technical Advisory Groups
(US TAGS)
16
International
Members
AFRICA - 3.5%
AUSTRALASIA 27.5%
CANADA - 22.2%
EUROPE - 22.8%
MIDDLE EAST - 6.1%
SO/LATIN AMERICA 17.9%
17
* Former MOU partner
Engaging International
Participation
ASTM International uses the
Internet to overcome the
barriers of space and time
• Virtual Meetings
• Online Collaboration Areas
• Electronic Balloting
18
Connecting Virtually
Year
Meetings
Countries
Participants
2008
13
14
130
2009
23
37
440
2010
14
18
175
2011
15
27
185
19
Online
Collaboration Areas
• Allows task group members to comment on Draft
• Includes discussion threads, post related documents
• Over 1700 Collaboration Areas in progress
20
Electronic
Balloting



3300 standards actions per year
Increases international participation
Over half of ballot actions are revisions to existing stds
21
Other Engagement
Opportunities
Delegation Visits
Videoconferencing
Intensive Training
Meetings Outside
U.S.
22
Delegation Visits



23
In 2011, 11 delegations from 7 countries
U.S. Trade and Development Agency
Commercial Law Development Program
Videoconferencing
• ASTM has portable equipment at Headquarters
• Other conference participant must have compatible equipment
• Many countries have such facilities housed at universities (different
from Virtual Meetings)
24
Meetings Outside U.S.
• ASTM often speaks to international audiences
• Will work with industry partners to promote ASTM
• Often need in-country experts to present on behalf of ASTM
25
KATS
Intensive Training
• New model for training
• Headquarters, Committee Week, Washington DC,
• Site visits
• Primarily industry and government funded
26
To Conclude
 The ASTM Process is Open and Inclusive to
anyone anywhere in the world
 ASTM supports cooperation with regional and
other international standards bodies
 ASTM strives to keep the science in the process,
while keeping the politics out
 ASTM works to remove worldwide barriers to
the acceptance and use of our standards
27
Thank you for Attending!
Any Questions?
Jeff Grove: jgrove@astm.org
Jim Olshefsky: jolshefs@astm.org