NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a non-profit organization that coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system, has announced the accreditation of three organizations involved with the certification of personnel in the safety, supply management, and construction industries. This concludes the first phase of the Institute's launch of a new accreditation program for personnel certification bodies based upon the new international standard, ISO/IEC 17024-2003, General requirements for bodies operating certification systems of persons.
Certification helps to identify qualified individuals to consumers and employers, provide mechanisms for systematically monitoring the performance of certified persons, and encourage individuals to participate in continuing professional development. As an impartial assessor, ANSI accreditation protects the integrity of a certification process, enhances consumer and public confidence in a certification program and the personnel who complete it, and facilitates the mobility of certified personnel across borders.
Initiated in late 2002, the ANSI pilot included five organizations demonstrating the diversity among personnel certifiers. ANSI's accreditation process includes the submission of documentation of the requirements identified in ISO/IEC 17024, an on-site audit, and the correction of any non-conformities.
"Having met recognized standards of quality helps advance the safety profession to a new level through those holding the Certified Safety Professional designation," said Roger L. Brauer, executive director of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, a peer certification board with the purpose of certifying practitioners in the safety profession. "Holding the ANSI accreditation under the ISO/IEC 17024 standard advances the safety profession once again on a global scale."
"The pilot study was created to ensure the ANSI accreditation policy and procedures were valid," said Dr. Roy Swift, director of the program. "After the successful completion by our pilot participants, the official program will increase the potential for national and international reciprocity of certified individuals and personnel certification bodies, and help to create an internationally recognized evaluation system."
According to Institute for Supply Management(tm) (ISM) executive director Paul Novak, "ISM considers it an honor to be one of the few organizations selected by ANSI to participate in its premier pilot accreditation program. Achieving accreditation through a prestigious organization such as ANSI, which has global recognition, solidifies the integrity of the ISM certification designation and process." The largest supply management association in the world, ISM has a membership base of more than 45,000 supply management professionals with a network of domestic and international affiliated associations.
"The ANSI accreditation is an undeniable mark of quality and integrity," added Michael T. Massey, executive vice president of the National ITC Corporation (NITC). "We have already witnessed a business volume and profitability benefit. The accreditation process itself improved delivery of our services." NITC tests and certifies personnel in the construction industry.
The American Society for Nondestructive Testing, Inc. (ASNT) and the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc. (NBCOT) completed the ANSI pilot program in June 2003.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations, the ANSI Federation represents the diverse interests of more than 120,000 entities and 3.2 million professionals worldwide.
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