Appendix D Glossary and Acronyms
Glossary
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.
Acronyms
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