ISO to Develop New Global Occupational Health and Safety Standard

ANSI and ASSE seeking U.S. stakeholders to support the standard's development

NEW YORK, July 24, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following the tragic deaths of thousands of garment factory workers around the world in the past year, including over 1,100 people in a factory collapse in Bangladesh, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has announced that it will develop a new standard for global occupational health and safety (OH&S) with the goal of providing governmental agencies, industry, and other affected stakeholders with effective, usable guidance for improving worker safety in countries around the world. The work will be overseen by ISO Project Committee (PC) 283, Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements.

"This proposed occupational health and safety standard represents one of the most significant consensus standards activities in the last 50 years," said S. Joe Bhatia, American National Standards Institute (ANSI) president and CEO. "It has the potential to significantly and positively impact occupational health and safety management on a global level."

To support this effort, ANSI and the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) are seeking participants for a U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for ISO PC 283. All U.S. experts and interested stakeholders in OH&S management are strongly encouraged to get involved and help influence the development of this important standard.

The U.S. TAG to ISO PC 283 will advise ANSI on voting positions relevant to the proposed OH&S management standard, and will carry out detailed discussions on issues related to its development. As the U.S. member body to ISO, ANSI accredits U.S. TAGs to develop and transmit U.S. positions on ISO technical activities. Following the TAG's accreditation by ANSI, ASSE will head up the U.S. work effort by serving as the U.S. TAG administrator to ISO PC 283.

"Time and time again we've seen how investment in OH&S management can help to make work environments safer, while also serving to improve overall organizational performance and boosting the bottom line," said Kathy Seabrook, CSP, CMIOSH, EurOSH, president of ASSE.

"ISO PC 283 will be doing critically important work, and the U.S. needs to have a strong, active and engaged role in this activity," added Mr. Bhatia. "ANSI and ASSE encourage all interested U.S. stakeholders to get involved in this significant new global standards initiative."

For more information about the U.S. TAG to ISO PC 283 and the opportunity to take part in this critically important work, click here. To access the TAG membership application form, click here.

About ANSI
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. Its membership is made up of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide.

The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is a U.S. representative to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).

About ASSE
Founded in 1911, the Chicago-based ASSE is the oldest professional safety organization and is committed to protecting people, property and the environment. Its more than 35,000 occupational safety, health and environmental professional members lead, manage, supervise, research and consult on safety, health, transportation and environmental issues in all industries, government, labor, health care and education. For more information please go to http://www.asse.org/.

SOURCE American National Standards Institute