The Technical Foundations of Capacity Building

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1 Standards The Technical Foundations of Capacity Building : DEVELOPS and provides technical standards that are used by industries and governments the world over. SUPPORTS users, manufacturers, consumers, governments, researchers and laboratories in emerging economies worldwide through its capacity building programs. ADOPTED and applied globally, ASTM standards result in the development and production of more reliable products, greater global market access and improved quality of life. Over a Century of Proven Success

2 Emerging Economies, organized in 1898, is one of the world s largest international standards developing organizations. standards are being referenced, adopted and used as the basis of national standards all over the world. helps emerging economies improve national standards for raw materials, components and products that serve as the basic technical infrastructure for successful Spotlight: The Board of Engineering of Trinidad and Tobago s Small Building Code deals with the design and construction of residential buildings and incorporates provisions to deal with hurricane and earthquake threats. For this code to be effective, it must be supported by a regime of standards in the construction industry. In order to address the needs of the industry, the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards launched construction standards using ASTM standards as their basis. Using the normal process of standardization and given the existing resources, this project would have taken approximately five years in Trinidad and Tobago. With today s technological advances, in five year s time these standards may have become obsolete or may have needed to be revised almost immediately. But by working with, these documents were developed and available for use in a much shorter period of time in approximately 18 months. ASTM A Path to Success Trinidad and Tobago uses ASTM building standards to improve construction integrity in the following areas: Clay block Concrete Electrical cable Paint Plywood Portland cement PVC pipe Residential security Roofing Steel economies and enhance health, safety and environmental protection. We are benefiting greatly from the services ASTM provides. Information sharing is critical for us to keep abreast of technical developments. The option to adopt ASTM standards allows for fast tracking of standards projects. Those of our customers who require ASTM standards are assured of current documents as we receive current information. Romana Marunda, Manager- Standards Development & Information, Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) on the benefits of the partnership between ASTM International and SAZ. 1st Open House for the Americas and Caribbean Memorandum of Understanding program is launched MOUs signed in first year of program 2nd Open House for Asia Pacific region ASTM adds a consultant in Mexico Standards Expert Program begins 3rd Open House for Middle East, North Africa and South Asia China Office opens Technical Assistance Program begins 4th Open House for Sub-Saharan Africa Intensive training on plastics with India Intensive training on nuclear energy for South Korea and on steel for Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago Coordinated training programs held with China, Ecuador, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Qatar To date, 750 participants in 50 virtual meetings 507 participants in 32 technical assistance training courses 2012 ASTM adds consultants in Canada and Belgium 2013 Attachment of staff from Botswana, S. Africa and S. Korea Intensive Training on concrete for Latin America

3 Trade standards are the cornerstones of a liberalized trading system. Used successfully as the basis for technical regulations and developed according to principles recommended by the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade, they increase efficiency, improve quality and transfer technology from developed to developing countries. Gulf States Training Program/Doha, Qatar/2012 Our MOU with has opened the way for technical experts from Qatar to participate freely as full voting members in ASTM standards development committees, in addition to facilitating the work of our national committees in specific fields. We are now able to adopt and use ASTM standards as reference documents in the development of Qatari standards. Eng. Nawaf Al-Mana, Director of Standards and Metrology at Qatar General Organization for Standards and Metrology (QS) Spotlight: When Doosan Heavy Industries in South Korea needed to specify components for a new desalination plant in the United Arab Emirates, it required POSCO Steel Co. of South Korea to meet ASTM Steel Specification A240. Through its work on ASTM International Committee A01 on Steel, Stainless Steel and Related Alloys, POSCO introduced a revision to add a new corrosion-resistant stainless steel grade to ASTM A240. Within one year, the resulting approval allowed POSCO s specialty steel to be specified and fulfill the requirements for the anticipated UAE contract. The successful revision is expected to result in $15 million dollars of new business for POSCO. ore than 50% of ASTM standards are distributed outside the United States. 8 0% of global commodity trade is impacted by standards. A STM has more than 75 agreements with the national standards bodies in emerging economies worldwide. T here are more than 6,000 citations of standards adopted, referenced, or used as the basis of national standards from 110 ASTM technical committees in 75 nations. ASTM Providing Reliable Tools South Korean members from POSCO Steel and Korea Testing Certification (KTC) meet with A01 Steel, Stainless Steel and Related Alloys Chairman Gerald Cobb / Atlanta, Georgia /

4 Technical Training provides a wide range of capacity building interventions to help reduce poverty, accelerate economic growth, and provide better services to the citizens of emerging economies. Training on the use and application of high-quality, market-relevant standards contributes Through this intensive training course provided by, I gained knowledge of the relationship between ASTM standards and the nuclear industry. Mr. Gook-Ju Ihm, Korea Testing Laboratory, a participant of a 2011 Intensive Training Program in the U.S. focusing on nuclear energy. Eight South Korean experts spent time at ASTM headquarters, visted agencies in Washington, D.C., attended ASTM committee week meetings, and made site visits to private companies during the 18 day co-sponsored program. to capacity building by transferring technical knowledge through firmly established test methods and specifications. Intensive Training Program co-sponsored by Federacion Iberoamericana del Hormigon on Cement / Concrete / Atlanta, Georgia / 2012 Intensive Training Program on Nuclear Energy / South Korea Government and Industry / 2011 Virtual Meeting / Muscat Oman / 2010 Spotlight: Since 2004, when experts were invited to attend a construction industry event to discuss state-of-the-art concrete technology described in ASTM standards, more than 200 engineers from Latin America have participated in ASTM s cement and concrete technical committees. In addition, six Online Centers have been established in the region. Online Centers provide instantaneous electronic access to published ASTM (Left to right) Pablo J. Benia, Director standards. Active participation through ASTM s electronic tools, as well as regularly held webinars and Web conferences, have lead to better understanding of the origin of the standards and accelerated local adoption. ASTM People Learn Here In a three-year span ASTM International has hosted: More than 30 international training courses covering a variety of subjects More than 55 Virtual Meetings, with over 960 participants from over 65 countries ore than 40 Delegations from 15 countries of UNIT; Manuel Lascarro, with ASOCRETO and a former member of the ASTM Board of Directors; Eduardo Alvarez Mazza, President of UNIT; and Morgan Martinez, President of Concrexur / Montevideo, Uruguay / 2009 Video Conference on Biofuels / Lima, Peru, and ASTM Headquarters /

5 ASTM Facilitating Health, Safety and Quality Success through Standards standards play an important role as facilitators of a healthy and sustainable environment. The impact of these efforts is felt in cleaner air and water; ecofriendly homes and office buildings; enhanced waste management and recycling programs; safer consumer products and sports equipment; improved medical devices and health records; and many other areas. Ms. Margaret Lungu, ASTM Standards Expert Program alumna from the Zambia Bureau of Standards, presented the Zambian perspective on the benefits of ASTM s MoU Program at the Southern African Development Community Cooperation in Standardization / Gaborone, Botswana / 2011 Spotlight With the help of ASTM International standards, we are able to harmonize Pakistan Standards with international standards. As a result of this, we remove non-tariff barriers and facilitate Pakistani export of cement all over the world. Shahzad Afzal, Ph.D., deputy director general, Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority in Lahore, Pakistan An standard, E2392/E2392M, Guide for Design of Earthen Wall Building Systems, from ASTM Committee E60 on Sustainability, was recently updated in an effort led by the Ecological Building Network. Its founder, Bruce King, who said, A number of great engineers around the world have worked out how to build seismically safe earthen buildings, really for the first time in history, and it seemed the best way to get that knowledge out was to develop and publish a recognized standard. ASTM standards recognize earth as a measurable building material. Therefore, organizations concerned with rebuilding can now share standards and best practices with builders in places such as Haiti, where earth is a more practical choice than concrete, for example. IMAGE COURTESY OF Technical Assistance Training on Cement in Lima, Peru, 2012 ASTM has standards for: Air Quality Child Safety Consumer Products Fire Safety Fuel Quality anufacture of Pharmaceutical Products edical and Surgical Devices S ustainability in Construction Water Quality Textiles 9

6 MOU Program ASTM Assisting Emerging Economies TAIWAN ST.LUCIA COSTA RICA SINGAPORE s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) program, initiated in 2001, promotes communication between and national standards bodies worldwide, fostering awareness of the standardization MOU signatory nations are shown in orange systems of all parties involved. The program also facilitates the development of national standards that will aid each country s health, safety, environmental and economic conditions. These agreements help avoid duplication of effort where possible and mutually promote standards development activities. We consider the MOU with ASTM a valuable tool because ASTM is recognized internationally and some of its more than 12,000 standards have been used as the basis for policy development in Guatemala in the areas of building materials, hydrocarbons and plastics. Abel Francisco Cruz Calderón, Deputy Minister of Investment and President of COGUANOR, the national standards body of Guatemala Benefits of the MOU Program Provision of standards as a resource A collection of s standards is provided to each MoU signatory at no cost as a resource for their own standards development. The staff attachment was a great experience. I learned the ASTM standards business model, and observed the synergy between the divisions, especially standards development and sales. Sazi Zangqa, South Africa Bureau of Standards, (SABS) This is the most effective MOU among those that STAMEQ has signed. The MOU with ASTM International has contributed to creating international trade opportunities in general. Nguyen Mai Sinh, Senior Officer of the International Cooperation Department Vietnam Directorate for Standards and Quality. Th e Standards Expert Program (SEP) a key benefit offered to MOU signatories. Each year, ASTM hosts up to three standards experts for a one-month period at ASTM headquarters. During their stay, the experts learn about and its operations, technical committees and virtual tools. The experts travel to an ASTM committee week to attend technical meetings and visit other related organizations. For each SEP, a key sector is identified for focused training. T echnical Visitor Program open to staff or technical committee members of ASTM s MoU partners. It enables an expert to conduct research at ASTM headquarters on standards that support an industry sector in the participant s home nation. The application process is competitive; ASTM partially funds this program. Staff Attachments Staff of MoU partners may work and accomplish tasks within various ASTM departments, attend technical committee meetings and visit related organizations to gain knowledge of ASTM, its functions in industry and the US standardization system. James Thomas, President, ASTM International, and Chey Scovell of PNG, shake on MOU, 2012 Formalizing our relationship with ASTM, a globally recognized leader in standards, will improve our use and application of technical standards, which underpin secure and stabilized growth and ensure the health and safety of our people and environment. Chey Scovell, Deputy Chair, National Institute of Standards and Industrial Technology, Papua New Guinea A bility to influence standards As a benefit of the MoU program, technical experts from any of the countries can participate at no charge as full voting members in ASTM standards development process. 11

7 ABOUT is a globally recognized leader in the development and delivery of international voluntary consensus standards. Today, some 12,000 ASTM standards are used around the world to improve product quality, enhance safety, facilitate market access and trade, and build consumer confidence. More than 30,000 individuals from 140 countries work in ASTM s open and transparent process to develop test methods, specifications, guides, and practices that support industries and governments worldwide. High-quality, market-relevant ASTM standards, developed in accordance with the guiding principles of the World Trade Organization, foster health, safety and the overall quality of life everywhere. was founded in Headquarters Teresa Cendrowska Vice President, Global Cooperation Phone: tcendrow@astm.org Washington Office Jeffrey Grove Vice President, Global Policy and Industry Affairs Phone: jgrove@astm.org China Office Liu Fei Suite EF09, East Tower, Twin Towers B-12 Jianguomenwai Avenue Chaoyang District, Beijing, PRC Phone: fliu@astm.org Mexico Consultant Luis F. Ordóñez c/o Efiterm SA de CV Polanco Calderon de la Barca # Mexico CP Phone: astmmexico@astm.org January 2013 Over a Century of Proven Success