Addendum to the 

Fifteenth (2011) Annual Report on 

Federal Agency Use of Voluntary 

Consensus Standards and 

Conformity Assessment 
2

Table of Contents for Supplemental Appendices

Note: Appendices A, B, and C are contained in the full report to the Office of Management and Budget

Table of Contents

Appendix D – Individual, Unabridged Departmental Reports .................................... 3

Department of Agriculture (USDA) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report.............................. 3

Department of Commerce (DOC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report................................. 7

Department of Defense (DoD) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report .................................... 24

Department of Education (ED) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report ................................... 38

Department of Energy (DOE) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report ..................................... 41

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report .... 45

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report.................. 69

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency 

Report................................................................................................................................ 94

Department of the Interior (DOI) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report................................ 96

Department of Justice (DOJ) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report..................................... 103

Department of Labor (DOL) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report ..................................... 105

Department of State (DOS) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report....................................... 111

Department of Transportation (DOT) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report ....................... 113

Department of the Treasury (TRES) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report ......................... 121

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report....................... 124

Appendix E – Individual, Unabridged Commission and other Agency Reports.... 125

Access Board (ACCESS) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report.......................................... 125

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

......................................................................................................................................... 128

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report....... 128

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report................. 131

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report .......... 144

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report..... 148

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report ............................ 150

General Services Administration (GSA) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report................... 152

Government Printing Office (GPO) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report .......................... 156

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency 

Report.............................................................................................................................. 158

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

......................................................................................................................................... 161

National Science Foundation (NSF) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report ......................... 163

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report .................. 163

Appendix F – Federal Agency Activities Related to Conformity Assessment......... 168

Appendix G – Federal Agency Activities Related to Use of Private Sector Standards 

......................................................................................................................................... 188

Appendix H – The Interagency Committee on Standards Policy (ICSP)................ 212

Appendix I – Publications Related to the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act (NTTAA) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-119 ..... 213
3

Appendix D – Individual, Unabridged Departmental Reports 

Note: This appendix contains the unabridged reports submitted to NIST by the Cabinet level 

Departments as they were submitted to NIST. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

The United States Department of Agriculture follows various voluntary consensus standards 

adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies such as the International Organization for 

Standardization (ISO). The benefits of utilizing consistent standards are significant. For example, 

conforming to the international standards adopted by ISO has allowed USDA to interface more 

readily with other industry partners within and outside of the United States. They agree on 

specifications and criteria to be applied consistently in the classification of materials, in the 

manufacture and supply of products, in testing and analysis, with sharing data, in terminology 

and in the provision of services. In this way, the standards provide a reference framework, or a 

common technological language, between USDA and USDA stakeholders that facilitates trade 

and the transfer of technology. In utilizing these standards, the time and cost spent in translating 

and converting data are significantly reduced. Using and conforming to standards and embracing 

widely accepted methods, promotes professional credibility and acceptance.

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 1

1. Government Unique Standard: WILDLAND FIRE FOAM: GUS Number: 5100-307a; 

June 2007. Title: Specification for Fire Suppressant Foam for Wildland Firefighting 

(Class A Foam). (Incorporated: 2010) 

Voluntary Standard

NFPA 1150 - Standard on Fire-Fighting Foam Chemicals for Class A Fuels in Rural, 

Suburban, and Vegetated Areas.

Rationale

Foam fire suppressants contain foaming and wetting agents. The foaming agents affect 

the accuracy of an aerial drop, how fast the water drains from the foam and how well the 

product clings to the fuel surfaces. The wetting agents increase the ability of the drained 

water to penetrate fuels. Foam fire suppressants are supplied as wet concentrates. This 

standard was developed with international cooperation for Class A Foam used in 

wildland fire suppression situations and equipment. Standard was created by the USDA 

Forest Service in cooperation with the Department of Interior (DOI), the State of 

California, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Canadian Interagency 

Forest Fire Center. The Forest Service has not chosen to utilize NFPA 1150 as it is

designed specifically for application by municipal fire agencies in the wildland-urban 
4

interface, utilizing apparatus and situations that they are likely to encounter. The Forest 

Service’s GUS for foam products is specific to use by wildland fire equipment and 

situations that are unique, e.g. helicopter use of foams, remote storage situations, and 

varied quality of water sources in the wildland settings. The agency feels this standard 

more accurately reflects the needs and mission of the federal wildland fire suppression 

agencies.

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 11

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: n/a

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 48

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

3-A Sanitary Standards, Inc 3-A SSI

3A/NSF International Meat and Poultry Equipment Standards 3A/NSF

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry ATSDR

American Association for Laboratory Accreditation A2LA

American Association of Cereal Chemists AACC

American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists AATCC

American National Standards Institute ANSI

American Oil Chemists Society AOCS

American Railway Engineering & Maintenance-of-Way Association AREMA

American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers ASABE

American Society of Agricultural Engineers ASAE

Analytical Environmental Immunochemical Consortium AEIC

ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board ANAB

AOAC International AOAC

Appraisal Standards Board ASB

Association of American Seed Control Officials AASCO
5

Association of Official Seed Analysts AOSA

Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies AOSCA

ASTM International ASTM

Codex Alimentarius Commission CODEX

Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity COP/CBD

Electronic Industries Alliance EIA

European Food Safety Authority EFSA

GS1 US GS! US

Industry-wide Cooperative Meat Identification Standards Committee ICMISC

International Cooperation on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for 

Registration of Veterinary Products VICH

International Dairy Federation IDF

International Electrotechnical Commission IEC

International Organization for Standardization ISO

International Plant Protection Convention/International Standards for 

Phytosanitary Measures IPPC/ISPM

International Seed Testing Association ISTA

International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants UPOV

Joint Cotton Industry Bale Packaging Committee JCIBPC

Joint FAO/WHO Expert committee on Food Additives JEFCA

Meat and Poultry Business-to-Business Data Standards Organization mpXML

National Conference on Weights and Measures NCWM

National Cooperation for Laboratory Accreditation NACLA

National Fire Protection Association NFPA

National Information Standards Organization NISO

National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST

National Type Evaluation Program NTEP

North American Plant Protection Organization/Regional Standards for 

Phytosanitary Measures NAPPO/RSPM

Object Management Group OMG

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD

Project Management Institute PMI

Transportation Technology Center, Inc. TTCI

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe UNECE

World Organization for Animal Health OIE

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 91
6

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

N/A

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

The OMB Circular A-119 policy is sufficient. However, an examination of the effectiveness of 

the annual reporting methodologies needs to be conducted. Who is using the information 

generated by individual agencies? Is it useful? Is it user friendly (once the actual users are 

identified)? Is there a method to obtain user feedback on the information provided, along with 

suggestions for change?

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

N/A

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; C

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; C

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; Yes

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 3

Title: Department of Agriculture (USDA) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report
7

Department of Commerce (DOC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

The U.S. Department of Commerce promotes job creation, economic growth, sustainable 

development and improved standards of living for all Americans by working in partnership with 

businesses, universities, communities and our nation’s workers. The DOC directly assists in 

national, regional and international standards developing processes through staff participation in 

standards developing committees, and through the expertise of its technical staff that provide the 

scientific underpinnings of leading technical standards. This participation supports DOC's 

mission to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness. 

Bureau of the Census - is active in the development of standards and specifications for: (1) the 

capture and storage of geographic information in computer-readable formats along with 

metadata, and documenting the characteristics of those data; and (2) the definitions of statistical, 

economic, and geographic terms. 

International Trade Administration (ITA) - ITA participates in trade-related ISO activities 

including standards development for nanotechnology, packaging materials, environmental 

management, and sustainability. ITA was also actively engaged in standards capacity building in 

the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Association of Southeast Asian Nations 

(ASEAN), and Russia in 2011. ITA closely coordinates with industry and works to ensure that 

global standards development results in true trade facilitation. More information may be found at 

http://ita.doc.gov/td/standards/. 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – Standardization of data 

acquisition and data management practices are vital to the mission at NOAA. NOAA seeks to 

establish voluntary standards with selected industrial associations, academia, and national 

organizations of state and local governments (e.g., the American Association of State 

Climatologists), as well as through participation in professional societies (e.g., American 

Meteorological Society) and standards development organizations (e.g. Open Geospatial 

Consortium). All NOAA line organizations participate in standards development activities. In 

general, standards used in many NOAA activities are established in conjunction with other 

federal agencies (e.g., DOD, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

and the Federal Geographic Data Committee, an interagency consortium) either through joint 

participation in international organizations such as the World Meteorological Organization, or by 

means of bilateral and multilateral agreements with other nations. These standardization 

activities apply to all phases of environmental data acquisition, processing, and distribution. 

National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) - The NTIA contributes 

to the development and application of national and international telecommunication standards by 

participating and holding leadership roles in various voluntary standards committees at the 

national and international levels, e.g., Telecommunications Industry Association, International 
8

Telecommunication Union, and ATIS (Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions). 

These standards enhance the quality and reliability of the domestic telecommunications 

infrastructure, promote healthy competition in telecommunications products and services, and 

expand international trade opportunities for U.S. telecommunications firms. 

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) - The USPTO participates and contributes 

to the resolution of identified requirements for international standards, primarily through the 

Committee on Standards of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). USPTO staff 

also participate in standardization activities of the International Patent Classification Union. 

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - NIST staff contribute to the 

development of voluntary consensus standards by providing measurement methodologies and 

related laboratory research to underpin technical content. In accordance with its mission, NIST 

also provides technical support and consultative services to federal agencies’ standards and 

conformity assessment programs, serves in leadership roles within the private sector led 

voluntary consensus standards system, and chairs the Interagency Committee on Standards 

Policy. More information is located at http://www.nist.gov/director/sco/index.cfm.

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 0

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 0

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: 

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 123

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

Acoustical Society of America ASA

Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions ATIS

American Association of Physicists in Medicine AAPM

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials AASHTO
9

American Concrete Institute ACI

American Dental Association ADA

American Gas Association AGA

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics AIAA

American Institute of Steel Construction AISC

American Meteorological Society AMS

American National Standards Institute ANSI

American Nuclear Society ANS

American Petroleum Institute API

American Public Transportation Association APTA

American Society for Quality ASQ

American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE

American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME

American Vacuum Society AVS

American Welding Society AWS

AOAC International AOAC

ASC X9, Inc. ASC X9

Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation AAMI

ASTM International ASTM

Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms Technical Forum BLAS

Biometrics Application Programming Interface Consortium BioAPI

Bluetooth Special Interest Group BT-SIG

British Standards Institution BSI

Canadian Standards Association CSA

Center for Applied Special Technology CAST

Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute CLSI

Codex Alimentarius Commission CODEX

Committee on Data for Science and Technology CODATA

Consumer Electronics Association CEA

Council for Optical Radiation Measurements CORM

Council on Ionizing Radiation Measurements and Standards CIRMS

Dimensional Metrology Standards Consortium DMSC

Electronic Industries Alliance EIA

European Telecommunications Standards Institute ETSI

Gas Processors Association GPA

Health Level Seven HL7

Health Physics Society HPS
10

Healthcare Information and Management Systems HIMSS

Hydraulic Institute HI

Illuminating Engineering Society of North America IESNA

Industrial Truck Association ITA

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEEE

Institute of Nuclear Materials Management INMM

Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise IHE

Inter-American Metrology System SIM

Interagency Advanced Power Group IAPG

International Association for the Properties of Water and Steam IAPWS

International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA

International Bureau of Weights and Measures BIPM

International Cartographic Association ICA

International Code Council ICC

International Commission on Illumination CIE

InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards INCITS

International Committee for Weights and Measures CIPM

International Council for Science ICSU

International Council for the Exploration of the Sea ICES

International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service IERS

International Electrotechnical Commission IEC

International Federation on Information Processing IFIP

International Hydrographic Organization IHO

International Institute of Welding IIW

International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange IODE

International Organization for Standardization ISO

International Organization for Standardization / International 

Electrotechnical Commission Joint Technical Committee 1 ISO/IEC

International Organization of Legal Metrology OIML

International Society of Automation ISA

International Telecommunication Union ITU

International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Materials, Systems and 

Structures RILEM

International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Materials, Systems and 

Structures/International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and 

Construction

RILEM/CIB

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry IUPAC

International Union of Pure and Applied Physics IUPAP

Internet Engineering Task Force IETF
11

IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries IPC

Java Grande Forum JGF

JEDEC - Solid State Technology Association JEDEC

Laser Institute of America LIA

Motion Imagery Standards Board MISB

Moving Picture Experts Group MPEG

National Conference on Weights and Measures NCWM

National Electrical Manufacturers Association NEMA

National Fire Protection Association NFPA

National Fluid Power Association NFLPA

National Institute of Building Sciences NIBS

National Public Safety Telecommunications Council NPSTC

NCSL International NCSLI

North American Energy Standards Board NAESB

North American Open Math Initiative NAOMI

North American Security Products Organization NASPO

NSF International NSFI

Object Management Group OMG

Open Applications Group OAGi

Open DeviceNet Vendor Association ODVA

Open Geospatial Consortium OGC

Open Math Society OMS

Optical Laboratories Association OLA

Optical Storage Technology Association OSTA

Optics and Electro-Optics Standards Council OEOSC

Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards OASIS

Pan-American Standards Commission COPANT

Robotics Industries Association RIA

Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International SEMI

Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization SISO

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE

Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers SCTE

Society of Fire Protection Engineers SFPE

Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers SMPTE

Standards Engineering Society SES

Telecommunications Industry Association TIA

Third Generation Partnership Project 3GPP

U.S. Green Building Council USGBC
12

Underwriters Laboratories UL

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe WP .29/GRSP UNECE

Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards VAMAS

Video Quality Experts Group VQEG

Web3D Consortium Web3D

World Intellectual Property Organization WIPO

World Meteorological Organization WMO

World Wide Web Consortium W3C

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 458

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) 

Overview 

NVLAP (CFR, Title 15, Part 285) provides third-party accreditation to testing and calibration 

laboratories. NVLAP's accreditation programs are established in response to legislative or 

administrative actions by the Federal Government or to requests from government agencies and 

private-sector organizations. NVLAP operates its accreditation system in accordance with the 

international conformity assessment standard ISO/IEC 17011, “Conformity assessment –

General requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies,” which 

is published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International 

Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). NVLAP accredits laboratories that are found competent to 

perform specific tests or calibrations through a rigorous assessment against the requirements of 

ISO/IEC 17025, “General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration 

laboratories.” Information about accredited laboratories is published in NVLAP Directory of 

Accredited Laboratories, which is available on NVLAP’s website (www.nist.gov/nvlap). 

NVLAP is a signatory to the following Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs), which 

support international trade by promoting international confidence and acceptance of accredited 

laboratory data: International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), the Asia-Pacific 

Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC), and the InterAmerican Accreditation 

Cooperation (IAAC). By participating in these MRAs, NVLAP facilitates the mutual recognition 

of accredited test and measurement results of its signatory partners, thereby reducing the need for 

redundant testing and lowering costs to customers. 

NVLAP currently operates 22 laboratory accreditation programs with approximately 850 

accreditations worldwide. 

Accreditation Program Activities in FY 2011 
13

Recent trends in program activities: 

Over the past decade, NVLAP has seen an increase in accreditation activities undertaken to 

support the needs of other Federal agencies and their stakeholders. There has been growth in the 

development of laboratory accreditation programs (LAPs) and expansion of existing LAPs in 

areas that are inherently governmental in function or that are aimed at improving safety, security, 

health, and the environment. Conformity assessment activities for these LAPs in which NVLAP 

was involved in FY 2011 are described below. 

Healthcare Information Technology Testing LAP: 

In response to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) 

Act of 2009, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services along with the Office of the 

National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) requested establishment of the 

NVLAP Healthcare Information Technology Testing Laboratory Accreditation Program (HIT 

LAP). This program accredits laboratories that perform functional and conformance testing of 

EHR technology products to meaningful use requirements as defined in the nationally recognized 

EHR products testing standards. Significant FY 2011 activities contributing to the development 

of this program include: 

• a NVLAP-sponsored public workshop held on April 26, 2011, to facilitate the exchange of 

information among NVLAP, the NIST Information Technology Laboratory, the Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS), and laboratories interested in seeking NVLAP accreditation 

to perform testing of HIT electronic health record technology under the permanent certification 

program administered under the ONC, HHS; 

• establishment of the scope of accreditation to include current procedures from the ONCApproved Test Procedures, version 1.1 which are based on the meaningful use technical 

requirements found in §170.302, §170.304, and §170.306 of 45 CFR Part 170, dated July 28, 

2010; 

• development of the technical requirements and publication of these requirements in NIST 

Handbook 150-31, which describes how NVLAP criteria are applied for accreditation under the 

HIT LAP; 

• publication of NVLAP application and assessment documents needed to begin accepting 

applications from HIT LAP applicants on January 1, 2012. 

Energy Efficient Lighting Products LAP: 

NVLAP experiences continued growth in the number of laboratory applicants for the Energy 

Efficient Lighting Products (EEL) laboratory accreditation program. At the end of FY 2011, 

there were a total of 32 EEL accreditations, seven of which were first-time or new accreditations. 

There were also 14 EEL applications in process. The growth is due to the FY 2010 expansion of 

the program to accredit solid-state lighting (SSL) test methods that are recognized by the 

Department of Energy’s (DOE) CALiPER program and, also, to NVLAP’s recognition (attained 

on November 24, 2010) from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY 

STAR Program as an accrediting body to accredit laboratories to conduct testing for ENERGY 

STAR-qualified products. 

In 2011, EPA agreed to accept accreditation to Appendix A of its product specification for 

decorative lighting strings for acceptance of laboratories in the ENERGY STAR program for this 
14

product. In August NVLAP expanded the scope of accreditation offerings for the EEL program 

to include decorative lighting strings and three laboratories have been accredited so far for this 

field of accreditation. 

Biometrics Testing LAP: 

In February 2011 NVLAP granted its first accreditations to biometrics testing laboratories. The 

NVLAP Biometrics Testing program was established in 2008 in response to a request from the 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for NIST to establish a laboratory accreditation 

program for laboratories that perform performance and conformance biometrics testing on 

Personal Identification Verification equipment used in Homeland Security Applications. 

Radiation Detection Instruments LAP: 

In February 2011 a workshop for the NVLAP Radiation Detection Instruments (RDI) Testing 

accreditation program was held at NIST. The workshop attendees included interested 

laboratories, equipment manufacturers, and assessors. The requirements for accreditation were 

discussed as well as how to obtain recognition by the Department of Homeland Security, and the 

NIST requirements for submission of test data. The RDI accreditation program is designed to 

satisfy the requirements of contractors, state and local governments, and Federal agencies 

specifying accreditation for laboratories that conduct testing of radiation detection instruments 

used in homeland security applications. Initial accreditation of applicant laboratories is expected 

to be announced in FY 2012. 

Expansion of Cryptographic and Security Testing LAP: 

In December 2010 NVLAP received a request from the Transportation Worker Identification 

Credential (TWIC) Program Director, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), for the 

addition of a scope of accreditation to the NVLAP Cryptographic and Security Testing (CST) 

LAP for conformance testing of TSA Identity and Privilege Credential Management (IPC:v1) 

systems. The purpose of the request was to establish additional criteria within the current CST 

LAP for the support of the conformance testing process to the required full set or a subset of the 

test methods referred to as IPCM test methods for credential readers and biometric equipment. 

In April 2011 a meeting was held at TSA offices to outline the steps needed to proceed with the 

addition of the TWIC methods to the NVLAP CST LAP. An outcome of the meeting was the 

identification of requirements specific to the TWIC program to be added to the NVLAP CST 

program handbook (NIST Handbook 150-17). In October 2011 TSA provided comments to 

NVLAP on the TWIC annex of this handbook. These comments were reviewed and additional 

feedback was collected in December 2011. The revisions to the handbook will be published in 

2012. 

National Voluntary Conformity Assessment System Evaluation (NVCASE) Program 

The NVCASE Program (CFR, Title 15 Part 286) enables U.S. industry to satisfy mandated 

foreign technical requirements using the results of U.S.-based conformity assessment programs 

that perform technical evaluations comparable in their rigor to practices in the receiving country. 

Under this program, the Department of Commerce, acting through the National Institute of 

Standards and Technology, evaluates U.S.-based conformity assessment bodies in order to be 
15

able to give assurances to a foreign government that qualifying bodies meet that government's 

requirements and can provide results that are acceptable to that government. The program 

provides a technically-based U.S. approval process for U.S. industry to gain foreign market 

access; the acceptability of conformity assessment results to the relevant foreign government will 

be a matter for agreement between the two governments. Currently, there are two NVCASE subprograms that are operational: (1) EMC/Telecommunications; and (2) Organic Production and 

Processing. Additional information about the NVCASE Program can be found at 

http://gsi.nist.gov/global/index.cfm/L1-4/L2-38. 

Conformity Assessment Activities under Mutual Recognition Agreements/Arrangements 

(MRAs) 

The United States and the European Community Mutual Recognition Agreement (US-EU MRA) 

is a multi-sector bilateral government-to-government agreement between the United States and 

the 27 Member States of the European Union. Under this MRA, NIST is responsible for 

designating organizations in the U.S. Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) for two sectors: 1) 

Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) and 2) Telecommunications. After a NIST review and 

designation process, CABs that meet certain criteria are formally recognized by the EU and may 

operate as a CAB as described in the US-EU MRA and the specific technical regulations of the 

EU governing the appropriate product sectors. The US-EU MRA is an important regulatory and 

trade agreement which provides greater market access in a timelier manner for U.S. 

manufacturers exporting to Europe and European manufacturers exporting to the United States. 

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Conformity 

Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment (APEC TEL MRA) is intended to streamline the 

conformity assessment procedures for a wide range of telecommunications and 

telecommunications-related equipment and thereby to facilitate trade among the parties. It 

provides for the mutual recognition by the importing parties of CABs and mutual acceptance of 

the results of testing and equipment certification procedures undertaken by those bodies in 

assessing conformity of equipment to the importing parties’ own technical regulations. 

Under Phase-I of the APEC TEL Mutual Recognition Arrangement, NIST-designated CABs are 

able to produce test data in their facilities that are accepted as evidence that the tested product 

satisfies an APEC economy's appropriate technical requirements. CABs operating under Phase-II 

of the MRA are able to certify products as being in compliance with the technical and 

administrative requirements of the importing economy. NIST publishes general and specific 

requirements that must be met in order to be nominated as a CAB under the APEC TEL MRA. 

The United States and Japan Mutual Recognition Agreement (US-Japan MRA) is a single sector 

bilateral agreement. The scope of the US-Japan MRA includes radio and telecommunications 

equipment, including telephone terminal equipment. The MRA provides for the mutual 

recognition of qualified CABs and mutual acceptance of the results of equipment certification 

undertaken by recognized CABs (similar to Phase II of the APEC TEL MRA as described 

above). The US-Japan MRA is intended to streamline the conformity assessment procedures for 

a wide range of telecommunications and telecommunications-related equipment and facilitate 

trade between the United States and Japan. 
16

United States and Mexico Mutual Recognition Agreement (US-Mexico MRA) is the newest 

single sector bilateral telecommunications conformity assessment agreement. It was signed in 

2011. The US-Mexico MRA covers equipment subject to telecommunications regulation, 

including wire and wireless equipment, and terrestrial and satellite equipment. The MRA 

provides for the mutual recognition of qualified CABS and mutual acceptance of the testing 

results generated by those CABS in assessing conformity of equipment to the importing parties’ 

technical regulations. NIST expects to implement the MRA by the end of 2012, at the conclusion 

of the confidence building period. 

The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) Mutual Recognition Agreement 

is almost identical to the APEC Tel MRA in purpose and structure. The goal of the CITEL MRA 

is to facilitate trade among the 34 Member States of the Organization of American States. The 

conformity assessment activities under this Agreement have yet to become operational. When 

operational, NIST will serve as the Designating Authority of U.S. CABs. In the meantime, NIST 

continues to work towards implementation of the Agreement. More information on the telecom 

MRAs can be found at http://gsi.nist.gov/global/index.cfm/L1-4/L2-16/L3-101 

Additional NIST Activities in Conformity Assessment and Standards Development 

Under the NTTAA, NIST is responsible for coordinating conformity assessment activities with 

private sector technical standards activities and conformity assessment activities, with the goal of 

eliminating unnecessary duplication and complexity. FY2011 NIST activities in this area 

include: 

Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) – NIST consulted and 

advised the General Services Administration, and the Office of Management and Budget to 

develop and implement the conformity assessment model for FedRAMP. FedRAMP is a 

government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, 

authorization and continuous monitoring of cloud products and services. The conformity 

assessment aspects of the program further the program goal of developing trusted relationships 

between federal executive departments and agencies and cloud service providers. 

Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) – NIST has 

continued to provide guidance to ONC on the transition to the permanent certification program, 

which includes accreditation of testing laboratories to ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO/IEC Guide 65. 

Under the temporary certification program the ONC has authorized six testing and certification 

bodies and listed hundreds of certified electronic health record products. ONC has requested 

NVLAP to accredit testing organizations in support of the permanent certification program. 

Voting System Improvements - Under the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA), NIST has a 

key role in helping to realize nationwide improvements in voting systems 

(http://www.nist.gov/itl/vote/). NIST works with the Technical Guidelines Development 

Committee (TGDC) which is charged by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to 

provide technical guidance on implementing election-related technologies and to foster the 

development of voluntary, consensus guidelines. The NIST Director chairs the TGDC and NIST 
17

staff conduct the committee's technical work in accordance with HAVA. The TGDC and NIST 

are currently working on high level guidelines to support the Federal Voting Assistance Program 

as it carries out its mandates to ensure that military and overseas voters can vote in a timely 

fashion. They are also working to update the Voluntary Voting Standards Guidelines (VVSG). In 

2011, NIST collaborated with IEEE to develop the first of a planned suite of standards for 

common data format for electronic exchange of voting system data, with the approval of P1622 

Standard for IEEE Standard for Electronic Distribution of Blank Ballots for Voting Systems. 

NIST, in cooperation with the TGDC, also transmitted “Voluntary High Level Goals for Remote 

Electronic Voting Systems” to the EAC for its approval. 

NIST is developing a set of public test suites to be used as part of the EAC Testing and 

Certification Program. The tests correspond to VVSG requirements in the 2007 VVSG 

Recommendations, which is currently under review by the EAC, and certain parts of the 2005 

VVSG revision. Test labs will be able to use these publicly available test suites to help determine 

that the VVSG requirements are met by voting systems. 

NVLAP has established an accreditation program for laboratories that perform testing of voting 

systems, including hardware and software components. This program provides for the 

accreditation of laboratories that test voting systems using standards determined by the EAC. 

Currently two laboratories are accredited under this program. The EAC, not NIST, certifies 

voting systems for use in elections.

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

None at this time

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

DOC, through its scientists and specialists at NIST, is providing technical expertise and guidance 

to federal agencies and voluntary consensus standards bodies both nationally and internationally. 

Below are a few highlights of recent initiatives. 

FedRAMP 

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program or FedRAMP has been established to 

provide a standard approach to Assessing and Authorizing (A&A) cloud computing services and 

products. FedRAMP allows joint authorizations and continuous security monitoring services for 

Government and Commercial cloud computing systems intended for multi-agency use. Joint 

authorization of cloud providers results in a common security risk model that can be leveraged 

across the Federal Government to provide a consistent baseline for Cloud based technologies. 

This baseline ensures that the benefits of cloud-based technologies are effectively integrated 

across the various cloud computing solutions currently proposed within the government. The risk 

model enables multiple agencies to gain the benefit and insight of the FedRAMP’s Authorization 

and access to service provider’s authorization packages. 

NIST serves as a technical advisor to the FedRAMP program in two key areas: 1) providing 
18

recommendations on the application of NIST SP 800-37 Guide for Applying the Risk 

Management Framework to Federal Information Systems: A Security Life Cycle Approach, and 

2) providing recommendations on the application of security controls selected from NIST SP 

800-53 Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems for low security 

impact and moderate security impact Cloud Computing information systems. 

Smart Grid

NIST has primary responsibility to coordinate the development of a framework including 

protocols and model standards to achieve interoperability of smart grid devices and systems 

(Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, Title XIII, Section 1305). In the US, the 

objective of smart grid activities is the modernization of the nation’s electrical power grid 

infrastructure, including support for the two-way flow and use of both electricity and 

information. This effort will support the achievement of policy goals such as improving the 

reliability, efficiency, and security of the power grid and allowing the widespread use of 

distributed energy sources such as solar, wind and other renewable energy sources. NIST’s 

ongoing work to coordinate and accelerate the development of smart grid standards by private 

sector standards development organizations is needed to ensure that new smart grid technologies 

will be interoperable with other smart grid equipment, have necessary security measures, and do 

not result in stranded investments.

To help meet its EISA mandate, NIST established the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) 

in 2009 as a public-private partnership to provide an open forum for the large diverse group of 

smart grid stakeholders – including utilities, vendors, regulators, consumers, government 

agencies and standards developing organizations – to work towards developing consensus-based 

interoperability standards. The SGIP has grown to include over 700 organizations, including 

many international entities, in 22 stakeholder categories, and has numerous working groups and 

committees operating within an overall governance structure. The SGIP process fully engages 

the private sector voluntary standards developers and supports collaborative methods and 

vehicles for developing and deploying standards in technology-based markets, especially during 

the early phases when standards—or the lack of standards—can strongly influence the course of 

further technology development and diffusion and the growth and competitiveness of industries. 

NIST has worked with the SGIP to develop a revised Release 2 version of its NIST Framework 

and Roadmap for Smart Grid Interoperability, anticipated to be published in final form in late 

first quarter 2012 after public comments have been addressed. The NIST Framework and other 

SGIP documents have been developed through collaborative, transparent and publically 

accessible processes and are available through www.nist.gov/smartgrid and 

http://collaborate.nist.gov/twiki-sggrid/bin/view/SmartGrid/WebHome. Another key 

development during the past year has been the establishment of a SGIP Catalog of Standards to 

serve as a compendium of standards, practices, and guidelines considered relevant for the 

development and deployment of a robust and interoperable smart grid.

NIST also continues its active smart grid coordination activities with other Federal Agencies, 

including the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

(FERC). For example, DOE and NIST co-chaired the NSTC Subcommittee on Smart Grid, 

which produced its report “A Policy Framework for the 21st Century Grid: Enabling Our Secure 
19

Energy Future” in June 2011. In addition, FERC publically encouraged stakeholders to actively 

participate in the NIST interoperability framework process to work on the development of 

interoperability standards and to refer to that process for guidance on smart grid standards 

(FERC 7/19/2011 Order on Smart Grid Interoperability Standards under RM11-2). 

Health IT 

NIST research and development in standards, testing, security and privacy, usability, 

certification, and emerging technologies is enabling health IT interoperability and adoption. The 

goal is an interoperable electronic health record (EHR) for every patient, available any time any 

place via a secure nationwide health information network. This would result in higher quality 

and more efficient care; seamless, secure, and private exchange of data among healthcare 

providers and patients; access to medical histories at the point of care and in other settings; fewer 

errors and redundant tests; more efficient and effective reporting; and quick detection of adverse 

drug reactions and epidemics. 

Currently, NIST health IT research and development areas include: 

• Providing technical expertise to leverage industry-led, consensus-based standards development 

and harmonization as well as developing a conformance testing infrastructure to enable 

interoperability and adoption. 

• Advising the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), the HHS Office for 

Civil Rights (OCR), other government agencies, and the private sector on processes and 

technologies to secure health information as well as leveraging current and emerging security 

automation specifications and apply them within the context of healthcare. 

• Through R&D on usability of health IT standards, enabling acceleration and adoption of health 

IT by improving safety, effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction of product use. 

• Advising ONC on all aspects of developing the proposed EHR certification programs, and 

collaborating with ONC during the implementation and operational phases of both the temporary 

and permanent EHR certification programs. 

• Research and development on emerging health technologies such as medical device 

interoperability, defining improved methods for acquiring and displaying images for 

telemedicine applications, identifying best practices and support standards development for the 

long-term preservation and management of electronic health records, as well as conducting 

research related to ubiquitous delivery of physiological signals to/from the human body via radio 

frequency- enabled wearable or implantable devices. 

Reducing Standards-Related Barriers to Trade 

In fulfillment of U.S. obligations under the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on 

Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 

the National Center for Standards and Certification Information (NCSCI) at NIST serves as the 

U.S. national Inquiry Point and national Notification Authority. In addition, in fulfillment of U.S. 

obligations under sixteen bilateral Free Trade Agreements, NCSCI is responsible for timely 

communications of proposed regulatory activities. 

Signatories to the WTO TBT Agreement are required to notify the WTO Secretariat in Geneva 

of proposed technical regulations that could affect world trade and provide a 60-day period for 

review and comment by other WTO Members. Since July 1, 2005, NCSCI has offered a web-
20

based service, Notify U.S., to disseminate WTO summary notifications at no charge to U.S. 

entities (citizens, industries, organizations) and other WTO TBT Inquiry Points on request. 

Notify U.S. provides U.S. industry with an opportunity to review and comment on proposed 

foreign technical regulations that can affect their businesses and their access to international 

markets. NCSCI acquires the full texts of the proposed technical regulations from the relevant 

foreign Inquiry Points and distributes them via Notify U.S. to interested U.S. export and trade 

stakeholders. Additional details regarding Notify U.S. can be viewed online at 

www.nist.gov/notifyus. 

NCSCI is the U.S. member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 

Information Network (ISONET). NCSCI networks with other national standards organizations to 

exchange standards-related information and share access to foreign trade-related standards, 

technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures. 

NCSCI is the U.S. source for standards and standards-related information at home and abroad. 

The Center provides bibliographic information on U.S., foreign, regional, and international 

voluntary standards, mandatory government technical regulations, and conformity assessment 

procedures for non-agricultural products. Resources include an extensive collection of electronic 

reference materials, including U.S. military and other Federal Government specifications, U.S. 

industry and national standards, international standards, and selected foreign national standards. 

In 2011, NCSCI processed over 59,000 information requests for standards (2,500+) and technical 

barriers to trade (57,000+). NCSCI worked extensively with INMETRO of Brazil to develop and 

implement bilateral activities under the Brazil-USA Commercial Dialogue. Activities included 

publication of an economic impact study of the two Inquiry Points and reciprocal guides to 

export for specific goods. 

Biometric Standards 

Among the prominent NIST accomplishments in 2011 includes a revision of the ANSI/NISTITL Standard on Data Formats for Interchange of Biometrics Information. NIST published a new 

voluntary consensus standard in November, 2011, titled: Data Format for the Interchange of 

Fingerprint, Facial & Other Biometric Information (ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, NIST Special 

Publication 500-290) culminating over fifteen months of work by many biometric and forensics 

experts from the U.S. and other countries. Earlier versions of this standard are being used 

globally for the collection, storage, and exchange of biometric and forensic information that can 

be used for identification or verification purposes. This latest version includes additional 

biometric data interchange formats, such as for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). For more 

information, see: http://www.nist.gov/itl/ansi/index.cfm. 

The original motivation for the development of the ANSI/NIST-ITL standard was to establish 

interoperability between federal, state, local, and international users of Automated Fingerprint 

Identification Systems (AFIS) for the interchange of fingerprint search transactions. All agencies 

transmitting fingerprint, palmprint, facial images/mugshots, scar, marks, tattoos (SMT), iris, and 

other biometric images and related data to the FBI must adhere to the format described by this 

ANSI/NIST-ITL standard. See http://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/ig/ansi_standard.cfm. 
21

Reliability of Medical Devices 

In 2011, NIST scientists helped iNEMI launch two formally recognized standards projects that 

will build industry accepted procedures for testing the reliability of medical devices. One project, 

led by NIST, will provide consensus procedures for evaluating the reliability of portable medical 

devices, such as blood pressure monitors, blood glucose meters and pulse oximeters 

(http://www.inemi.org/project-page/qualification-methods-portable-medical-products-0). These 

procedures will help ensure consumer confidence in these devices, many of which are designed 

for home use. The second iNEMI project will provide consensus procedures for testing the 

reliability of electronic components, such as capacitors, that are critical in implanted electronic 

medical devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators. These test standards will help industry 

produce longer lasting devices that are less prone to catastrophic failure 

(http://www.inemi.org/project-page/component-specifications-medical-products). 

Solid State Lighting (SSL) 

Illuminating Engineering Society’s (IES) LM-79, Approved Method for the Electrical and 

Photometric Testing of Solid-State Lighting Devices, was published in 2008 with significant 

technical contributions from NIST as Chair of the Task Group that drafted the standard. LM-79 

is the first and only standard for testing SSL products. The standard is widely used, including as 

a reference for the NIST NVLAP for SSL with nearly 25 labs accredited or in process of being 

accredited. The standard was also adopted as the test method for the SSL Energy Star 

specifications and for the Department of Energy’s Lighting Facts label program. LM-79 is used 

in NIST Calibration Services for LED lamps and luminaires, in the international round robin 

under the auspices of the International Energy Agency (IEA) SSL 4E SSL Annex project, and as 

the test methods for the European SSL Quality Charter. 

The ANSI C78.377, Specifications for the Chromaticity of Solid-State Lighting Products, 

published in 2008, under NIST’s chairmanship of the Task Group that drafted the standard, is 

critical for the commercialization of SSL products. As the sole international standard in this area, 

it is used as the basis for white LED binning by the LED manufactures and as the requirements 

for the SSL Energy Star and other regulatory programs worldwide. A revision of this standard is 

in progress with significant NIST contributions. 

Thermometry 

ASTM Subcommittee E20.09 (Digital Contact Thermometers) is sending a new standard titled 

Standard Guide for Digital Contact Thermometers, to the full Temperature Measurement 

Committee (E20) for balloting. NIST serves as both the Chair and Task Group chair of E20.09. 

The purpose of this new guide is to assist ASTM in replacing mercury thermometer requirements 

in about 300 ASTM standards (originally over 750). The impact of this effort is significant 

across a wide range of industries dependent on ASTM standards, including petroleum, 

lubricants, paint, concrete, and asphalt industries. NIST is also the ASTM Task Group Chair for 

the mercury initiative and is coordinating ASTM training sessions on alternative thermometers. 

NIST scientists are also collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to update their 

Guidelines for Maintaining and Managing the Vaccine Cold Chain to include results of recent 

NIST research on digital thermometers and cold storage systems. It is expected that the World 

Health Organization (WHO) will eventually incorporate these changes into their own guidelines 
22

and in standards under development by the Vaccine Stability Workgroup and the Equipment 

Subgroup for the CDC and WHO. 

Biothreat Response and Detection 

NIST scientists led the development of standard ASTM E2770-10 and the development and 

revision of ASTM E2458-10, which provide critical guidance for how emergency workers 

should initially respond to suspected biothreat incidents, such as “suspicious white powder” 

events (http://nist.typepad.com/tech_beat/2010/11/new-guidance-issued-for-first-responderscollecting-suspected-biothreat-agents.html). The new standards, which were developed in close 

consultation with representatives from industry, federal government agencies such as the 

Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and state and local governments, have been rapidly 

and widely adopted by the response community, most recently by the FBI, the Interagency Board 

(IAB) and the states of Massachusetts, Georgia and New York 

(http://www.nist.gov/director/operation-vigilant-sample.cfm). These standards provide 

instructions for responders that can reduce the cost and impact of suspected biothreat incidents, 

and best practices for sample collection procedures needed for analysis of the suspect material. 

The standards were made temporarily available free of charge online to first responders as part of 

a pilot program (https://www.rkb.us/standarddetail.cfm?standard_id=6224, 

https://www.rkb.us/standarddetail.cfm?standard_id=1843). In addition, the standards were 

recently lauded by DHS in a case study that demonstrates the importance of standards 

development and implementation for safety and security 

(http://www.foodshield.org/preparedness/standards/case_studies_01.html). 

Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Activities 

Under the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), TITLE III of the EGovernment Act of 2002, the Secretary of Commerce approves standards and guidelines that are 

developed by NIST for federal computer systems. This includes standards and guidelines needed 

to ensure the cost-effective security and privacy of sensitive information in federal computer 

systems. These standards and guidelines are issued by NIST as FIPS for use government-wide. 

FIPS are issued when there are compelling federal government requirements such as for security 

and interoperability and there are no acceptable industry standards or solutions. When FIPS are 

considered necessary, NIST announces proposed FIPS in the Federal Register for public review 

and comment. 

During FY2011, NIST made the following FIPS announcements: 

A Federal Register notice dated February 11, 2011, announced Draft Federal Information 

Processing Standard (FIPS) 180-4, Secure Hash Standard (SHS), for public review and 

comment. The updated standard, which will supersede FIPS 180-3, will provide a general 

procedure for creating an initialization hash value, adds two additional secure hash algorithms, 

SHA-512/224 and SHA 512/256, to the standard, and removes a restriction that padding must be 

done before hash computation begins, which was required in FIPS 180-3. FIPS 180-3 and Draft 

FIPS 180-4 are available at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/index.html. See the Federal Register 

notice at http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts/fips180-4/FRN_Draft-FIPS180-4.pdf. 

A Federal Register notice dated March 8, 2011, announced Draft Federal Information Processing 

Standard (FIPS) 201-2, Personal Identity Verification of Federal Employees and Contractors, for 
23

public review and comment. The draft standard includes adaptation to changes in the 

environment since the publication of FIPS 201-1 and specific changes requested by federal 

agencies and implementers. FIPS 201-1 and Draft FIPS 201-2 are available at 

http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsFIPS.html. A summary of changes reflected in Draft FIPS 

201-2 is available in the Federal Register notice at 

http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts/fips201-2/Federal-Register-Notice_announcing-draftFIPS-201-2.pdf. 

Standards Education and Workshops 

NIST’s Standards Services Group offers training for federal, state, and local government 

agencies on the fundamentals of documentary standards and conformity assessment. Each 

workshop is tailored to meet the specific needs of the requesting agency. Presentations and 

discussions may include topics such as: the U.S. standards system and key players in the 

standards development community; how standards are developed; federal agency roles and 

responsibilities under the NTTAA; how to be an effective participant in standards development 

activities; conformity assessment; how standards affect global trade and trade agreements; and 

NIST resources available for assistance. 

Since 1995, U.S. industry has looked to NIST’s Standards in Trade Workshop Program (SIT) to 

help industry compete overseas and provide opportunities for cooperation on topics related to 

standards or conformity assessment related to trade that are important to the success of their 

businesses. SIT has conducted over 50 workshops on various product sectors ranging from 

Intelligent Transportation Systems to Renewable Energy and Lighting to Building and Boiler and 

Pressure Vessel Codes and much more. SIT workshops are designed to introduce U.S. 

stakeholders to emerging standards and conformity assessment issues in other countries and 

regions; identify technical barriers to trade; and provide timely information to foreign officials 

on U.S. practices in standards, metrology, and conformity assessment. Each workshop aids U.S. 

industry in becoming more competitive through increased transparency and promotion and use of 

U.S. and international standards, thus increasing trade opportunities and exports. 

During FY11, various federal government agencies participated in NIST training opportunities 

including: 

U.S. Army Institute of Public Health 

U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (ITA) 

U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology 

U.S. Department of Energy 

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) 

U.S. General Services Administration 

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 

U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency 

Below is a summary of standards education and workshops held in FY11. 

• Standards, Conformity Assessment and Trade Workshop for ITA 

• Standards and Conformity Assessment Workshop for NIST, Office of Law Enforcement 
24

Standards 

• Fundamentals of Standards and Conformity Assessment for U.S. National Archives and 

Records Administration 

• Section 13 Interagency Product Labeling Work Group 

• NIST Standards in Trade Workshop for the GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) on the 

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Regulatory System for Product Control as Applied to Low 

Voltage Equipment and Toys 

For more information visit http://gsi.nist.gov/global/index.cfm/L1-4/L2-14 or send a message to 

sit@nist.gov.

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; No

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; E

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; No

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 0

Title: Department of Commerce (DOC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

Department of Defense (DoD) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

The primary goal of the Department of Defense (DoD) is to support our nation's warfighter in the 

most efficient, effective, and cost conscious means possible while meeting mission requirements 

within critical timeframes. Standards and standardization are essential elements to ensuring cost 

containment and operational effectiveness is achieved during the development and continued 
25

maintenance of DoD systems and subsystems. 

Standardization has historically been relied upon throughout the Department to promote 

interoperability, reduce the logistics footprint, trim costs, and sustain readiness. DoD standards 

and standardization activities serve a number of logistics, operational, acquisition, and 

sustainment communities by providing material standardization products and services which 

both enhance and promote communication and coordination that are integral to improving 

interoperability, reducing costs, and ensuring DoD readiness. 

The following is an example of a standardization effort which has taken place over the past year 

that made improvements to the DoD parts management system. 

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Land and Maritime developed and implemented a process 

to identify and pursue parts standardization opportunities. The process includes analyzing 

weapon systems provisioning data collected by the Defense Logistics Information System 

(DLIS) to identify parts not covered by standardization documents; link ordering data; qualify 

items; and where appropriate, recommend actions to be taken to cover those items. To date, 

military activities have undertaken the development or revision of numerous specifications and 

standards documents, which will prevent the addition of at least 700 nonstandard parts into the 

DoD inventory. DLIS has also updated technical data on 350 items, and qualifying activities 

have recruited new sources. The results are lower procurement costs, shorter acquisition leadtimes, increased operational readiness, and a smaller logistics footprint. These standardization 

actions will enhance full and open competition among the manufacturers of the parts; allow for 

greater interoperability among the military services; and improve the availability of products by 

meeting quality, reliability, performance, and safety requirements. Savings related to this effort 

are estimated to be $14.5million.

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011:

This agency reports voluntary consensus standards usage on a category basis

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 313

Voluntary Standard Government Standard

ANSI-C-18.2M-Part 1 MIL-B-55130/2 NOT 3

ANSI-C-18.2M-Part 1 MIL-B-55130/3 NOT 3

ANSI-C-18.2M-Part 1 MIL-B-55130/4 NOT 2

ANSI-C-18.2M-Part 1 MIL-B-55130/5 NOT 3

ANSI-C18.1M MIL-B-18/21D NOT1

ANSI/AWS-C3.4 MIL-B-12672(1) NOT 1

ASME-B16.5 MIL-F-18180/13A NOT 1
26

ASME-B16.5 MIL-F-18180/14A NOT 1

ASME-B16.5 MIL-F-18180/17A NOT 1

ASTM D6256/D6256M MIL-B-26195C(1) NOT 3

ASTM-B220 MIL-C_46971 NOT 2

ASTM-B441 MIL-C-46087A NOT 1

ASTM-D1056 MIL-C-3133C NOT 3

ASTM-D3935 and ASTM-D4181 MIL-C-47027 NOT 1

ASTM-D4111 MIL-C-82287B NOT 1

ASTM-D4388 MIL-I-3825B(3) NOT 1

ASTM-D4701 MIL-D-6998D NOT 1

ASTM-D5948 MIL-M-14H(3) SUP1 NOT 2

ASTM-D5960 MIL-D-10662D NOT 2

ASTM-D6039/D6039M MIL-C-52950A(2) NOT 1

ASTM-D6107 MIL-C-51047B NOT 1

ASTM-E1742 MIL-STD-463C(1) NOT 2

ASTM-F-1217 MIL-C-2354F NOT 2

ASTM-F-1667 MS90710A NOT 1

ASTM-F-1667 MS90712 NOT 1

ASTM-F104 MIL-G-12803C NOT 1

ASTM-F1066-87 MIL-T-18830C NOT 1

ASTM-F1667 MS51541 NOT 2

ASTM-F1667 MS51545 NOT 1

ASTM-F1667 MS51546 NOT 1

ASTM-F1667 MS51547 NOT 1

ASTM-F859 MIL-D-24194(1) NOT 3

EIA364 MIL-STD-1344A(5) NOT 6

IEEE/EIA 12207.0 MIL-STD-498NOT 1

NAMS21098 MS21098(1) NOT 1

NAS 1463 MIL-C-24066C NOT 2

NAS1715 MS9350B NOT 1

NAS1715 MS9352B NOT 1

NAS3417 and NAS3426 MIL-C-55442B NOT 1

NAS832 MIL-C-5501/11 NOT 1

NAS834 MIL-C-5501/7 NOT 1

NAS843 MIL-C-5507/7 NOT 1

NASM1083 MS21083H NOT 1

NASM14145 MS14145C NOT 1

NASM14155 MS14155NOT 2
27

NASM14218 MS14218C NOT 1

NASM14493 MS14493 NOT 1

NASM16491 MIL-G-16491F NOT 1

NASM16996 MS16996F NOT 1

NASM24066/2 MIL-C-24066/2E NOT 2

NASM24674 MS24674D(1) NOT 1

NASM27986 MS27986C NOT 3

NASM28728 MIL-D-28728B NOT 2

NASM28728/1 MIL-D-28728/1B NOT 2

NASM28728/2 MIL-D-28728/2B NOT 3

NASM28728/3 MIL-D-28728/3A NOT 3

NASM28728/4 MIL-D-28728/4B NOT 2

NASM28728/5 MIL-D-28728/5B NOT 2

NASM28728/6 MIL-D-28728/6B NOT 2

NASM28728/7 MIL-D-28728/7 NOT 3

NASM28728/8 MIL-D-28728/8B NOT 2

NASM3213 MS3213A NOT 2

NASM35140 MS35140D NOT 1

NASM35191 MS25191G NOT1

NASM35199 MS35199B(1) NOT 2

NASM39087 MS39087F(1) NOT 1

NASM43770/12 MIL-S43770/12A NOT 3

NASM43770/14 MIL-S43770/14A NOT 3

NASM51400 MS51400 NOT 2

NASM51851 MS51851 NOT 3

NASM63540/5 MIL-S-63540/5 NOT 1

NASM7839 MIL-S-7839B(3)NOT 3

NASM7873 MIL-N-7873B(1) NOT 1

NASM81177/3 MIL-F-81177/3 NOT 2

NASM85449 MIL-C-85449(2)NOT 1

NASM85449/1 MIL-C-85449/1B NOT 1

NASM85449/2 MIL-C-85449/2B NOT 1

NASM85449/3 MIL-C-85449/3B NOT 1

NASM85449/4 MIL-C-85449/4A NOT 1

NASM8975 MIL-F-8975B(4) SUP 1 NOT 1

NASM91523 MS91523B NOT 3

SA -AS39029/72 MIL-C-39029/72D NOT 1

SAAS81582/7 MIL-C-81582/7A NOT 1
28

SAE AS-5604 MIL-C-5604B(3) NOT 1

SAE-AMS-20148 MIL-20148D(1) NOT 1

SAE-AMS-C-6183 MIL-C-183B NOT 1

SAE-AMS-C-81562 MIL-C-81562B NOT 2

SAE-AMS-C-81769 MIL-C-81769 NOT 1

SAE-AMS-G-952 MIL-G-952(1) NOT 1

SAE-AMS-H-81200 MIL-H-81200B NOT 1

SAE-AMS-I-23053/2 MIL-I-23053/2C(1) NOT 2

SAE-AMS-I-7171 MIL-I-7171D NOT 1

SAE-AMS-W-6858 MIL-W-6858D(1) NOT2

SAE-AMS1380 MIL-D-26549A(1) NOT 2

SAE-AMS2535 MIL-C-87179 NOT 2

SAE-AMS2768 MIL-M-6857D NOT 2

SAE-AMS3682 MIL-C-47068(1) NOT 1

SAE-AMS6274 MIL-S-8690B NOT 1

SAE-AMS6322 MIL-S-6049A(1) NOT 2

SAE-AMS6448 MIL-S-8503B(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS 39029/10 MIL-C-39029/10E (1) NOT 1

SAE-AS-34671 MS3467(1) NOT 3

SAE-AS-S-4383 MIL-S-4383C NOT 2

SAE-AS1031 MS24388H NOT 2

SAE-AS1032 MS24389F NOT 2

SAE-AS1033 MS24390F NOT 2

SAE-AS1034 MS24401D NOT 2

SAE-AS1035 MS24402D NOT 2

SAE-AS1036 MS24403E NOT 2

SAE-AS1038 MS24394G NOT 2

SAE-AS1039 MS24395G NOT 2

SAE-AS1040 MS24396E NOT 2

SAE-AS1414 MS1414

SAE-AS15000 MS15000C NOT 2

SAE-AS172236 Thru AS172270 MS172236 Thru MS172270B NOT 2

SAE-AS17845 MS17845E NOT 1

SAE-AS18029 MS18029E NOT 1

SAE-AS18276 MIL-L-18276C(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS1934/1 MS21249D NOT 2

SAE-AS1937 MS21937B NOT 2

SAE-AS20708/1 MIL-S-20708/1F NOT 1
29

SAE-AS20708/131 MIL-S-20708/131D NOT 1

SAE-AS20708/14 MIL-S-20708/14G NOT 1

SAE-AS20708/19 MIL-S-20708/19G NOT 1

SAE-AS20708/50 MIL-S-20708/50F NOT 1

SAE-AS20708/56 MIL-S-20708/56E NOT 1

SAE-AS20708/62 MIL-S-20708/62F NOT 1

SAE-AS20708/81 MIL-S-20708/81E NOT 1

SAE-AS20708/9 MIL-S-20708/9E NOT 1

SAE-AS21907 MS21907G NOT 1

SAE-AS21912 MS21912G NOT 1

SAE-AS21923 MS21923C NOT 2

SAE-AS21924 MS21924C NOT 1

SAE-AS25042 MS25042K NOT 2

SAE-AS25065 MS25065B NOT 1

SAE-AS25066 MS25066A NOT 3

SAE-AS25067 MS25067A NOT 2

SAE-AS25435 MS25435A NOT 1

SAE-AS25436 MS25436A NOT1

SAE-AS25438 MS25438A NOT 1

SAE-AS25487 MS25487G NOT 2

SAE-AS27640 MS27640F NOT 1

SAE-AS28937 MS28937C NOT 1

SAE-AS28938 MS28938B NOT 1

SAE-AS31371 MS31371E NOT 3

SAE-AS31471 MS3147D(1) NOT 4

SAE-AS31821 MS3182D(1) NOT 3

SAE-AS33391 MS3339B NOT 2

SAE-AS33401 MS3340B NOT 2

SAE-AS33411 MS3341B NOT 2

SAE-AS33698 MS33698F(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS33699 MS33699F NOT 1

SAE-AS33700 MS33700F(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS33701 MS33701G(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS33702 MS33702E(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS33703 MS33703F(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS34451 MS3445 NOT 3

SAE-AS34461 MS3446 NOT 3

SAE-AS35411 MIL-F-3541C SUP 1 NOT 2
30

SAE-AS38386 MIL-D-38386E NOT 2

SAE-AS39029/112 MS33348E NOT 2

SAE-AS39029/58 MIL-C-39029/58E NOT 1

SAE-AS39029/86 MIL-C-39029/86C NOT 1

SAE-AS39029/90 MIL-C-39029/90A(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS51007 MS51007C NOT 1

SAE-AS5109 MIL-E-25109 NOT 3

SAE-AS5197 MS20925D NOT 1

SAE-AS5198 MS20826D NOT 1

SAE-AS5202 MS33649C NOT 2

SAE-AS5259/1 MS23002D NOT 2

SAE-AS5372 MIL-F-5372D NOT 2

SAE-AS55941/1 MIL-S-5594/1A NOT2

SAE-AS56761 MIL-S-5676A(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS6370 MIL-W-6370C(2) NOT1

SAE-AS6382 MIL-S-5626C(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS7768 MIL-L-7768B(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS7928 MIL-T-7928(1) SUP1 NOT1

SAE-AS81021 MIL-C-81021A NOT 1

SAE-AS81587 MIL-T-81587A NOT 2

SAE-AS81659 MIL-C-81659B(2) SUP 1 NOT 1

SAE-AS81765 MIL-I-81765/2A SUP 1 NOT 1

SAE-AS81765/2 MIL-I-81765/2A NOT 2

SAE-AS81765/6 MIL-I-81765/6 NOT 1

SAE-AS81765/7 MIL-I-81765/7 NOT 1

SAE-AS81914 MIL-T-81914 SUP 1 NOT 2

SAE-AS81914/1 MIL-T-81914/1 NOT 3

SAE-AS81914/2 MIL-T-81914/2 NOT 3

SAE-AS81914/3 MIL-T-81914/3 NOT 3

SAE-AS81914/4 MIL-T-81914/4 NOT 2

SAE-AS81914/5 MIL-T-81914/5 NOT 4

SAE-AS81914/6 MIL-T-81914/6 NOT 3

SAE-AS81914/7 MIL-T-81914/7 NOT 5

SAE-AS81934/2 MS21241D NOT 2

SAE-AS83519/1 MIL-S-83519/1C NOT 3

SAE-AS85049 MIL-C-85049A SUP 1A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/10 MIL-C-85049/10A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/11 MIL-C-85049/11A NOT 1
31

SAE-AS85049/14 MIL-C-85049/14A NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/15 MIL-C-85049/15A NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/16 MIL-C-85049/16 NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/17 MIL-C-85049/17 NOT 3

SAE-AS85049/18 MIL-C-85049/18B(1) NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/19 MIL-C-85049/19A(1) NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/2 MIL-C-85049/2A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/20 MIL-C-85049/20A(1) NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/21 MIL-C-85049/21A(1) NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/23 MIL-C-85049/23A NOT 3

SAE-AS85049/24 MIL-C-85049/24A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/25 MIL-C-85049/25A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/26 MIL-C-85049/26A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/27 MIL-C-85049/27A(1) NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/29 MIL-C-85049/29 NOT 3

SAE-AS85049/3 MIL-C-85049/3(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/30 MIL-C-85049/30A(1) NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/31MIL-C-85049/31B NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/32 MIL-C-85049/32A(1) NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/33 MIL-C-85049/33A NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/34 MIL-C-85049/34A NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/36 MIL-C-85049/36 NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/37 MIL-C-85049/37A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/38 MIL-C-85049/38C(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/39 MIL-C-85049/39C(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/4 MIL-C-85049/4A(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/41 MIL-C-85049/41A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/42 MIL-C-85049/42A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/43 MIL-C-85049/43A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/44 MIL-C-85049/44(2) NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/45 MIL-C-85049/45A(1) NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/46 MIL-C-85049/46B(1) NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/47 MIL-C-85049/47B(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/49 MIL-C-85049/49B NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/5 MIL-C-85049/5B(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/50 MIL-C-85049/50B NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/51 MIL-C-85049/51C NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/52 MIL-C-S85049/52C NOT 1
32

SAE-AS85049/53 MIL-C-85049/53A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/54 MIL-C-85049/54A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/55 MIL-C-85049/55B NOT1

SAE-AS85049/56 MIL-C-85049/56A NOT2

SAE-AS85049/57 MIL-C-85049/57A(1) NOT2

SAE-AS85049/58 MIL-C-85049/58A(1) NOT2

SAE-AS85049/59 MIL-C-85049/59A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/6 MIL-C-85049/6A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/60 MIL-C-85049/60A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/61 MIL-C-85049/61A (1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/62 MIL-C-85049/62A (1) NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/63 MIL-C-85049/63A (1) NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/64 MIL-C-85049/64B (1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/65 MIL-C-85049/65B (1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/69 MIL-C-85049/69B (1) NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/7 MIL-C-85049/7A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/74 MIL-C-85049/74A (1) NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/75 MIL-C-85049/75A (1) NOT 2

SAE-AS85049/76 MIL-C-85049/76(2) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/77 MIL-C-85049/77(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/78 MIL-C-85049/78(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/79 MIL-C-85049/79(2) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/8 MIL-C-85049/8A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/80 MIL-C-85049/80 NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/81 MIL-C-85049/81 NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/82 MIL-C-85049/82(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/83 MIL-C-85049/83(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/84 MIL-C-85049/84(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/85 MIL-C-85049/85(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/86 MIL-C-85049/86(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/87 MIL-C-85049/87(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/89 MIL-C-85049/89(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/9 MIL-C-85049/9A NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/90 MIL-C-85049/90 (1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/91 MIL-C-85049/91(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/92 MIL-C-85049/92(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/93 MIL-C-85049/93(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/94 MIL-C-85049/94 NOT 1
33

SAE-AS85049/95 MIL-C-85049/95 NOT 1

SAE-AS85049/96 MIL-C-85049/96 NOT 1

SAE-AS85080 MIL-I-85080(1) NOT 3

SAE-AS85080/3 MIL-I-85080/3(1) NOT 2

SAE-AS85080/5 MIL-I-85080/5(1) NOT 2

SAE-AS85848 MIL-S-85848 NOT 1

SAE-AS85848/1 MIL-S-85848/1(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS85848/2 MIL-S-85848/2(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS8804 MIL-D-8804B NOT 1

SAE-AS8943 and SAE-AS81934 MIL-B-8943A(3) NOT 1

SAE-AS90387 MS90387H NOT 1

SAE-AS90484 MS90484B(1) NOT 3

SAE-AS9105 MS9105B NOT 2

SAE-AS9112 MS9112 NOT 2

SAE-AS9209 MS9209 NOT 2

SAE-AS9218 MS9218 NOT 2

SAE-AS9231 MS9231C NOT 1

SAE-AS9353 MS9353A NOT 2

SAE-AS9379 MS9379 NOT 2

SAE-AS9403 MS9403A NOT 2

SAE-AS9433 MS9433(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS9442 MS9442(1) NOT 1

SAE-AS9444 MS9444 NOT 2

SAE-AS9454 MS9454A(1) NOT1

SAE-AS9456 MS9456A (1) NOT 1

SAE-AS9468 MS9468A NOT 1

SAE-AS9522 MS9522C NOT 2

SAE-AS9551 MS9551B NOT 1

SAE-AS9573 MS9573B NOT 1

SAE-AS9577 MS9577B (1) NOT 1

SAE-AS9592 MS9592A NOT 1

SAE-AS9712 MS9712A NOT 1

SAE-AS9923 MS9923 NOT 2

SAE-AS9958 MS9958 NOT 2

SAE-ASM-P-83461 MIL-P-83461B(3) NOT 3

SAE-ASM4387 MIL-M-46039B NOT 1

SAE-J516 MS39155 NOT 1

SAE-J827 MIL-S-851D(1) NOT 3
34

UL512 MIL-F-21346/7 NOT 2

UL512 MIL-F-21346/8 NOT 2

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 113

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: The number of Other Technical Standards DoD began to use in 2011 is located in a 

classified database, therefore, this number cannot be reported.

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 122

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

Aerospace & Defense Industries Association of Europe ASD

Aerospace Industries Association of America AIA

Air Movement and Control Association AMCA

Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions ATIS

AMCA International AMCA

American Architectural Manufacturers Association AAMA

American Association for Laboratory Accreditation A2LA

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials AASHTO

American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists AATCC

American Bearing Manufacturers Association ABMA

American Bureau of Shipping ABS

American Concrete Institute ACI

American Dental Association ADA

American Gas Association AGA

American Gear Manufacturers Association AGMA

American Hardboard Association AHA

American Industrial Hygiene Association AIHA

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics AIAA

American Institute of Steel Construction AISC

American Institute of Timber Construction AITC

American Leather Chemists Association ALCA
35

American National Metric Council ANMC

American National Standards Institute ANSI

American Petroleum Institute API

American Plywood Association APA

American Railway Engineering & Maintenance-of-Way Association AREMA

American Society for Nondestructive Testing ASNT

American Society for Quality ASQ

American Society of Cinematographers ASC

American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE

American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME

American Society of Safety Engineers ASSE

American Society of Sanitary Engineering ASSE

American Water Works Association AWWA

American Welding Society AWS

American Wood Preservers Association AWPA

American Wood Protection Association AWPA

APA - The Engineered Wood Association APA

Architectural Woodwork Institute AWI

Association for Automatic Identification & Mobility AIM

Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation AAMI

Association of Automatic Identification and Data Capture Technologies AIM

ASTM International ASTM

British Standards Institution BSI

Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association BHMA

Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc BOCA

Canadian General Standards Board CGSB

Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute CISPI

Compressed Gas Association CGA

Construction Specifications Institute CSI

Cooling Technology Institute CTI

Cordage Institute CI

Data Interchange Standards Association, Inc. DISAI

Deep Foundations Institute DFI

Deutsches Institut fur Nomung - German Institute for Standardization DIN

Electronic Commerce Code Management Association ECCMA

Electronic Components Assemblies & Materials Association ECAMA

Electronic Industries Alliance EIA
36

Electrostatic Discharge Association ESDA

FM Global FMG

Government Electronics & Information Technology Association GEITA

Graphic Communications Association GCA

Gypsum Association GA

Hardwood Plywood & Veneer Association HPVA

High Frequency Industry Association HFIA

Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Inc. HFES

Illuminating Engineering Society of North America IESNA

Information Technology Industry Council ITI

Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits IPC

Institute of Clean Air Companies ICAC

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEEE

Institute of Environmental Sciences & Technology IEST

Insulated Cable Engineers Association ICEA

International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials IAPMO

International Code Council ICC

InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards INCITS

International Organization for Standardization ISO

International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical 

Commission ISO/IEC

International Society of Automation ISA

International Telecommunication Union ITU

IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries IPC

JEDEC - Solid State Technology Association JEDEC

Machinery Information Management Open Systems MIMOSA

Magnetic Materials Producers Association MMPA

Manufacturers Standardization Society of the Valve and Fittings Industry MSSVFI

National Aerospace Standards Committee NASC

National Association of Chain Manufacturers NACM

National Association of Corrosion Engineers International NACE

National Association of Relay Manufacturers NARM

National Electrical Manufacturers Association NEMA

National Fire Protection Association NFPA

National Fluid Power Association NFLPA

National Information Standards Organization NISO

National Petroleum Management Association NPMA

NCSL International NCSLI
37

NSF International NSFI

Optics and Electro-Optics Standards Council OEOSC

Parachute Industry Association PIA

Pipe Fabrication Institute PFI

Plastic Pipe Institute PPI

Plumbing and Draining Institute PDI

Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association PHCCA

Quarter-Inch Cartridge Drive Standards, Inc. QCDS

Rack Manufacturers Institute RMI

Resistance Welders Manufacturers Association RWMA

Rubber Manufacturers Association RMA

Scientific Apparatus Makers Association SAMA

Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning Contractors National Association SMACNA

Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization SISO

Society of Allied Weight Engineers SAWE

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE

Standards Engineering Society SES

Steel Door Institute SDI

Steel Founders Society of America SFSA

Steel Window Institute SWI

The Aluminum Association, Inc. AA

The Soap and Detergent Association SDA

The Tire and Rim Association, Inc. TRAI

Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association TTMA

Underwriters Laboratories UL

Window and Door Manufacturers Association WDMA

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 0

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

The Department of Defense does not collect information on DOD-wide conformity assessment 

activities.

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:
38

Circular A-119 policy does provide the legislative basis to ensure government personnel are able 

to participate in non-government standards organizational activities and use the documents 

emanating from these entities' committees. The Department of Defense suggests that should the 

National Science and Technology Committee Subcommittee on Standards' report gain traction 

within Congress Circular A-119 policy should be reviewed for potential updating.

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

I have no comments.

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

I have no additional comments.

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; Yes

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; C

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; Yes

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 5

Title: Department of Defense (DoD) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

Department of Education (ED) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

Section 515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001, 

Public Law 106-554 requires agencies subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act, including the 

U.S. Department of Education, issue guidelines by October 1, 2002, for the purpose of "ensuring 
39

and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information (including statistical 

information) disseminated by Federal agencies." The Department's guidelines can be found at: 

http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/infoqualguide.html 

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the principal statistical agency within the 

U.S. Department of Education uses standards to provide high quality, reliable, useful, and 

informative statistical information to public policy decision makers and to the general public. In 

particular, the standards that NCES follows are intended for use by NCES staff and contractors 

to guide them in their data collection, analysis, and dissemination activities. These standards are 

also intended to present a clear statement for data users regarding how data should be collected 

in NCES surveys, and the limits of acceptable applications and use. Beyond these immediate 

uses, NCES hopes that other organizations involved in similar public endeavors will find the 

contents of some of NCES standards useful in their work. (Source: NCES Statistical Standards: 

NCES 2003-601) 

The Department of Education also uses standards in the implementation of Information 

Technology for the Department which ultimately enhances the delivery of Department Education 

services to citizens. The Department of Education uses Information Technology Standards to 

implement common enabling services and infrastructure services. These Information Technology 

standards used in the Department of Education’s Enterprise Architecture also fulfill OMB’s 

requirement for a Standards Profile. (Source: Department of Education Enterprise Standards and 

Guidelines Technology Standards Profile, Volume I: Enterprise Standards Profile Version 1.0)

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 0

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 0

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: 

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 4

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym
40

National Forum on Education Statistics NCES Forum

Postsecondary Electronic Standards Organization PESC

Schools Interoperability Framework Association SIFA

Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (El/Sec) SLDS

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 24

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

None

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

No Comment

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

No Comment

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

None

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; Yes

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; C

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; Yes
41

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 1

Title: Department of Education (ED) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

Department of Energy (DOE) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

In accordance with the 2011 OMB Report data call, the Department of Energy (DOE) Technical 

Standards Program (TSP) asked for input from all DOE organizations. The request included a 

documentation of new case studies involving the benefits of non-government voluntary 

consensus standards in DOE work. Based on the input received, no new case studies were 

reported. 

Relevant Internet Links: DOE Technical Standards Program 

(http://www.hss.doe.gov/nuclearsafety/techstds/)

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 0

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 10

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: Throughout the year 2011, DOE had in place a total of 1,793 adopted Voluntary 

Consensus Standards (VCSs) documented. This was an increase of 10 VCSs from the previous 

year.

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 92

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym
42

Air Movement and Control Association AMCA

Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute ARI

American Architectural Manufacturers Association AAMA

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials AASHTO

American Chemical Society ACS

American Chemistry Council ACC

American Concrete Institute ACI

American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists ACGIH

American Glovebox Society AGS

American Industrial Hygiene Association AIHA

American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE

American Institute of Steel Construction AISC

American Iron and Steel Institute AISI

American Medical Association AMA

American National Standards Institute ANSI

American Nuclear Society ANS

American Petroleum Institute API

American Public Health Association APHA

American Railway Engineering & Maintenance-of-Way Association AREMA

American Society for Nondestructive Testing ASNT

American Society for Quality ASQ

American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE

American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME

American Trucking Association ATA

American Water Works Association AWWA

American Welding Society AWS

Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association ARMA

Associated Air Balance Council AABC

Association for Information and Image Management AIIM

Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering AACEI

ASTM International ASTM

Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc BOCA

Ceilings and Interior Systems Construction Association CISCA

Compressed Gas Association CGA

Construction Safety Association of Ontario CSAO

Cooling Technology Institute CTI

Crane Manufacturing Association of America CMAA
43

Electronic Industries Alliance EIA

Factory Mutual Research Corporation FMRC

Glass Association of North America GANA

Gypsum Association GA

Health Physics Society HPS

Illuminating Engineering Society of North America IESNA

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEEE

Institute of Makers of Explosives IME

Institute of Transportation Engineers ITE

Insulated Steel Door Systems Institute ISDSI

International Air Transport Association IATA

International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials IAPMO

International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA

International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO

International Code Council ICC

International Commission of Non-ionizing Radiation Protection and 

Measurements ICNIRP

International Commission on Radiation Protection ICRP

International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements, Inc. ICRU

International Conference of Building Officials ICBO

International Organization for Standardization ISO

International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical 

Commission ISO/IEC

International Society of Automation ISA

Metal Building Manufacturers Association MBMA

Metal Lath/Steel Framing Association, A Division of NAAMM MLSFA

National Association of Architectural Metal Manufacturers NAAMM

National Concrete Masonry Association NCMA

National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements NCRP

National Electrical Manufacturers Association NEMA

National Fire Protection Association NFPA

National Ground Water Association NGWA

National Information Standards Organization NISO

National Roofing Contractors Association NRCA

National Safety Council NSC

National Window and Door Association NWDA

NCSL International NCSLI

Painting and Decorating Contractors of America PDCA
44

Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association PHCCA

Portland Cement Association PCA

Post-Tensioning Institute PTI

Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute PCI

Resilient Floor Covering Institute RFCI

Scaffolding, Shoring, and Forming Institute, Inc. SSFI

Screen Manufacturers Association SMA

Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning Contractors National Association SMACNA

Single Ply Roofing Institute SPRI

Society of American Value Engineers SAVE

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE

Society of Fire Protection Engineers SFPE

Steel Deck Institute SDI

Steel Door Institute SDI

Steel Joist Institute SJI

Steel Window Institute SWI

Underwriters Laboratories UL

Water Environment Federation WEF

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 498

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

The Department of Energy does not track conformity assessment activities.

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

OMB A-119 continues to effectively provide a framework of requirements for DOE's 

involvement in national VCS standards-setting initiatives, and requirements for consideration of 

VCSs applicable to DOE needs prior to our development of agency-specific standards.

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

The Department of Energy and its Standards Executive recognize the valuable role that VCSs 

play in facilitating the implementation of DOE requirements, and in supporting the Department’s 

mission, strategic themes, and diverse program areas. DOE will continue to participate in and 

sponsor, as appropriate, VCS initiatives to ensure that the Department’s needs and interests are 
45

represented in national and international VCS initiatives important to the success of DOE’s 

mission, programs and operations.

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; Yes

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; C

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; Yes

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 5

Title: Department of Energy (DOE) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency 

Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) 

AHRQ supports the US standards developing organizations (SDO’s) through meeting attendance 

and workgroup participation, through hosting the US Technical Advisory Group to ISO TC 215, 

Health Informatics, and membership and participation in ISO TC 215 standards activities and 

resolutions. Additionally, AHRQ supports the Interagency Committee on Standards Policy that 

advises the Secretary of Commerce and other Executive Branch agencies on standards policy 

matters. The mission of AHRQ is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of 

health care for all Americans. By improving the uniformity, computerization, accuracy, and 

validity of health data used for research and for health decision making, AHRQ increases the 

robustness of its researchers’ findings and the usability of tools developed using these findings. 

AHRQ uses VCS’s in our national survey—Medical Expenditures Panel Survey—and in our 
46

Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 

CDC is the leading federal public health agency that monitors the nation’s health and detects and 

investigates health problems. The CDC-wide standardization enterprise service supports CDC 

strategic priorities of excellence in surveillance, epidemiology, and laboratory services; 

strengthen support for state, tribal, local, and territorial public health; increase global health

impact; use expertise to advance policies that promote health; and better prevent illness, injury, 

disability, and death. Adoption of and use of Voluntary Consensus Standards helps ensure 

uniformity across local, state and Federal agencies while maintaining interoperability and lower 

cost. CDC participated in updating or adopting several VCS in 2011. 

• The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) worked closely with the 

National Fire Protection Organization (NFPA) Technical Committee for Respiratory Protection 

in the development of a new standard on respirators for wildland fire-fighting operations (NFPA 

1984 Standard on Respirators for Wildland Fire-Fighting Operations, 2011 Edition). As a result 

of this activity, wildland firefighters will now have NFPA/NIOSH approved lightweight 

respirators compatible with the high workload demands of wildland firefighting. These 

respirators will combine low breathing resistance with a 99 percent particulate filtering 

efficiency and protection from carbon monoxide, organic vapors, formaldehyde, acrolein, sulfur 

dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. More information about the NFPA 1984 Standard on Respirators 

for Wildland Fire-Fighting Operations, 2011 Edition is at: 

http://www.nfpa.org/aboutthecodes/AboutTheCodes.asp?DocNum=1984 

• NIOSH collaborated with NFPA on the development of a new standard that specifies minimum 

design, performance, testing, and certification requirements for new thermal imagers used by fire 

fighters during emergency incident operations. More information about NFPA 1801 (Standard on 

Thermal Imagers for the Fire Service. 2010 Edition, February 2011 issue date) is at: 

http://www.nfpa.org/aboutthecodes/AboutTheCodes.asp?DocNum=1801 

• NIOSH serves as the US Technical Advisory Committee administrator for the American 

National Standard Institute (ANSI) for all of the ISO Respiratory Protective Device Standards. 

The 2011 ISO respiratory standards currently being developed are based on the needs of the 

wearers rather than on products. The end result will be respirators which provide better 

protection and are consistent in their performance around the world. This should be a cost saving 

for manufacturers and ultimately the users. Documents published in 2011 to date are: 

o IS0 TS 16974:2011 Respiratory protective devices – Marking and Information 

(http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=51231) 

? An adjunct to the complete respirator standards being developed, specifies the minimum 

acceptable information that a user would need and the location of that marking and information, 

i.e., on the product or in the instructions for use. 

o ISO 16900-4:2011 Respiratory protective devices – Methods of tests - Determination of gas 

filter capacity and migration, desorption and carbon monoxide dynamic testing 

(http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=38877) 
47

? This standard specified how gas capacity testing is done and includes tests for migration and 

desorption of a challenge agent, which is missing from other standards. It also specifies a method 

of determining capacity of carbon monoxide filters using a breathing simulator rather than 

constant flow. 

o ISO TS 16976-3:2011 Respiratory protective devices – Human factors - Physiological 

responses and limitations of oxygen and limitations of carbon dioxide in the breathing 

environment 

(http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=46005) 

? Part of a series of Technical Specifications developed to look at the capability of the ultimate 

respirator wearer to human stressors in order that the requirements of the respirator can be based 

on human factors rather than on the capability of contemporary products. 

• CDC has collaborated with the cancer and healthcare information technology (IT) communities 

to develop a cancer reporting profile within Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE), called 

Physician Reporting to Public Health-Cancer Registries 

(http://www.ihe.net/Technical_Framework/upload/IHE_QRPH_Suppl_PRPH_Ca_Rev2-1_2011-

09-02.pdf). The profile, which is based on the HL7 Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) 

Release 2.0 standard, provides a single, consistent format for electronic physician reporting to 

central cancer registries. 

• CDC implemented the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) 

Pathology Laboratory Electronic Reporting, Volume V standard for reporting of cancer cases to 

all state cancer registry programs 

(http://www.naaccr.org/StandardsandRegistryOperations/VolumeV.aspx). 

The implementation of this standard has been critical for laboratories and state cancer registries 

to move away from paper and non-standard electronic reporting. More information about CDC’s 

cancer electronic reporting efforts may be found at: 

http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/npcr/informatics/aerro/index.htm 

• CDC actively supports the successful implementation of standards for electronic data exchange 

adopted by the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT and sharing new knowledge with 

partners. The latter agency selected several information exchange standards for which CDC 

played a key development role, including the HL7 Version 2.5.1 Implementation Guide: 

Electronic Laboratory Reporting to Public Health, Release 1 (US Realm), the HL7 2.5.1 

Implementation Guide for Immunization Messaging Release 1.0 and Implementation Guide for 

Immunization Data Transactions using Version 2.3.1 of the HL7 Standard Protocol 

Implementation Guide Version 2.2, as well as the use of HL7 message standards for syndromic 

surveillance. These message standards further specify and rely upon additional international 

standards such as the Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC) and 

Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine--Clinical Terms (SNOMED-CT). 

Such support activities included: 

1. Participation in the harmonization and selection of VCS through ONC’s Standards and 

Interoperability (S&I) Framework. This included: 

a. Leadership in the S&I Framework Laboratory Reporting Initiative to harmonize 
48

implementation of standards for reporting laboratory results to electronic health records. 

http://wiki.siframework.org/Lab+Results+Interface+%28LRI%29+Initiative 

b. Leadership in the S&I Framework Surveillance Report Power Team which selected 

appropriate standards for immunization reporting, electronic laboratory report reporting and 

syndromic surveillance reporting to public health. 

http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_12811_955276_0_0_18/SIGPT_Re

port_8_17_11.pdf 

c. Leadership in the S&I Framework Public Health Reporting Initiative to further harmonize 

standards used for multiple public health report types. 

http://wiki.siframework.org/Public+Health+Reporting+Initiative 

2. Support tools to promote adoption of these standards by local and state health departments, the 

CDC, and health care providers. These included: 

a. The development of Reportable Conditions Mapping Table (RCMT) 

(https://phinvads.cdc.gov/vads/SearchVocab.action) to support access to laboratory tests 

(LOINC) and test results (SNOMED) vocabularies for electronic laboratory result reporting. This 

is just one way the CDC Public Health Information Network Vocabulary Access and 

Distribution System supports the use of vocabulary standards. More information on 

implementation of electronic data exchange standards may be found at: 

http://www.cdc.gov/phin/resources/standards/data_interchange.html 

b. Creation of HL7 translation and validation tools to support exchange between and among 

health care and public health entities. (see above website). 

c. Created a fully-HL7-compliant implementation guide for Syndromic Surveillance. 

http://www.cdc.gov/ehrmeaningfuluse/Docs/PHIN%20MSG%20Guide%20for%20SS%20ED%

20and%20UC%20Data%20Release%201.pdf 

• CDC continues to provide information from the National Environmental Public Health 

Tracking Network (Tracking Network), a nationwide network of integrated health and 

environmental data that drives public health action, and uses descriptive metadata to provide 

pertinent information on a dataset’s purpose, use and distribution 

(http://ephtracking.cdc.gov/showHome.action). The environmental hazards, human exposure and 

health effects data on the Tracking Network are described using the Federal Geographic Data 

Committee (FGDC) Content Standard for Geospatial Metadata. The Network uses descriptive 

metadata to provide pertinent information on a dataset’s purpose, use and distribution that helps 

users understand the appropriate use of a data resource. Descriptive metadata for data resources 

also facilitates the identification and discovery of data on the Tracking Network. 

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 

The mission of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) mission is “to ensure effective, up-todate health care coverage and to promote quality for beneficiaries.” The Agency strategic action 

plan to accomplish that mission incorporates usage of national standards, not only for electronic 

data interchange (EDI) transaction, code set, and identifier standards, but also for electronic 

prescribing, maintenance of beneficiary (and all patient) medical records, and interoperability of 

usage of standards to enable all facets of the health care industry to freely exchange medical 

information where warranted to avoid unnecessary duplicative tests, reduce medical errors, and 

allow beneficiaries to make informed health care decisions. 

The following are the applicable internet links to CMS standards Web sites: 
49

? https://www.cms.gov/Versions5010andD0/ 

? https://www.cms.gov/EDIPerformanceStatistics/ 

? https://www.cms.gov/HETSHelp/ 

In addition, CMS recognizes the value of adopting standards, and is committed to encouraging 

their adoption as they are approved by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human 

Services (HHS). Since most of CMS’ business processes depend on contractor systems, as well 

as other industry stakeholder systems, it is vital that the standards creation and adoption process 

involves these entities, and that careful analysis is performed to minimize risk. 

CMS is a member of standards setting organizations, such as Health Level 7 (HL7), National 

Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP), and X12, and regularly participates in 

meetings of these, as well as other organizations. An Agency representative serves as the lead 

staff member on the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) Subcommittee 

on Standards and Security, which is tasked with making recommendations to the Secretary for 

the adoption of standards and operating rules. In addition, this year CMS staff became involved 

in an organization related to standard setting known as Council for Affordable Quality 

Healthcare (CAQH) Committee on Operating Rules for Information Exchange (CORE), which 

has been named as the authoring entity for certain operating rules required for use with the 

adopted standards. Finally, CMS has engaged with a standard setting organization governing 

transactions of the banking industry and the National Automated Clearinghouse for Electronic 

Funds Transfer (NACHA). 

CMS is involved in standards and operating rules development, adoption, and implementation 

activities in the following areas: 

? Administrative Simplification under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 

(HIPAA) and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the Affordable Care Act). CMS

has been actively involved in standards adoption, as a regulator and health plan, for more than a 

decade. CMS is also involved in adopting operating rules which support the adopted standards. 

Besides writing regulations related to HIPAA and the Affordable Care Act, CMS has conducted 

extensive outreach to educate and promote the adoption of standard transactions and operating 

rules that standardize administrative transactions. 

? E-Prescribing Standards: The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization 

Act of 2003 (the MMA) established a process for adopting 

e-prescribing standards for use under the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, and Office 

of E-Health Standards and Services (OESS)\ oversees this process. 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

FDA participates in the development of and uses standards developed by outside organizations in 

every Center and at every level in the organization. Effective and meaningful participation in the 

organizations that develop standards for the products FDA regulates is critical. Encouraging 

these organizations to develop the standards FDA needs advances the interests of both the 

Agency and the industry. Information exchange to encourage coordination of technical 
50

discussions and information dissemination can enable more effective engagement with our 

stakeholders and develop efficiencies in the standards setting processes. In addition, FDA can 

take advantage of the management resources of standards-developing organizations (SDOs) to 

create standards, thereby better using limited FDA resources. FDA can exercise leadership in 

these SDOs to encourage development of the best possible standards and improve technical 

requirements. The Agency always has the option to augment voluntary consensus standards with 

additional recommendations through publication of Guidance. 

Standards developed through interactions with various standard development bodies, including 

voluntary consensus standard organizations and or industry consortia, can provide benefit to both 

the Agency and our stakeholders in multiple ways such as: 

• Standards can assist reviewers with assessment of product applications; 

• Standards often result in better utilization of limited internal resources; 

• International standards can be used by multiple regulatory regions, following our legal mandate 

to facilitate harmonization on an international level; and 

• Direct participation by various stakeholders in development of standards results in a consensus 

among users, manufacturers and government regulators on safety and effective use of regulated 

products. 

For more information about standards and FDA's mission, please see: 

http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ReportsManualsForms/StaffManualGuides/ucm193332.htm 

Indian Health Service (IHS) 

Standards are an integral part of the effective operations of the Indian Health Service (IHS). 

Health-related standards, such as Health Level Seven (HL7), allow interoperability among health 

information systems improving the standard of patient care for the American Indian/Alaskan 

Native populations, the primary mission of the IHS. Other standards provide for the efficient 

transmission of insurance data for revenue generation and interoperability among disparate 

systems for information sharing, such as immunization data (IHS currently exchanges 

immunization data with several states). The IHS has achieved certification of its Electronic 

Health Record (EHR) for both ambulatory and inpatient settings, allowing IHS, Tribal and Urban 

Indian health hospitals and providers to qualify for Meaningful Use incentives authorized by the 

HITECH Act. The standards necessary to meet certification and Meaningful Use have been 

incorporated into IHS’ health information systems. IHS adopted and uses standards for security 

and privacy of patient and employee data, for communication of biomedical diagnostic and 

therapeutic information for digital imaging, for technical specifications used in telemedicine and 

technical services, for national drug codes, for energy- and environmentally-friendly 

construction, and for reporting medical services and procedures. 

The IHS Office of Information Technology maintains a Web site of standards and policies that 

can be found at: http://www.ihs.gov/oit/index.cfm?module=dsp_oit_sp. 

National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) 

The Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL) is part of the National Cancer Institute 

(NCI)’s Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer, within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

The NCL is a formal interagency collaboration between NCI, the National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is operated through 

the NCI’s Federally Funded Research & Development Center (FFRDC) at SAIC/NCI-Frederick. 
51

The intent of the NCL is to accelerate the transition of basic nanotechnology research into 

clinical cancer applications. NCL seeks to establish and standardize analytical methods for 

nanomaterial characterization and to facilitate clinical development and regulatory review of 

nanomaterials. The use of voluntary consensus standards (VCS) is, and will continue to be, 

critical in this endeavor. NCL is taking a leadership role in developing standard protocols for 

characterization of nanoparticles, which then enable appropriate assessment of the biological 

activity of these products. 

One of the NCL’s objectives is the development of standard methods to assess safety, toxicity, 

and quality control of biomedical nanotechnology. Without such standards, nanotechnology drug 

developers have to design and validate their own methods, and regulatory agencies must evaluate 

data generated from techniques without a substantial history of supporting literature. The NCL 

now has more than 35 standardized assays for nanomaterial characterization on its website: 

http://ncl.cancer.gov/working_assay-cascade.asp, with new assays being added as they are 

validated. 

NCL works with standards developing organizations (SDOs), such as ASTM International (the 

American Society for Testing and Materials), ANSI (the American National Standards Institute), 

and ISO, in working toward this goal. The NCL also participates in international inter-laboratory 

studies (ILS), such as one now being conducted by the International Alliance for NanoEHS 

Harmonization (IANH). NCL has also initiated an international effort aimed at development and 

validation of in vitro and ex vivo methods to assess nanoparticle effects on adapted immunity. 

National Institutes of Health / National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM) 

For more than four decades, NLM has conducted and supported groundbreaking research and 

development related to the representation, interpretation, and use of biomedical knowledge in 

electronic forms including electronic health records. NLM has been the central coordinating 

body for clinical terminology standards within the Department of Health and Human Services 

(HHS) since 2004. In this role, NLM is the official depository and distribution center for clinical 

terminologies, responsible for integrating them within the Unified Medical Language System 

(UMLS) Metathesaurus, and responsible for the development and maintenance of mappings 

between designated standard clinical terminologies and important related terminologies, 

including the HIPAA code sets. 

NLM is working with (and, in some cases, providing funding to) vocabulary developers, 

message standards development organizations, other Federal agencies, and users of standards to 

respond to these recommendations. NLM produces the UMLS Metathesaurus, which 

incorporates many different vocabularies, classifications, and code sets; funds the ongoing 

maintenance and distribution of LOINC (Logical Observations Identifiers Names and Codes); 

pays the annual membership fee that permits U.S.-wide use of SNOMED CT (accessible within 

the UMLS Metathesaurus and in native format); produces and distributes RxNorm (accessible 

both within the UMLS Metathesaurus and separately); and pays the annual license fee that 

permits free, U.S.-wide use of ICF and ICF-CY (accessible within the UMLS Metathesaurus). 

LOINC, SNOMED CT, and RxNorm have all been designated as U.S. Government-wide clinical 

standards via the Consolidated Health Informatics (CHI) eGov project for use in U.S. Federal 

Government systems. They, along with ICF and ICF-CY, were subsequently identified in various 
52

interoperability specifications of the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel 

(HITSP) for use throughout the U.S. healthcare spectrum. In July 2010 LOINC, SNOMED CT, 

and RxNorm were all named as standards to support meaningful use in the “Health Information 

Technology Standards, Implementation Specifications, and Certification Criteria and 

Certification Programs for Health Information Technology” Final Rule. SNOMED CT has been 

chosen as the standard for selected data elements in international genetic information resources, 

including a Genetic Testing Registry and database of clinically significant human variations 

under development at NIH. It is also being used in an increasing number of clinical research 

studies. 

NLM, on behalf of HHS, is the U.S. Member of the International Health Terminology Standards 

Development Organisation (IHTSDO) which owns, maintains, and distributes SNOMED CT 

internationally and promotes global standardization of health information. In FY2011 NLM 

introduced the U.S. Extension to SNOMED CT, a formal extension to the International Release 

of SNOMED CT distributed by the IHTSDO. This extension allows NLM to provide both rapid 

access to SNOMED CT concepts needed by U.S. stakeholders as well as standard terminology 

needed for U.S. clinical use cases, but not generally useful in other countries (e.g. regulatory or 

legislatively mandated terms specific to the U.S.). In support of this extension, NLM also 

introduced the beta version of the U.S. SNOMED CT Content Request System, a mechanism for 

U.S. stakeholders to request changes to SNOMED CT (e.g. new concepts or enhancements to 

existing concepts). Additionally, NLM and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans 

Health Administration continue working with the IHTSDO on the development of their tooling 

workbench to facilitate distributed input to the ongoing development of SNOMED CT by experts 

in different locations around the world. This new platform will allow the U.S. to establish a 

network for U.S. contributions to the development of SNOMED CT by both government 

agencies and private sector organizations and enable collaboration with other IHTSDO member 

countries in the development of SNOMED CT content and subsets. NLM continues working 

with the IHTSDO to facilitate negotiations for the alignment and harmonization between 

SNOMED CT and key health terminologies including LOINC and RxNorm. 

NLM continues updating the CORE Problem List Subset of SNOMED CT (initially released in 

2009) with each new release of SNOMED CT and the UMLS Metathesaurus. The primary 

purpose of this Subset is to facilitate the use of SNOMED CT for coding of problem list data in 

electronic health records and to enable more meaningful use of EHRs to improve patient safety, 

health care quality, and health information exchange. Development and distribution of this initial 

subset is being used as a model for development of other frequency based subsets to facilitate 

implementation of SNOMED CT, LOINC, and RxNorm throughout the U.S. Subsets released or 

updated in FY2011 include the SNOMED CT Route of Administration, Nursing Problem List 

Subset of SNOMED CT (created in conjunction with the IHTSDO), the Common Lab Orders 

Value Set (created in conjunction with the Regenstrief Institute), and RxNorm Current 

Prescribable Content. 

NLM continues working on projects to create mappings between standard clinical vocabularies, 

HIPAA code sets, and other key vocabularies used in Federal health information systems. 

Availability of these mappings should facilitate development and implementation by health care 

providers of electronic health records that capture clinical data at the point of care and 
53

subsequently support generation of required HIPAA code set data for claims and other 

administrative transactions. In FY2011 NLM worked closely with the IHTSDO on the initial 

version of a map from SNOMED CT to ICD-10. The map is currently out for testing by the 

SNOMED CT user community as well as the World Health Organization. A parallel project, led 

by NLM, is development of a map from SNOMED CT to ICD-10-CM. This map will build on 

and make use of the tools and policies developed for the IHTSDO mapping project. Project 

participants include representatives from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 

National Center for Health Statistics, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans 

Health Administration. The initial SNOMED CT to ICD-10-CM map is expected in early 

CY2012. 

NLM works closely with Dr. Douglas Fridsma and other representatives from the HHS Office of 

the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to ensure NLM’s 

vocabulary harmonization and standards efforts are in sync with those of ONC and the HIT 

Standards Committee. NLM participates (both as co-chair and members) in the Health IT 

Standards Committee, Clinical Operations Working Group, Vocabulary Task Force. The Task 

Force evaluates the vocabularies needed for “Meaningful Use” and other purposes specified 

under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. 

A complete list of NLM’s activities relating to health information technology and health data 

standards is available from the NLM Website at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/healthit.html. 

In addition, there is a set of information standards that relate to the basic functions of a library 

including interlibrary loan, collection preservation, bibliographic control, and database creation 

and access. NLM is very active at a national level in the creation, review and ongoing 

maintenance of these standards so they are workable for the library community as a whole. 

Through NLM’s participation in the National Information Standards Organization (NISO), 

NLM’s activities extend to the development of these standards at an international level since 

decisions made by NISO feed into the decision making process of the American National 

Standards Institute (ANSI), the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for 

Standardization (ISO). An example of an important NISO standard developed by NLM is the 

Journal Article Tag Suite www.niso.org/standards/z39-96/, which is an outgrowth of NLM’s 

work on the PubMed Central journal article archive. 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) mission is to 

reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America's communities. To focus the 

Agency's work on improving lives and capitalizing on emerging opportunities, SAMHSA has 

identified the following 8 Strategic Initiatives: Prevention of Substance Abuse and Mental 

Illness; Trauma and Justice; Military Families; Health Care Reform Implementation; Recovery 

Support; Health Information Technology; Data, Outcomes, and Quality; Public Awareness and 

Support. To accomplish its work, SAMHSA administers a combination of competitive and 

formula/block grant programs and data collection activities. SAMHSA has incorporated 

language requiring the use of national standards into applicable grants, contracts, and cooperative 

agreements. 
54

The first area in which SAMHSA participates in voluntary consensus standards (VCS) bodies is 

the use of HL7 standards such as the Reference Information Model (RIM) and the Clinical Data 

Architecture (CDA) as they apply to Electronic Health Records (EHRs). EHRs are viewed as a 

technical innovation that can reduce costs and improve the efficiency of data reporting, 

accountability and improved outcomes. In addition, EHRs can support improvements in clinical 

care and foster more effective coordination of care between the mental health and substance use 

specialty treatment sectors and general health care. To advance the state of behavioral health 

EHR capability, SAMHSA has initiated a behavioral health EHR project using national data 

standards as the basis for ensuring our behavioral health stakeholders can participate in all 

aspects of healthcare reform. To assure the capability for health information exchange while 

maintaining appropriate confidentiality protections for substance abuse and mental health 

records, SAMHSA joined voluntary consensus organizations to create technical options for 

patient consent in an e-health environment. Membership in Health Level 7 (HL7) and the ONC 

Standards and Interoperability (S&I) projects for data segmentation and Query health which 

allows SAMHSA to utilize a far wider range of expertise than allowed for by limited numbers of 

agency staff. In both HL7 and S&I, SAMHSA participates in creating usable, consensus driven 

products that can support the health information exchange of sensitive information through all 

health care environments. SAMHSA is also collaborating with ONC to facilitate the exchange of 

behavioral health information with all health providers through the use of data standards 

promulgated by ONC including SNOMED-CT, RxNorm, ICD 9/10, etc. In addition, SAMHSA 

supported the development of an HL7 behavioral health EHR profile which was selected for 

review by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology. This work 

supports uniformity of standards for behavioral health across the public and private sectors. 

SAMHSA is also a member of the National Quality Forum (NQF), a voluntary consensus body 

for performance measurement. SAMHSA collaborated with NQF, ASPE and CMS to include 

two behavioral health quality measures in Stage 1 meaningful use. SAMHSA is also active with 

NQF, VA and IHS as well as the previously listed HHS agencies to add additional quality 

measures to Stage 2 meaningful use and will also add additional quality measures to Stage 3 

meaningful use. SAMHSA participates in HHS inter-agency workgroups which collaborate on 

the discussion, selection and promotion of new quality measures for inclusion in healthcare 

reform. Over several years, SAMHSA developed clinical process of care performance measures 

for mental health and substance use treatment services. Two of these measures were successfully 

submitted for NQF endorsement in FY 2010. Additional measures, including a consumer 

perception of care assessment instrument, were submitted in FY 2008. National endorsement 

allows States and providers in the public and private sectors to have common standards that can 

be used for reporting activities related to quality and accountability, thereby reducing data and 

reporting burden on providers who report to different funders. 

Consistent with the National Quality Strategy (NQS), SAMHSA has developed a National 

Behavioral Health Quality Framework which represents an important step in improving 

behavioral health services, and promoting behavioral health among individuals, families, and 

communities. SAMHSA is currently identifying and reviewing measures to populate the cells. 

With this strategy, SAMHSA will provide both leadership and coordination to myriad efforts to 

reduce system fragmentation and enhance the quality of services aimed at improving the lives of 

those with – or at risk for - behavioral health disorders. The first step of this process is seeking 
55

public input into the structure and content of this Framework, with particular emphasis on 

identifying recommended measures for assessing both SAMHSA’s – and the Nation’s - progress 

in improving the quality of behavioral health services. Many of the measures that SAMHSA will 

be populating the cells with draw from existing measures being promulgated for meaningful use 

and meeting standards that will lead to the promotion of measures that can be integrated into the 

process for developing measures that meet meaningful use guidelines. 

Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) 

The HITECH Act directs the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information 

Technology (ONC) to support and promote meaningful use of certified EHR technology 

nationwide through the adoption of standards, implementation specifications, and certification 

criteria as well as the establishment of certification programs for HIT. Standards are an integral 

component of ONC’s mission to support development of a nationwide Health IT infrastructure 

that allows for electronic use and exchange of information, to promote the adoption of 

interoperable Health Information Technology as well as to provide leadership in the 

development, recognition, and implementation of standards and the certification of Health IT 

products. The implementation of consistent HIT standards is a necessary requirement to achieve 

interoperability of health information, which is a central key to reducing health care costs.

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 1

1. Government Unique Standard: FDA Guidelines on Asceptic Processing (2004) 

(Incorporated: 2004) 

Voluntary Standard

ISO 13408-1 Asceptic Process ing of Health Care Products, Part 1, General Requirements

Rationale

FDA is not using the ISO standard because the applicability of these requirements is 

limited to only portions of aseptically manufactured biologics and does not include 

filtration, freeze-drying, sterilization in place, cleaning in place, or barrier-isolator 

technology. There are also significant issues related to aseptically produced bulk drug 

substance that are not included in the document

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 22
56

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) = 2 Medicare fee-for-service 

began to use the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 Health Care Claim 

Acknowledgement (277) EDI standard transaction (titled 277 Health Care Claim 

Acknowledgement along) with the ASC X12 Implementation Acknowledgement for Health Care 

Insurance (999) to report validation results of the inbound 837 claims during FY2011. Indian 

Health Service (IHS) Voluntary Consensus Standards: 1 Office of the National Coordinator 

(ONC) Voluntary Consensus Standards initially recommended for use in FY 2011: 19 VCS 

standards and implementation specifications adopted in respect to Complete EHRs and EHR 

Modules (45 CFR 170.299 Incorporation by reference) include: 1. (b) Health Level Seven, 3300 

Washtenaw Avenue, Suite 227, Ann Arbor, MI 48104; Telephone (734) 677–7777 or 

http://www.hl7.org/ . • Health Level Seven Standard Version 2.3.1 (HL7 2.3.1), An Application 

Protocol for Electronic Data Exchange in Healthcare Environments, April 14, 1999, IBR 

approved for §170.205. • Health Level Seven Messaging Standard Version 2.5.1 (HL7 2.5.1), An 

Application Protocol for Electronic Data Exchange in Healthcare Environments, February 21, 

2007, IBR approved for §170.205. • Health Level Seven Implementation Guide: Clinical 

Document Architecture (CDA) Release 2—Continuity of Care Document (CCD), April 01, 

2007, IBR approved for §170.205. • HL7 Version 2.5.1 Implementation Guide: Electronic 

Laboratory Reporting to Public Health, Release 1 (US Realm) HL7 Version 2.5.1: 

ORU&supcaret;R01, HL7 Informative Document, February, 2010, IBR approved for §170.205. 

2. (c) ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA, 

19428–2959 USA; Telephone (610) 832–9585 or http://www.astm.org/ . • ASTM E2369–05: 

Standard Specification for Continuity of Care Record (CCR), year of adoption 2005, ASTM 

approved July 17, 2006, IBR approved for §170.205. • ASTM E2369–05 (Adjunct to E2369): 

Standard Specification Continuity of Care Record,—Final Version 1.0 (V1.0), November 7, 

2005, IBR approved for §170.205. 3. (d) National Council for Prescription Drug Programs, 

Incorporated, 9240 E. Raintree Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85260– 7518; Telephone (480) 477–1000; 

and Facsimile (480) 767–1042 or http://www.ncpdp.org . • National Council for Prescription 

Drug Programs Prescriber/Pharmacist Interface SCRIPT Standard, Implementation Guide, 

Version 8, Release 1, October 2005, IBR approved for §170.205. • SCRIPT Standard, 

Implementation Guide, Version 10.6, October, 2008, (Approval date for ANSI: November 12, 

2008), IBR approved for §170.205. 4. (e) Regenstrief Institute, Inc., LOINC®c/o Medical 

Informatics The Regenstrief Institute, Inc 410 West 10th Street, Suite 2000 Indianapolis, IN 

46202–3012; Telephone (317) 423–5558 or http://loinc.org/ . • Logical Observation Identifiers 

Names and Codes (LOINC®) version 2.27, June 15, 2009, IBR approved for §170.207. 5. (f) 

U.S. National Library of Medicine, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894; Telephone (301)

594–5983 or http://www.nlm.nih.gov/ . • International Health Terminology Standards 

Development Organization Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED 

CT®), International Release, July 2009, IBR approved for §170.207. 6. (g) Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, National Centers for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases 

Immunization Information System Support Branch—Informatics 1600 Clifton Road Mailstop: 

E–62 Atlanta, GA 30333. • HL7 Standard Code Set CVX—Vaccines Administered, July 30, 

2009, IBR approved for §170.207. • Implementation Guide for Immunization Data Transactions 

using Version 2.3.1 of the Health Level Seven (HL7)Standard Protocol Implementation Guide 

Version 2.2, June 2006, IBR approved for §170.205. • HL7 2.5.1 Implementation Guide for 
57

Immunization Messaging Release 1.0, May 1, 2010, IBR approved for §170.205. 7. (h) Centers 

for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of Clinical Standards and Quality, 7500 Security 

Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244; Telephone (410) 786–3000 • CMS PQRI 2009 Registry 

XML Specifications, IBR approved for §170.205. • 2009 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative 

Measure Specifications Manual for Claims and Registry, Version 3.0, December 8, 2008 IBR 

approved for §170.205. 8. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Information 

Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, 

Gaithersburg, MD 20899–8930, http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/STM/cmvp/standards.html . • Annex 

A: Approved Security Functions for FIPS PUB 140–2, Security Requirements for Cryptographic 

Modules, Draft, January 27, 2010, IBR approved for §170.210. 9. (j) American National 

Standards Institute, Health Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) Secretariat, 25 

West 43rd Street—Fourth Floor, New York, NY 10036, http://www.hitsp.org • HITSP Summary 

Documents Using HL7 Continuity of Care Document (CCD) Component, HITSP/C32, July 8, 

2009, Version 2.5, IBR approved for §170.205. ISO standards incorporated by reference to the 

temporary certification program (45 CFR 170.499 Incorporation by reference) 1. International 

Organization for Standardization, Case postale 56, CH•1211, Geneve 20, Switzerland, telephone 

+41–22–749–01–11, http://www.iso.org . • ISO/IEC 17025 General Requirements for the 

Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories (Second Edition), May 15, 2005, IBR 

approved for §170.420 and §170.423. ISO/IEC GUIDE 65 General Requirements for Bodies 

Operating Product Certification Systems (First Edition), 1996, IBR approved for §170.420 and 

§170.423.

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 201

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

3-A Sanitary Standards, Inc 3-A SSI

Accredited Standards Committee X12 X12

Acoustical Society of America ASA

Adeno Associated Virus Reference Materials Working Group ARMWG

Adeno Associated Virus Reference Standard Working Group AAVSWG

Advisory Committee on Casualty Assessment Health Canada ACCA

Almond Board of California ABC

American Society of Addiction Medicine ASAM

American Academy of Pediatrics AAP

American Association of Blood Banks AABB

American Association of Cereal Chemists AACC

American Association of Physicists in Medicine AAPM

American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists AATCC

American Association of Tissue Banks AATB

American Backflow Prevention Association ABPA

American Bureau of Shipping ABS
58

American Chemical Society ACS

American College of Nuclear Physicians ACNP

American College of Radiology ACR

American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists ACGIH

American Dental Association ADA

American Dietetic Association ADA

American Foundation for the Accreditation of Haematopoietic Cell Therapy FAHCT

American Industrial Hygiene Association AIHA

American Institute of Ultrasound Manufacturers AIUM

American Ladder Institute ALI

American Medical Association AMA

American National Standards Institute ANSI

American Pacific Economic Conference APEC

American Psychiatric Association APA

American Public Health Association APHA

American Society for Gene Therapy ASGT

American Society for Healthcare Engineering ASHE

American Society for Reproductive Medicine ASRM

American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers ASABE

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE

American Society of Mass Spectrometry ASMS

American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME

American Society of Quality Control ASQ

American Society of Safety Engineers ASSE

American Society of Sanitary Engineering ASSE

American Type Culture Collection ATCC

American Veterinary Medical Association AVMA

American Water Works Association AWWA

AOAC International AOAC

Asian Pacific Economic Conference APEC

Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care 

International AAALAC

Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility AIM

Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation AAMI

ASTM International ASTM

Baking Industry Sanitary Standards Committee BISSC

Brighton Collaboration BC

California Strawberry Commission CSC
59

Canadian General Standards Board CGSB

Cantaloupe Board of California CBC

Central Laboratory for Blood Transfusion CLBT

Chocolate Manufacturers Association CMS

Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute CLSI

Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium CDISC

Codex Alimentarius Commission CODEX

College of American Pathologists CAP

Committee on Operating Rules CORE

Conference for Food Protection CFP

Corn Refiners Association CRA

Cosmetic Ingredient Review CIR

Cosmetic Toiletry and Fragrance Association CTFA

Council for Affordable Quality Health Committee on Operating Rules for 

Information Exchange CAQH/CORE

Council for International Organizations of Medical Science CIOMS

Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare CAQH

Designated Standards Maintenance Organizations Board DSMO

Deutsches Institut fur Nomung - German Institute for Standardization DIN

Electronic Products Codes Global EPCG

ESD Association ESD

European Centre for Validation of Alternative Methods ECVAM

European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization CENELEC

European Committee for Standardization CEN

European Directorate for Quality of Medicines EDQM

External RNA Controls Consortium ERCC

Eye Bank Association of America EBAA

Facility Guidelines Institute FGI

Federal Facilities Council FFC

Fire Protection Research Foundation FPRF

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO

Foundation for Accreditation of Cellular Therapies FACT

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association FFVA

Fresh Produce Association of America FPAA

Gelatin Manufacturers of America GMA

Global Harmonization Task Force GHTF

GS1 GS1

Health Care Claim Reason and Status Code Committee HCCRSCC
60

Health Level Seven HL7

Health Physics Society HPS

Healthcare Interpretations Task Force HITF

Honey Board HB

Illuminating Engineering Society of North America IESNA

Industrial Safety and Equipment Association ISEA

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEEE

Institute of Nuclear Materials Management INMM

Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise IHE

International Alliance for NanoEHS Harmonization IANH

International Association of Cancer Registrars IACR

International Association of Color Manufacturers IACM

International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials IAPMO

International Blood Group Reference Laboratory IBRGL

International Bottled Water Association IBWA

International Commission on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for 

Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Veterinary Use VICH

International Commission on Illumination CIE

International Committee for Cosmetic Harmonization and International 

Cooperation CHIC

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors ICMJE

International Conference on the Harmonization of Technical Requirements 

for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use ICH

International Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative 

Methods ICCVAM

International Crystal Foundation ICF

International Dairy Federation IDF

International Dairy Foods Association IDFA

International Electrotechnical Commission IEC

International Federation of Fruit Juice Producers IFFJP

International for Electronic Healthcare Transactions AFEHCT

International Fragrance Association IFRA

International Fresh-cut Produce Association IFPA

International Health Terminology Standard Development Organization IHTSDO

International Life Sciences Institute ILSI

International Natural Sausage Casing Association INSCA

International Nomenclature Committee INC

International Organization for Standardization ISO

International Pharmaceutical Excipients Council IPEC
61

International Society for Analytical Cytology ISAC

International Society for Cardiovascular Surgery ISCVS

International Society for Measurement and Control ISA

International Society of Automation ISA

International Society on Thrombosis and Homeostasis ISTH

International Sprout Growers Association ISGA

International Union Against Cancer UICC

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry IUPAC

Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference ISSC

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations JCAHO

Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives JECFA

Laser Institute of America LIA

Logical Observation Identifier Names and Codes LOINC

National Academies of Science Institute of Medicine IOM

National Association of Photographic Manufacturers NAPM

National Automated Clearinghouse Association NACHA

National Automatic Merchandising Association NAMA

National Cancer Registrar Association NCRA

National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards NCCLS

National Conference for Interstate Milk Shipments NCIMS

National Council for Prescription Drug Program NCPDP

National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements NCRP

National Egg Regulators Association NERO

National eHealth Collaboration NeHC

National Electrical Manufacturers Association NEMA

National Fire Protection Association NFPA

National Food Processors Association NFPA

National Information Standards Organization NISO

National Institute for Biological Sciences and Controls NIBSC

National Marrow Donor Program NMDP

National Oilseed Processors Association NOPA

National Quality Forum NQF

National Sanitary Foundation International NSFI

National Toxicology Program NTP

National Truck Equipment Association NTEA

National Uniform Billing Committee NUBC

National Uniform Claim Committee NUCC

North America Free Trade Association NAFTA
62

North American Association of Central Cancer Registries NAACCR

Northwest Horticultural Council NHC

Optical Laboratories Association OLA

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD

Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards OASIS

Pan American Health Organization PAHO

Pan American Network for Drug Regulatory Harmonization PANDRH

Parenteral Drug Association PDA

Personal Care Products Council PCPC

Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association PPTA

Produce Marketing Association PMA

Public Health Data Standards Consortium PHDSC

Regulated Product Submission RPS

Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North 

America RESNA

Remark Code Committee RCC

Research Institute for Fragrance Materials RIFM

SDO Charter Organization SCO

Society for Glassware and Ceramic Decorations SGCD

Society for Toxicology SOT

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE

Society of Cosmetic Chemists SCC

Society of Toxicologic Pathology STP

Tea Association of America TAA

Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry TAPPI

Technical Committee for Juice and Juice Products TCJJP

Therapeutic Goods Administration TGA

U.S. Green Building Counsel USGBC

Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society UHMS

Underwriters Laboratories UL

United Egg Producers UEP

United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association UFFVA

United States Adopted Names Council USANC

United States Animal Health Association USAHA

United States Egg and Poultry Association USEPA

United States Pharmacopoeia USP

Western Growers Association WGA

Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange WEDI
63

World Health Organization WHO

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 856

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) 

None 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 

None 

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 

Medicare fee-for-service has developed a Certification Test Package to be used to assess the 

Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) compliance with Business Rules implemented 

with the upgrade to the new versions of HIPAA standards, ASC X12 5010 and NCPDP D.0 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

Conformance activities are conducted under applicable regulations and guidance. Standards may 

become part of conformance activities as they may provide an acceptable approach to be in 

compliance with applicable laws and regulations. 

Related to this response, FDA would also like to note that the agency is pursuing ISO 17025 

accreditation for its laboratories, where appropriate. 

Indian Health Service (IHS) 

The IHS does not engage in conformity assessments activities. The IHS strives to use industrybased standards and commercial off-the-shelf products. The IHS partners with the Veterans 

Health Administration for many of the health information technology used in its facilities, 

thereby maintaining continuity of standards between the two agencies and collaboration of 

appropriate data. In addition, IHS is actively involved with working groups of the Federal Health 

Architecture and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology 

(ONC), stays abreast of developments in the HIT Standards and HIT Policy Committees, and 

participates in cross-Federal committees and working groups. 

National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) 

Not Applicable 

National Institutes of Health / National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM) 

Not Applicable 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 
64

There was no conformity assessment activities performed in 2011. 

Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) 

Certification of Health IT will provide assurance to purchasers and other users that an EHR 

system, or other relevant technology, offers the necessary technological capability, functionality, 

and security to help them meet the meaningful use criteria established for a given phase. 

Providers and patients must also be confident that the electronic health IT products and systems 

they use are secure, can maintain data confidentially, and can work with other systems to share 

information. Confidence in health IT systems is an important part of advancing health IT system 

adoption and allowing for the realization of the benefits of improved patient care. 

Eligible professionals and eligible hospitals who seek to qualify for incentive payments under the 

Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs are required by statute to use Certified EHR 

Technology. Once certified, Complete EHRs and EHR Modules would be able to be used by 

eligible professionals and eligible hospitals, or be combined, to meet the statutory requirement 

for Certified EHR Technology. FY 2011 conformance assessment activities include -

• ONC selected organizations as ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies (ATCBs). 

ONC-ATCBs are authorized to perform Complete EHR and/or EHR Module testing and 

certification. These ONC-ATCBs are required to test and certify EHRs to the applicable 

certification criteria adopted by the Secretary under subpart C of Part 170 Part II and Part III as 

stipulated in the Standards and Certification Criteria Final Rule. Certification by an ATCB will 

signify to eligible professionals, hospitals, and critical access hospitals that an EHR technology 

has the capabilities necessary to support their efforts to meet the goals and objectives of 

meaningful use. 

• In collaboration with ONC, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has 

developed the functional and conformance testing requirements, test cases, and test tools to 

support the proposed Health IT Certification Programs. These conformance test methods (test 

procedures, test data, and test tools) will help ensure compliance with the meaningful use 

technical requirements and standards. (http://xw2k.nist.gov/healthcare/use_testing/index.html)

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) 

None 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 

CDC finds that the convergence upon industry standards for electronic exchange of health 

information among and between health care and public health agencies is accelerating successful 

adoption of interoperable electronic health records and public health information systems. 

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 

No Response

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 
65

FDA policy is to develop and use voluntary consensus standards wherever possible in the 

management of products we regulate. FDA supports the letter and spirit of the NTTAA and the 

OMB Directive. 

Indian Health Service (IHS) 

The IHS has no comments or recommendations for changes. 

National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) 

NA 

National Institutes of Health / National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM) 

None 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 

The Circular is very informative. 

Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) 

ONC aims to use voluntary consensus standards wherever possible in promoting and supporting 

the adoption of HIT. For example, the Standards and Certification Final Rule contained two 

government unique standards for the reason that no applicable voluntary consensus standards 

were available. ONC supports the letter and spirit of the NTTAA and the OMB Directive.

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

None

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

Responses to questions 10.4 to 10.7 vary by agency within HHS and are given in more detail 

below: 

10.4 Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; 

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) 

(a)Yes – for patient safety common formats 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 

(c) Not applicable

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 

(b) No 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

(a) Yes 
66

Indian Health Service (IHS) 

(b) No 

National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) 

(a) Yes 

National Institutes of Health / National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM) 

(a) Yes; 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 

Yes, SAMHSA is guided by standards promulgated by ONC, CMS, OCIIC and OCR. For 

example, regulations developed by ONC affect data standard use within SAMHSA, and allows 

SAMHSA to provide guidance to constituents and stakeholders. With the passage of healthcare 

reform through the ARRA HITECH and ACA legislation, SAMHSA works closely with CMS to 

define the role SAMHSA will fulfill once CMS Medicaid begins paying for substance abuse and 

mental health services for our current clients. The meaningful use standards promulgated by 

ONC also influence how we will provide guidance to our constituents and stakeholders. 

Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) 

(a) Yes 

10.5 Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; 

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) 

(d) Neither 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 

(e) Not applicable 

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 

(d) Neither 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

(c) Both 

Indian Health Service (IHS) 

(d) Neither 

National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) 

(c) Both 

National Institutes of Health / National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM) 

(c) Both 
67

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 

(e) Not applicable 

Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) 

(C) Both 

10.6 Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; 

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) 

(a) yes - with new surveys 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 

(a) Yes 

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 

(a) Yes -- annual budget preparation 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

Approximately three times a year the agency reviews standards activities, including any 

standards as needed, within its FDA Standards Committee. 

Indian Health Service (IHS) 

(a) Yes 

National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) 

(a) Yes 

National Institutes of Health / National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM) 

(b) No; 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 

(a) Yes 

Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) 

(a) Yes 

10.7 

How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter the 

number of years]: 

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) 

With Every Survey 
68

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 

2 

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 

Annually (1). 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

Approximately three times a year the agency reviews standards activities, including any 

standards as needed, within its FDA Standards Committee. 

Indian Health Service (IHS) 

For technology standards, the IHS reviews during the requirements phase of software 

development when significant work is performed on software applications. The IHS also reviews 

standards as new government regulations affect the Agency. 

National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) 

Review is conducted continually as new standards are developed, with at least yearly review. 

National Institutes of Health / National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM) 

0 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 

1 Annually 

Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) 

1

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; Yes

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; C

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; Yes

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 1
69

Title: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

The Department of Homeland Security’s overriding and urgent mission is to lead the unified 

national effort to secure the country and preserve our freedoms. While the Department was 

created to secure our country against those who seek to disrupt the American way of life, our 

charter also includes preparation and response to all hazards and disasters. The citizens of the 

United States must have the utmost confidence that the Department can execute both of these 

missions.

Homeland Security leverages resources within federal, state, and local governments, 

coordinating the transition of multiple agencies and programs into a single, integrated agency 

focused on protecting the American people and their homeland. More than 87,000 different 

governmental jurisdictions at the federal, state, and local level have homeland security 

responsibilities. The comprehensive national strategy seeks to develop a complementary system 

connecting all levels of government without duplicating effort. Homeland Security is truly a 

“national mission;” therefore, national standards developed by consensus through public and 

private cooperation are vital to achieving the mission of department. 

The department executes it mission through 16 major components and many more 

subcomponents, offices, divisions, and programs. The following is a description of the 

importance of standards in the achievement of DHS’s mission by Component. It also includes a 

description of how DHS uses standards to deliver its many services in support of its mission to 

secure the country and preserve our freedoms. 

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 

FEMA prepares the nation for hazards, manages Federal response and recovery efforts following 

any national incident, and administers the National Flood Insurance Program. It utilizes 

standards in two basic areas: mitigation and national preparedness. 

National Integration Center 

The Standards and Technology Branch of FEMA’S National Integration Center provides a 

standards and technology management system that integrates and leverages the capability needs 

of the whole community. FEMA has two Private Sector Preparedness programs that are 

voluntary consensus standards based (i.e. the Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and 

Certification program (PS-PrepTM) and Ready.gov/Business). PS-PrepTM promotes and 

recognizes conformance to three preparedness standards (i.e. NFPA 1600, ASIS SPC-1, and BSI 

BS 25999-2) that address business continuity, organizational resilience, emergency, and disaster 

management. These standards provide guidelines with which organizations can structure their 

thinking and behavior around setting and achieving clear goals, based on their own unique 
70

operating environments and appetites for risk. Ready.gov/Business is a business preparedness 

guidance program designed utilizing NFPA 1600 to assist businesses in developing a 

preparedness program by providing tools to create a plan that addresses the impact of many 

hazards. 

In addition to private sector preparedness, FEMA’s has integrated numerous VSC’s to provide 

the necessary framework for our Core Capabilities within the Nation Preparedness Goal. The 

Core Capabilities describe the capabilities related to the five homeland security mission areas: 

Prevent, Protect, Mitigate, Respond, and Recover. It defines and provides the basis for assessing 

preparedness. It also establishes national guidance for preparing the Nation for major all-hazards 

events, such as those defined by the National Planning Scenarios. The current version of the 

Core Capabilities contains 37 core capabilities. Also, the Core Capabilities are embedded in the 

Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP), where the integrated VSC’s assist in 

providing the performance requirements for evaluating an entities response to a major event at 

the task level and may assist an entity in building and maintaining the capabilities necessary to 

perform those tasks in case of a real emergency. 

Grant Program Division (GDP) 

Grant Program Division (GPD) issues annual grant program guidance for multiple programs

totaling almost $2 billion in federal assistance for national preparedness. GPD grant program 

guidance generally requires that, unless otherwise stated, equipment must meet all mandatory, 

regulatory, and/or DHS-adopted standards to be eligible for purchase using these funds. GPD 

coordinates with the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to incorporate standards 

reference information to assist grantees where appropriate. The 21 allowable prevention, 

protection, response, and recovery equipment categories and equipment standards are listed on 

the web-based version of the Authorized Equipment List (AEL) on the Responder Knowledge 

Base (RKB), at https://www.rkb.us. 

Beneficial outcomes that have resulted include the strengthening of the nation's ability to prepare 

for and respond safely and effectively to emergencies, disasters, and CBRNE incidents; emphasis 

on interoperability, compatibility, and standardization; improved security and safety; innovation 

and application of better technology. 

United States Fire Academy (USFA) 

The National Fire Incident Reporting (NFIRS) reporting format is based on the National Fire 

Protection Association Standard 901 "Uniform Coding for Fire Protection”. 

Within the NFIRS States, participating local fire departments fill out the Incident and Casualty 

reports as fires occur. They forward the completed incidents via paper forms or computer media 

to their state office where the data is validated and consolidated into a single computerized 

database. Feedback reports are generated and forwarded to the participating fire departments. 

Periodically, aggregated statewide data is sent to the National Fire Data Center at the USFA to 

be included in the National Database. This database is used to answer questions about the nature 

and causes of injuries, deaths, and property loss resulting from fires. The information is 

disseminated through a variety of means to States and other organizations. 

The NFIRS is a model of successful Federal, State, and local partnership. The database 
71

constitutes the world's largest national annual collection of incident information. One reason for 

the success of the program due to the use of standards that provide uniform definitions that are 

used across the country to define the fire problem 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 

ICE is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, and is responsible 

for identifying and shutting down vulnerabilities in the nation’s border, economic, transportation 

and infrastructure security

National Firearms and Tactical Training Unit (NFTTU) 

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, National Firearms and Tactical Training Unit 

(NFTTU) Ballistics Laboratory (BALLAB) uses a combination of government, private industry, 

and internal standards in its firearm and ammunition testing. The standards used are the most 

relevant for testing the law enforcement equipment used by ICE. 

NFTTU’s most successful use of a VCS is the use of ANSI/SAAMI standards. These standards, 

used by the arms and ammunition industry, provide a common base that many of ICE’s vendors 

are familiar with and have helped standardize test procedures throughout the industry. 

NFTTU also successfully uses VCS in BALLAB’s ISO 9001.2008 certification. NFTTU’s 

Ballistic Laboratory Management System was created under the ISO model, it is the basis for 

NFTTU’s internal standards and all work performed by the BALLAB. Complying with the ISO 

standard has greatly improved the consistency and quality of the BALLAB. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 

CBP is responsible for protecting our nation’s borders in order to prevent terrorists and terrorist 

weapons from entering the United States, while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and 

travel. 

Office of Training and Development (OTD) 

Among the offices dedicated to standards use and activities, the Office of Training and 

Development (OTD), ensures that training delivered to CBP employees meets established quality 

standards of instruction and evaluation. Training standards apply to all accredited training 

programs, including e-learning components, and meet Federal Law Enforcement Training 

Accreditation (FLETA) Standards. The standards also adhere to Federal training mandates such 

as Shared Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) requirements and Section 508 of the 

Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding accessibility to electronic media. 

OTD standards address specific components required for all training developed for CBP and 

CBP contract personnel. The standards apply to all CBP national training programs and are to be 

used in concert with CBP training style guides as complete direction for the development of all 

CBP training. 

The objective of the standards is to ensure that training is developed, conducted, and evaluated 

using a systematic approach that provides continuous self-evaluation and improvement based on 

analysis, design, development, implementation, evaluation, and revision processes. 

http://cbpnet.cbp.dhs.gov/xp/cbpnet/otd/tpsd/. 
72

To ensure that the agency’s mission and core values are being accomplished, CBP has taken a 

dedicated approach to the training of CBP staff with programs that are designed, delivered and 

evaluated with dynamic systems and with high principles. The CBP Office of Training and 

Development (OTD) leads the agency’s accreditation and certification efforts to adhere to these 

systems and standards for the development, delivery and evaluation of CBP’s training programs. 

OTD adheres to a set of standards and processes that strive for effectiveness, efficiency and 

accountability. 

In order to stay in compliance we voluntarily adhere to the: 

• Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation (FLETA) Standards (www.fleta.gov) that 

ensure best practices and good governance for federal law enforcement training programs,; 

• The International Association of Continuing Education and Training and American National 

Institute Standards (www.iacet.org) that ensure that the agency’s training programs apply adult 

learning principles and methodologies; and 

• The Distance Education and Training Council (www.detc.org) standards to ensure that our 

online training programs adhere to technology and online learning industry standards. 

Our Standards and Accreditation team members provide management, monitoring and oversight 

of the OTD accreditation and certification efforts. The standards also adhere to Federal training 

mandates such as Shared Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) requirements and Section 

508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding accessibility to electronic media. 

We also voluntary adhere to the Laboratories and Scientific Services ISO/IEC 17025 standards 

(http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/fact_sheets/lab_services.xml. These standards are used 

by CBP to ensure that our more than 200 scientists, chemists, biologists, textile analysts, 

physicists, forensic scientists, engineers and procurement specialists that work in CBP 

laboratories conduct general chemical and forensic analysis in support of CBP’s trade and antiterrorism missions. They conduct laboratory analysis to determine the proper classification and 

appraisal of a commodity or product, if a product meets safety requirements, and whether a 

product is counterfeit. 

Laboratories and Scientific Services’ (ISO/IEC 17025 standard accreditation) scientific analyses 

and contributions to HSC classification and other enforcement of various trade commodities 

involving standardized scientific methodologies developed in conjunction with agencies such as 

Food & Drug Administration, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, Center of Disease 

Control – Laboratory Response Network, Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

The use of standards in the procurement efforts being undertaken at the Interdiction Technology 

Branch (ITB) of Laboratories and Scientific Services CBP - OIT is essential to ensure that the 

technical performance of the non-intrusive inspection (NII) and radiation detection (RD) systems 

meets CBP requirements. This is expected to result in improved security at the land border 

crossings and seaports and reduction in the cost over the lifetime cycle of the systems. The use of 

the standards is also essential to ensure electrical, mechanical and radiation safety of these 

systems. 

These standards are listed in the statement of work/performance specification section of the 
73

contract as applicable documents. A list of those standards is given below: 

• ANSI/IEEE N42.46-2008, American National Standard for the Determination of Imaging 

Performance of X-Ray and Gamma-ray systems for Cargo and Vehicle Screening. 

• ANSI/HPS N43.3-2008, American National Standard for General Radiation Safety –

Installations Using Non-Medical X-Ray and sealed Gamma-Ray Sources, Energies up to 10 

MeV. 

• ANSI/IEEE N42.35-2004, American National Standard – Evaluation and Performance of 

Radiation Portal Monitors for Homeland Security. 

• ANSI/IEEE N42.42-2006, American National Standard – Data Format Standard for Radiation 

Detectors Used for Homeland Security. 

• ANSI/IEEE N42.38-2008, American National Standard – Performance Criteria for 

Spectroscopy-Based Portal Monitors for Homeland Security. 

• ANSI/IEEE N42.41-2007, American National Standard - Minimum Performance Criteria and 

evaluation of Active Interrogation Systems for Homeland Security. 

• ANSI/HPS N43.14-2011, American National Standard – Radiation Safety for Active 

Interrogation Systems Used in Security Screening of Cargo. 

• American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) – Performance Standards for CBRNE 

Sensors. 

• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Standards. 

• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 79 – Electrical Standards for Industrial 

Machinery. 

• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70 – National Electrical Code: Recommended 

Practices for Electrical Equipment Maintenance 

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) 

The mission of Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’) Federal Law Enforcement Training 

Center (FLETC) is to, “... train those who protect our homeland.” The FLETC leverages 

partnerships, technology, methodology, capacity and realistic venues to develop and deliver 

effective mission critical training. In order to facilitate this endeavor, FLETC has developed and 

conducts all of the law enforcement training programs and subsequent courses of instruction 

following the processes outlined in various FLETC directives, policies, and procedures. These 

directives, policies, and procedures all support the professional training standards that are 

required by the Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation (FLETA). 

Beginning in 2000, in an effort to increase the professionalism of Federal law enforcement 

training, a task force of key training leaders from principal Federal and state law enforcement 

agencies began work to collaboratively conduct research to establish a premier training 

accreditation model. In the development of the model, Federal law enforcement training 

professionals established standards and procedures to evaluate the training academies and 

training programs used to train Federal law enforcement agents and officers. The intent was to 

develop an independent accreditation process that provides law enforcement agencies with an 

opportunity to voluntarily demonstrate that they meet and maintain compliance with an 

established set of professional standards and receive appropriate recognition. This independent 

accreditation process has been developed by the Office of Accreditation (OA), the working arm 

of the FLETA Board. Once developed, the process was approved by the FLETA Board, then 

administered and overseen by the OA. 
74

The re-accreditation of the FLETC academy and the various law enforcement training programs 

provides assurance to the agencies and citizens we serve, that the FLETC has voluntarily 

submitted to a process of self-regulation and has successfully achieved compliance with a set of 

professional voluntary training standards that have been collectively established by our peers 

within the law enforcement training community. Additionally, professional standards that have 

been developed and implemented by other governmental agencies are also taught at one of the 

FLETC training facilities or as an exported program. These agencies include but are not limited 

to the FEMA, DNDO, USCG, TSA, OHA, NPPD, S&T, and EPA. 

To date, FLETC has been awarded the FLETA Board’s Academy Accreditation and ReAccreditation for the Glynco, Artesia, Charleston, and Cheltenham training sites. The FLETC 

has also been awarded Program accreditation for twelve law enforcement training programs, 

which have all been re-accredited. The Academy’s second re-accreditation assessment will be 

conducted in January 2012. The FLETC programs include four Center Basic Programs: the 

Criminal Investigator Training Program, the Land Management Police Training Program, the 

Uniformed Police Training Program and the recently approved Infrastructure Police Officer 

Training Program. FLETC programs also include nine Center Advanced Training Programs: the 

Boat Operator Anti-Terrorism Training Program, the Law Enforcement Driver Instructor 

Training Program, the Firearms Instructor Training Program, the Inland Boat Operators Training 

Program, the Law Enforcement Instructor Training Program, the Law Enforcement Instructor InService Training Program, the Law Enforcement Control Tactics Instructor Training Program, 

the Marine Law Enforcement Training Program, and the Physical Fitness Coordinator Instructor 

Training Program. 

These accomplishments demonstrate FLETC’s continuous adherence to quality, effectiveness 

and integrity in meeting our organizational mission and in providing excellent education and 

training to our students. For further information regarding FLETA, refer to www.fleta.gov. 

Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) 

DNDO works to enhance the nuclear detection efforts of federal, state, territorial, tribal, local 

governments, and the private sector, to ensure a coordinated response to such threats. 

The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) continues to use consensus standards as the 

basis for specific performance specifications used in DNDO test and development programs. The 

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) N42 series standards are referenced in the ongoing Graduated Radiation Detector and Evaluation Reporting (GRaDERSM) program and in 

the Illicit Trafficking Radiation Assessment Program (ITRAP) +10 test campaign. 

GRaDERSM results will augment the FEMA grant program by identifying equipment that has 

met selected parts of existing voluntary consensus standards (VCS), and ITRAP+10 is using 

voluntary consensus standards as the basis for test procedures for nine classes of detection 

equipment. Other efforts include the Human Portable Radiation Detection Systems (HPRDS) 

projects, resulting in improved handheld detection systems, and the Advanced Spectroscopic 

Portal program. 

The DNDO Chief Information Officer (CIO) is committed to the use of VCS whenever 

practicable and continues to support the development and coordination of the National Institute 
75

of Standards and Technology (NIST) revision of ANSI N42.42-2006, American National 

Standard Data Format Standard for Radiation Detectors Used for Homeland Security with 

subject matter experts. The ongoing work of the ANSI N42.42 Committee has been to simplify 

and standardize the data being passed in compliant exchanges. 

DNDO is also the designated steward for DHS for the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and 

Nuclear (CBRN) Domain of the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM), a consensus 

standards-based data exchange architecture that provides the information sharing backbone for 

the Global Nuclear Detection Architecture. DNDO has developed the necessary NIEM 

Information Exchange Packet Documents (IEPDs) that incorporate standards for data content 

and message structure. These include a number of the Organization for the Advancement of 

Structured Information Standards Emergency Data Exchange Language (OASIS EDXL) family 

of standards. 

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) 

The USCG protects the public, the environment, and U.S. economic interests—in the nation’s 

ports and waterways, along the coast, on international waters, or in any maritime region as 

required to support national security. 

The U.S. Coast Guard remains committed to developing and adopting nationally and 

internationally recognized standards as a means to improve maritime safety and marine 

environmental protection, and to promote an internationally competitive U.S. maritime industry. 

One of the goals of our Standards program is to develop a comprehensive set of nationally 

recognized, internationally compatible standards through active participation in national 

standards organizations. While the adoption of voluntary consensus standards enables the Coast 

Guard to fulfill its regulatory functions more efficiently, this capability would be useless without 

the existence of meaningful standards. Recognizing this reality early on, the Coast Guard 

aggressively pursued membership on a full range of standards-organizations. We support over 25 

government and non-government organizations and actively participate on over 100 standardscommittees. This active participation enables us to raise genuine issues of public safety, national 

security, and preservation of the marine environment. Additionally, where our stakeholders have 

not established suitable safety requirements, we catalyze their development. Visit our Director of 

Commercial Regulations & Standards website at http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg52/ for further 

information. 

National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) 

NPPD works to advance the Department's risk-reduction mission. Reducing risk requires an 

integrated approach that encompasses both physical and virtual threats and their associated 

human elements. 

US-VISIT 

US-VISIT is engaged in data sharing at the departmental, federal, state and local, and 

international government levels. Data sharing, strategic planning, and enterprise data 

management and architecture rely on the use of standards, which are necessary to achieve full 

data interchange and interoperability in an open-systems environment. US-VISIT actively 

participates in the development of biometric standards for the following reasons and benefits: 
76

• Establishing and maintaining clear guidelines for the use of biometrics while respecting social, 

legal, and privacy concerns, which may differ between government and commercial systems. 

• Guiding the development and maintenance of data interchange formats and technical interfaces 

to mitigate the ongoing development and use of stand-alone commercial proprietary solutions. 

• Driving vendor development of compatible data-capture and exchange systems that employ 

standards and best practices for data interchange formats and technical interfaces. 

• Encouraging vendors to produce hardware, software, and systems that compete on performance 

and best value by encouraging standards-based approaches in favor of proprietary solutions. 

• Eliminating the need to repeat the testing of a given component for applications with identical 

requirements, e.g., the Qualified Product Lists. 

• Verifying vendor claims that products conform to standards. 

In conjunction with the Science and Technology Directorate's Office of Test, Evaluation and 

Standards, US-VISIT co-chairs the DHS Biometric Standards Working Group (BSWG). The 

BSWG provides a forum for communication and information exchange across DHS components

and between Federal agencies on biometric standards activities. The focus of the BSWG is to 

adopt biometric standards that meet the criteria for adoption as DHS national standards. The 

BSWG ensures that biometric standards are reviewed, approved, and disseminated within DHS 

for application during biometric systems development. Members of the BSWG champion 

biometric standards development at the national and international levels; advocate DHS interests 

and requirements through active participation in national and international standards bodies; and 

build consensus on standards development, evaluation, and implementation issues. 

US-VISIT provides technical assistance to foreign countries seeking to establish biometric 

identity-screening capabilities. This assistance includes guidance on the use of biometric 

standards to support interoperability and to facilitate information sharing. 

Office of Infrastructure Protection 

The Office of Infrastructure Protection (NPPD/IP) is responsible for protecting and enhancing 

the resilience of the Nation’s critical infrastructure. Among the programs within NPPD/IP, 

several rely on standards. 

Interagency Security Committee 

The Interagency Security Committee was created by Executive Order 12977 to enhance the 

quality and effectiveness of security in and protection of buildings and facilities in the United 

States occupied by Federal employees for nonmilitary activities (“Federal facilities”), and to 

provide a permanent body to address continuing government-wide security for Federal facilities. 

The ISC’s duties and responsibilities include: (1) establish policies for security in and protection 

of Federal facilities; (2) develop and evaluate security standards for Federal facilities, develop a 

strategy for ensuring compliance with such standards, and oversee the implementation of 

appropriate security measures in Federal facilities; and (3) take such actions as may be necessary 

to enhance the quality and effectiveness of security and protection of Federal facilities. The ISC 

standards apply to all civilian federal facilities in the United States—whether governmentowned, leased or managed; to be constructed or modernized; or to be purchased. Chief security 

officers and other senior executives from 50 federal agencies and departments make up the ISC 

membership. The ISC also engages with industry and other government stakeholders to advance 
77

best practices. http://www.dhs.gov/files/committees/gc_1194539370126.shtm 

Infrastructure Information Collection Division 

The Infrastructure Information Collection Division of the NPPD Office of Infrastructure 

Protection (NPPD/IP) is currently working to establish a formalized standards management 

program within the Data Management and Enterprise Architecture activities. The NPPD/IP 

implements DHS Enterprise Architecture and the Enterprise Data Management Office guidelines 

for adoption of existing VCS standards or development and implementation of IP standards 

based on VCS. An example of successful implementation of a VCS, NPPD/IP has implemented

the Geographic Markup Language (GML) to visualize location information and as a mechanism 

for location information sharing. Implementation of GML allows NPPD/IP to use enterprise 

available tools provided by the Geospatial Management Office. 

Partnership and Outreach Division 

Finally, the Partnership and Outreach Division works with the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency to implement the Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program 

(PS-Prep) in the private sector business community. This program is focused on the critical 

infrastructure sectors as defined in HSPD-7 and the National Infrastructure Protection Plan. The 

standards developed by the National Fire Protection Association, the British Standards Institution 

and ASIS International—were published for public comment in the Federal Register in Oct. 

2009. The adoption of the final standards was published in a Federal Register Notice following a 

series of regional public meetings and the incorporation of public comments. 

Office of Risk Management & Analysis (RMA) 

The Office of Risk Management & Analysis (RMA) works to ensure that risk information and 

analysis are provided to inform a full range of homeland security decisions, including strategy 

formulation, preparedness priorities, and resource allocations. RMA actively monitors VCS 

related to risk management and risk analysis. Where possible, RMA seeks to generate risk 

management policies and provide risk analyses that are informed by key standards put forth by 

VCSBs on applicable topics (e.g. ISO 31000:2009 - Risk Management - Principles and 

Guidelines). 

Office of Cybersecurity and Communications (CS&C) 

Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) 

The mission of the Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) is to support and promote the 

ability of emergency responders and government officials to continue to communicate in the 

event of natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other man-made disasters, and work to ensure, 

accelerate, and attain interoperable and operable emergency communications nationwide. 

OEC relies on the 3GPP LTE standards process for wireless broadband technology that will be 

used in the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN). Although OEC does not 

directly participate in these voluntary consensus standards bodies, OEC works with National 

Communication System (NCS) and through Department of Commerce's Public Safety 

Communications Research Program. 

OEC participates and supports the Project 25 Standards through the Telecommunications 

Industry Association (TIA) representing the public safety user requirements for digital public 

safety land mobile radio systems. OEC is voting member of TIA and directly participates in the 
78

development of the standards. 

Through TIA, a recognized SDO, the standards and specifications for several interfaces and 

features have been published within the P25 Suite of Standards and Specifications for mission 

critical voice and limited data capabilities in land mobile radio systems supporting the public 

safety community. DHS OEC does not directly use any of the standards published under the 

Project 25 moniker. However, OEC does include the P25 standards as part of the SAFECOM 

Grant Guidance and the National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP). Both documents 

are created within OEC programs. 

The Project 25 standards are used heavily in the public safety community at all levels of 

government. The standards have enhanced interoperability between agencies, increased spectral 

efficiency, provided a migration path for newer systems, allowed backwards compatibility to 

legacy equipment, and lastly, have allowed multiple manufacturers to compete in the land mobile 

radio environment, thus improving innovation and reducing overall cost of ownership. 

National Communication System (NCS) 

The NCS National Security Emergency Preparedness (NS/EP) telecommunication standards 

mission in accordance with the national and international standards development provisions of 

Presidential Executive Order 12472 where evolving standards of industry are used as the basis 

for NS/EP telecommunications standards developments to benefit the NCS community of users. 

Contemporary standards developed for the benefit of National Security Emergency Preparedness 

telecommunications provide the NCS with novel techniques to enable preferential treatment for 

the NCS community of telecommunications users in times of national emergency or crises. 

Secondly, these same standards provide credible references to cite during development of 

government Request-For-Proposals (RFPs) for future service offerings by the telecommunication 

industry. 

The NCS successfully achieved approval and publication of a new (updated) ITU-T 

Recommendation, Y.2205 in FY 2011. This new Recommendation enables: (1) the credible 

citing of Y.2205 in government Request-For-Proposals for cost effective competitive emergency 

telecommunication service offerings, and (2) useful valid information on contemporary 

considerations and techniques for emergency telecommunications over public networks. 

National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) 

Critical Infrastructure Protection-Cyber security (CIP-CS) 

CIP-CS is responsible for leading the national effort to protect the cyber elements of United 

States critical infrastructure (CI) sectors by promoting and developing cybersecurity 

management strategies through partnerships with public and private sector entities. 

CIP-CS uses a variety of standards to guide decisions made for the mitigation of risks identified 

within the IT Sector and cross sector communities. CIP-CS collaborates with private and public 

sector partners to leverage and communicate cybersecurity and risk management principals and 

concepts in sector-wide IT and cyber risk management activities. 

The IT Sector Risk Management Strategies for Domain Name System , Products and Services, 

Incident Management, and Internet Routing , released earlier this year, and the IT Sector Risk 

Assessments for Identity Management and the IT Sector Dependencies Analysis (both pending 
79

release) by the IT Sector Coordinating Council and IT Government Coordinating (IT GCC), 

references the use and importance of standards in public and private sector producers and 

providers of IT hardware, software, and services. CIP-CS executes the Sector-Specific Agency 

responsibility for DHS, and manages the day-to-day operations of the IT GCC. 

Control Systems Security Program (CSSP) 

CSSP is responsible for reducing industrial control system risks within and across all critical 

infrastructure and key resource sectors by coordinating efforts among federal, state, local, and 

tribal governments, as well as industrial control systems owners, operators and vendors. The 

CSSP coordinates activities to reduce the likelihood of success and severity of impact of a cyber 

attack against critical infrastructure control systems through risk- mitigation activities. 

CSSP uses standards in three ways to achieve its mission. First, the CSSP uses, promotes, and 

captures the requirements of multiple federal, commercial and international standards in its 

Cyber Security Evaluation Tool (CSET) which thousands of asset owners use to evaluate 

cybersecurity. Tool users evaluate cybersecurity posture against these standards based upon 

answers to a series of comprehensive standard-specific questions. CSSP assessment teams also 

use this tool to train and help improve an asset owner’s control system and cyber security 

posture. Second, the program maintains a document titled “Catalog of Control Systems Security: 

Recommendations for Standards Developers” which brings together the most pertinent elements 

from the most comprehensive and current standards related to control systems. This document is 

a “superset” of control systems cyber security requirements and is available in the CSET and on 

the website for standards developers and asset owners, cross-referencing 15 published standards. 

Third, the CSSP provides resources, including time and expertise, to standards development 

organizations including NIST, SGIP, IEC, ISA, IEEE, and APTA. Experts provide content, 

participate in topic discussions, and review text being considered by the standard body. 

Additionally, CSSP work completed to compare various existing standards also provided input 

into the original framework for advanced metering infrastructure cyber security controls in 

Appendix A, “Crosswalk of Cyber Security Documents” in the NISTIR 7628 publication 

“Guidelines for Smart Grid Cyber Security: Vol. 1, Smart Grid Cyber Security Strategy, 

Architecture, and High-Level Requirements.” 

During FY2011 CSSP performed over 75 on-site assessments using the CSET tool where 

industry standards were directly used to evaluate the security posture of control systems. In 

addition, over 600 CSET CDs were provided to organizations for self assessments and a total of 

1640 downloads of the CSET tools were recorded in FY11. 

CSSP has also been supporting the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) for 

several years, culminating in APTA’s publication of “Securing Control and Communications 

Systems in Transit Environments – Part 1: Elements, Organization and Risk 

Assessment/Management”, APTA RP-CCS-1-RT-001-10, July 30, 2010. The more technical 

part 2 effort has just started. The DHS publication “Catalog of Control System Security: 

Recommendations for Standards Developers”, was heavily used in guiding the published Part 1 

and the developing Part 2 recommended practice. 

Federal Network Security 
80

Requirements and Acquisition Support (RAS) collaborates across the Federal enterprise to 

address common security challenges, identify best practices, deploy standardized security tools 

and services, and evaluate existing capabilities. The program also supports expanded egovernment through the Information Systems Security Line of Business (ISS LoB). 

The RAS program uses Secure Content Automation Protocol (SCAP) Standards and various 

Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS), and NIST Special Pubs as requirements for 

many of the tools and services DHS seeks through acquisitions in support of our ISS LoB 

initiatives. 

Soliciting for tools and services under the SAIR Tier II and Risk Management Framework 

Acquisitions: RAS/ISSLoB used SCAP and FIPS as requirements. The Continuous Monitoring 

Working Group in conjunction with NIST, NSA and DHS is working to mature and improve the 

use of SCAP in the vendor community and throughout the federal government. 

National Security Deployment (NSD) 

Block 2.2 of NSD National Cybersecurity & Protection System (NCPS) will provide 

cybersecurity information sharing capabilities that facilitate information exchanges among USCERT and its customers/stakeholders from the federal, state, local and private sectors. 

NCPS will use standards to facilitate the exchange of information related to cyber incidents, 

cyber indicators and warnings, malware, phishing, computing platform vulnerabilities and 

configurations, etc. Use of these standards is imperative to the timely exchange of information 

necessary to protect federal networks. 

During FY-11, NSD worked with the NPPD CIO as the National Information Exchange Model 

(NIEM) Cyber Domain Steward. In this, NSD has developed a charter, PO&AM document, 

scope, and a draft CybIR Exchange for Cyber Incident Report. This exchange is using the RFC 

5070 and extending it with elements that are required for information sharing of Incident 

information. A pilot application will be developed by March 2012. 

US-Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) 

US-CERT's mission is to lead efforts to improve the nation's cybersecurity posture, coordinate 

cyber information sharing, and proactively manage cyber risks to the nation while protecting the 

Constitutional rights of Americans. 

US-CERT seeks to employ standards for information sharing during cyber security incident 

detection, response management and coordination, including support to incident or impact 

mitigation. US-CERT’s acquisition process also uses standards to define functional requirements 

for new systems and capabilities. Capability needs or gaps are identified by comparing USCERT's operations with existing standards. 

US-CERT engages in the development, integration and outreach of standards for automation and 

knowledge exchange in cybersecurity to support its strategic goals and enable global, crosssector mission success. Without standardized means of knowledge exchange and automated 

incident identification, communication and response and mitigation, US-CERT and DHS cannot 

expect to sustain success at the scale and speed that modern network defense demands. 

IETF RFC 5070 (IODEF) has been successfully used by US-CERT as a distribution format for 
81

our weekly IP watchlist. OpenPGP (RFC 4880) continues to be a critical standard for 

interoperable secure communications between US-CERT and public and private, domestic and 

international partners. 

Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP, defined in multiple RFCs 6120, 6121,

6122) continues to provide US-CERT with globally interoperable instant messaging capability 

that we can share with partners throughout the cybersecurity community of practice. 

Global Cybersecurity Management 

Research and Standards Integration (RSI) 

RSI's mission is to promote the future state of cybersecurity through the integration of research 

technologies into CS&C operations and advancement of standards. For standards, the mission is 

to promote the advancement of cybersecurity standards and promote the adoption of relevant 

standards into CS&C's operational systems and programs. 

RSI contributes to standards that are important to CS&C's operational mission, such as standards 

for incident handling and incident information exchange or supply chain risk management. RSI 

does so by participating at the national and international levels in standards bodies such as ITU-T 

Study Group 17 Question 4 (Cybersecurity) and Question 10 (Identity and Access Management) 

and INCITS CS1, which represents US interests at ISO/IEC JTC 1 SC 27, which develops a wide 

range of standards on information security techniques. In addition, RSI chairs the CS&C 

Standards Committee, and through this committee, RSI promotes coordination of CS&C 

programs' standards activities, to improve coverage of standards development activities that are 

important to CS&C. 

Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) 

SCRM promotes the resiliency of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) nonnational security systems supply chain by expanding awareness of supply chain risks for the 

acquisition community, developing tools to mitigate risk, developing new acquisition policies 

and practices for global market place, engaging partnership with industry to develop standards 

and practices, warning stakeholders of supply chain threats and incidents, developing a Supply 

Chain Risk Modeling Framework, and developing a Programmatic Framework for continued and 

enhanced program capabilities. 

SCRM uses various standards to determine the current set of best practices with regard to the 

ICT supply chain and to promote the adoption of these practices by government agencies, their 

suppliers and ICT integrators. 

Software Assurance Program 

The Software Assurance (SwA) Program promotes software security and resilience via enhanced 

processes, automation and diagnostics; enables public-private collaboration focused on reducing 

exploitable software weaknesses and addressing means to improve capabilities that routinely 

develop, acquire, and deploy resilient software products. 

The goals of the SWA Program will be achieved by raising the level of practice across industry, 

so that software and systems are more secure and resilient against attack. Improved standards in 

development and acquisition practices and security automation are an important ingredient in 

enabling all stakeholders to raising the overall level of security for their part of cyberspace. To 
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that end, NCSD works with ISO/IEC JTC 1, IEEE, OMG, The Open Group, ITU-T and others to 

promote the achievement of improved standards. 

The SwA Program sponsored the Software Assurance Curriculum at the Software Engineering 

Institute (SEI). Both the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer 

Society and Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Education Board have recognized the 

MSwA Reference Curriculum as appropriate for a Masters Program in Software Assurance .This 

project produced a four- volume curriculum and an accompanying report and signifies that 

software assurance is emerging as an important academic discipline for the development, 

acquisition, and operation of software systems and services that provide requisite levels of 

dependability and security. 

The SwA Program has a prominent role in ISO/IEC 15026 “Systems and Software Assurance” in 

achieving approval in technical balloting in May 2011. The IEEE has published its adoption of 

ISO/IEC 15026-2, Systems and Software Assurance Case. This means that IEEE and ISO/IEC 

now share a single, identical standard for the expression of assurance cases documenting the 

achievement of critical properties, such as security. IEEE plans to adopt the other standards in 

the ISO/IEC 15026 series as they are completed. 

SwA program provides a prominent role in the publication of ISO/IEC Technical Report (TR) 

24772 Information technology -- Programming languages -- Guidance to avoiding vulnerabilities 

in programming languages through language selection and use. 

Emergent work under International Telecommunication Union - Telecommunications 

Standardization Sector (ITU-T) ITU-T (“CYBEX”) is linked to SwA through DHS SwA 

Program sponsorship of software security automation and measurement enumerations and 

languages. The recommended an overall concept document entitled CYBEX - The Cybersecurity 

Information Exchange Framework (X.1500) that references and advocates the use of SwAsponsored software security enumerations and languages (CVE, CAPEC, CWE, MAEC, OVAL, 

CybOX and CWSS), as well as others co-sponsored by NSA and NIST (CEE, CPE, CCE, CVSS, 

XCCDF, ARF, and IODEF). A second document entitled ITU-T X.1520, Common 

Vulnerabilities and Exposures focuses on the correct and proper use of CVE Identifiers, while 

the third entitled ITU-T X.1521, Common Vulnerability Scoring System focuses on the correct 

and proper use of CVSS. The SwA Program sponsors Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and 

Classification (CAPEC), Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE), Common Weakness Scoring 

System (CWSS), Malware Attribute Enumeration and Characterization (MAEC), Cyber 

Observables (CybOX), Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE), and Open Vulnerability 

and Assessment Language (OVAL) to promote standardization and automation to remediate 

software vulnerabilities and weaknesses. 

The SwA Program participates in the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to International 

Organization for Standardization (ISO) International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Joint 

Technical Committee (JTC 1) Subcommittee (SC) 7 “Systems and Software Engineering” for 

software and systems engineering, including several of critical interest for software and systems 

assurance. SwA Program has a prominent role in ISO/IEC 15026, “Systems and Software 

Assurance” in achieving approval in technical balloting in May 2011. The SwA Program 
83

sponsored work on ISO/IEC 24728-1 provides guidance in applying life cycle processes to 

organizations and their projects. The Program also sponsored work on ISO/IEC 24748-1, “Life 

Cycle Management” was also approved in its initial IEEE ballot and was submitted for final 

administrative processing. ISO/IEC 16326, Systems and software project management will be 

published by the IEEE. 

Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) 

S&T is the primary research and development arm of the Department. It provides federal, state 

and local officials with the technology and capabilities to protect the homeland. S&T support the 

development of VCS for use by Department’s many components, subcomponents, offices, 

divisions, and programs. Within S&T there are two Offices that invest and participate in 

development of VCS, which are ultimately used by DHS to achieve its mission 

Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) 

The First Responders Group’s Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) focuses on the 

research, development, testing, and evaluation necessary to improve emergency communications 

capabilities for day-to-day operations and major incidents. Standards, specifications, and 

requirements represent critical components in ensuring that the technology can interoperate and 

meets the needs of users. OIC improves emergency communications by supporting the 

development of these public safety standards, specifications, and requirements. OIC actively 

works with standards bodies to promote the acceleration of standards and ultimately ensure 

public safety requirements are met. 

OIC’s Emergency Data Exchange Language (EDXL) Messaging Standards effort accelerates the 

creation of data messaging standards. OIC is partnering with emergency responders, Federal 

agencies including FEMA, and standards development organizations, such as the Organization 

for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS). The EDXL initiative is a 

practitioner-driven, public-private partnership to create information sharing capabilities between 

disparate emergency response software applications, systems, and devices. The resulting 

Extensible Markup Language (XML) standards assist the emergency response community in 

sharing data seamlessly and securely while responding to an incident. Recently, OIC supported 

the development of an update to an existing EDXL standard: Distribution Element (DE). This 

DE 2.0 specification describes a standard message distribution format for data sharing among 

emergency information systems. The DE 2.0 serves two important purposes: 

• Allows an organization to wrap separate but related pieces of emergency information, including 

any of the EDXL message types, into a single "package" for easier and more useful distribution; 

• Allows an organization to send “the package” to organizations or individuals with specified 

roles, located in specified locations or those interested in specified keywords.

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 0

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0
84

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 10

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: 

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 46

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

3rd Generation Partnership Project 3GPP

ADC International ADC

Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions ATIS

American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists AATCC

American Boat and Yacht Council ABYC

American Bureau of Shipping ABS

American National Standards Institute ANSI

American Petroleum Institute API

American Public Transportation Association APTA

American Society for Industrial Security ASIS

American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME

American Welding Society AWS

AOAC International AOAC

APCO International APCO

ASTM International ASTM

British Standards Institute BSI

Electronic Industries Alliance EIA

Emergency Management Accreditation Program EMAP

Facial Identification Scientific Working Group FISWG

Health Physics Society HPS

Industry Consortium for Advancement of Security on the Internet ICASI

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEEE

Institute of Transportation Engineers ITE

International Association of Drilling Contractors IADC

International Association of Lighthouse Authorities IALA
85

International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO

International Code Council ICC

InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards INCITS

International Maritime Organization IMO

International Organization for Standardization ISO

International Organization for Standardization/International 

Electrotechnical Commission ISO/IEC

International Society of Automation ISA

International Telecommunication Union ITU

International Towing Tank Conference ITTC

Internet Engineering Task Force IETF

National Fire Protection Association NFPA

National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST

National Marine Electronics Association NMEA

Object Management Group OMG

Open Geospatial Consortium OGC

Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information 

Standards OASIS

Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services RTCM

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE

Telecommunications Industry Association TIA

The Open Group OPEN

Underwriters Laboratories UL

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in:

Agency Representatives: 284

Activities: 464

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

DNDO 

In FY2011, DNDO, working in conjunction with NIST and other federal agencies, continued the 

active development of technical capability standards (TCSs). DNDO completed the validation of 

the first Technical Capability Standard (TCS) for hand-held instruments used for the detection 

and identification of radionuclides. This standard was published by DHS this past fall. DNDO 

also initiated the development of two additional TCSs, providing draft documents for TCSWG 
86

review and comment. 

DNDO sponsored the attendance of an Oak Ridge National Laboratory representative at the 

International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) meetings related to radiological and nuclear 

(rad/nuc) standards. The individual is the chairman of one committee and a member of two other 

committees. In addition, he attends the IEC plenary sessions. 

DNDO continued to actively support ANSI N42.42 Data Format standard review and 

modification efforts. DNDO personnel attended working group sessions and provided significant 

input to proposed revisions. In addition, DNDO is assisting in getting the ANSI N42.42 standard 

co-adopted by the IEC as a voluntary international standard. 

DNDO is actively supporting the Illicit Trafficking Radiation Assessment Program (ITRAP+10). 

This is an effort established by the Joint Research Center (JRC) of the European Union (EU) to 

measure the effectiveness of equipment for detection use at border crossings. Due to limitations 

on the extent of JRC testing under ITRAP+10 and the capabilities of DNDO, the JRC invited 

DNDO to join the program. DNDO is now testing nine classes of radiation detection equipment 

against ANSI and IEC standards. Results will be provided in a final report that will be used by 

the EU for future acquisitions. 

DNDO continued to fund the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Get N42 

effort. This effort provides free access to published N42 standards related to rad/nuc detection. 

There were approximately 3400 N42 standard documents downloaded in FY2011, in support of 

the DNDO objective to actively promulgate and encourage the use and application of the N42 

rad/nuc detection standards. 

DNDO continued to actively participate in and support the DHS Standards Council and related 

meetings, such as Homeland Security Standards Panel Plenary sessions. 

DNDO has joined and is actively participating in the Test & Evaluation Capabilities and 

Methodologies Integrated Product Team (TECMIPT). The purpose of the TECMIPT is to 

provide joint, cross-community subject matter expertise and rigor to establish T&E standards, 

leveraging existing information. 

DNDO began testing under the Graduated Rad/Nuc Detector Evaluation and Reporting 

(GRaDERSM) program. 

The SAFE Port Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-347) established DNDO by statute. 

Responsibilities given to the DNDO include testing and evaluating rad/nuc detectors, as well as 

developing technical capability standards for these instruments in collaboration with NIST and 

other departments and agencies of the Federal government. Since test and evaluation against 

standards is one of the critical components of a conformity assessment system, DNDO 

established the GRaDER program to carry out this responsibility. 

The GRaDER Program is designed to be a voluntary, fee-for-service program: manufacturers or 

vendors decide whether to have their products tested and, if so, pay to offset the costs for the test 

and evaluation. It assists the DHS grant program managers and Federal, state, local, tribal and 

territorial government agency purchasers that have a fiduciary responsibility to verify that grant 
87

funds are spent on equipment that complies with standards (where standards are available). The 

GRaDER Program reports this information to homeland security stakeholders and other outside 

agencies by using the controlled access DNDO GRaDER Community of Interest (COI) page on 

the DHS Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) and the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA) Responder Knowledge Base (RKB). The business incentive is 

that equipment that has been tested against standards in the GRaDER program test and 

evaluation may be reported on the DHS GRaDER Evaluated Equipment List (GEEL), thereby 

enabling this verification. The result should lead to increasing sales of quality equipment to DHS 

components, other Federal departments and agencies, and state and local grantees seeking to 

establish or enhance capabilities to detect and interdict illicit nuclear or radiological material. 

GRaDER is a standards-based conformity assessment program. A suite of voluntary consensus 

standards developed by ANSI, in conjunction with IEEE, has been adopted as DHS National 

Standards. The ANSI/IEEE N42 series standards formed the standards bedrock for GRaDER. 

A key part of the conformity assessment system will be the use of test organizations that are 

accredited to ISO 17025 and the ANSI/IEEE N42 suite of standards. The National Voluntary 

Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) will be the accrediting body. Participating test 

organizations use uniform formats and procedures for measuring compliance and reporting test 

data, and the GRaDER program establishes and applies published criteria to assess base 

compliance levels. 

• Sampling and testing. 

DNDO initiated a test campaign in late 2010 that continues through 2011 called the GRaDER 

Program One-Time Shared Cost Test Campaign for New Additions to the Evaluated Equipment 

List. DNDO issued a Request for Information soliciting interest in the test campaign, and a total 

of six manufacturers provided instrument models of alarming Personal Radiation Detectors 

(PRDs) and Radioisotope Identifiers (RIIDs) for testing against appropriate ANSI/IEEE N42 

consensus standards. In addition, DNDO tested ten instrument models from DNDO operational 

inventory that included PRDs, RIIDs and backpack detectors. Once the test results are evaluated 

and scored, DNDO will publish summaries of the evaluations in three formats with increasing 

detail in controlled access electronic media. 

• Inspection. 

Inspections of instruments for certain characteristics and functionalities are imbedded in the 

requirements of the ANSI/IEEE N42 consensus standards. These instrument inspections are 

performed by the testing laboratory. In addition, DNDO performs inspections of manufacturer 

supplied operator manuals, technical information, product certifications and supplier’s 

declarations of conformity upon receipt of applications for participating in the GRaDER 

program, and later during the instrument evaluation conducted at DNDO. This examination was 

performed on sixteen instrument models that were included in the GRaDER Program One-Time 

Shared Cost Test Campaign for New Additions to the Evaluated Equipment List. 

• Supplier’s declaration of conformity. 

DNDO examined manufacturer supplied declarations of conformity if supplied with applications 

for participating in the GRaDER program, and later during the instrument evaluation conducted 

at DNDO. This examination procedure was applied to six instrument models that were submitted 

by manufacturers to the GRaDER Program One-Time Shared Cost Test Campaign. 
88

• Certification. 

a. DNDO continues the evaluation of the test results from the GRaDER Program One-Time 

Shared Cost Test Campaign. The evaluated items will be compiled into the GEEL and published 

for the stakeholders to use. 

b. The DNDO-accepted laboratories are all participants in NVLAP. DNDO begins by evaluating 

each laboratory / laboratory team’s self-declaration of conformity, and determines that the 

preparations are appropriate to begin testing. DNDO then issues a Letter of Acceptance for a 

period not to exceed one year or upon award of NVLAP accreditation. Manufacturers may ask 

for this letter as evidence that the laboratory / laboratory team is certified by DNDO to report 

results of tests that will be acceptable to DNDO for use in the GRaDER Program. 

c. DNDO requires that the participating manufacturers submit copies of testing certifications 

from other certifying bodies when applying for consideration by the GRaDER Program. 

• Quality and environmental management system assessment and registration. 

DNDO examines the GRaDER Program participating laboratories’ Quality Assurance and 

Management policies and procedures that are included in the laboratories’ self-declarations of 

conformity and applications for accreditation under the NVLAP program. 

• Accreditation. 

The DNDO-accepted laboratories are all participants in NVLAP. DNDO evaluates each 

laboratory / laboratory team’s self-declaration of conformity, and determines that the 

preparations are appropriate to begin testing. Test results generated as a result of testing against 

standards that are included in the laboratory’s scope are used by the laboratory to demonstrate 

competence and capability. The NVLAP assessors are able to audit these results of testing during 

the on-site assessment for accreditation. DNDO supports the NVLAP assessment by providing 

observers, and by providing the programmatic guidelines under which the laboratories operate. 

DNDO issues a Letter of Acceptance to participating laboratories for a period not to exceed one 

year or upon award of NVLAP accreditation. This document serves as interim confirmation to 

customers that the laboratory is participating in the applicable NVLAP accreditation program 

and has an active application in progress. 

• Recognition. 

a. The GRaDER Program publishes a list of ANSI/IEEE N42 consensus standards and 

government unique technical capability standards that are included in the scope of the program. 

This listing is provided on the GRaDER Program public website. 

b. The GRaDER Program publishes a list of participating laboratories / laboratory teams that are 

accepted by DNDO to perform testing and submit test reports to the program for consideration. 

This listing provides contact information and a brief description of the scope of capabilities. This 

listing is provided on the GRaDER Program public website. 

c. The GRaDER program publishes the GEEL, along with several supporting products. The 

media with which these reporting products are delivered to the intended recipients will be access 

controlled and already familiar to the operational community. 

i. The GEEL will report to the community stakeholders the make, model and equipment category 

of instruments that have been independently tested by DNDO accepted or NVLAP accredited 

laboratories. This DNDO listing will be made available on the FEMA RKB and can be placed on 

the GRaDER public website. It will be updated as instruments are considered by the GRaDER 
89

program. Each listing will have a limited life of not more than four years, and will be extendable 

based on satisfactory completion of additional independent product testing or DNDO/NIST 

surveillance testing. 

ii. The instrument Evaluation Summary Sheet will report the DNDO evaluation results for an 

independently tested instrument make and model by clause and subtest, within the scope of the 

appropriate standard for the particular category of equipment. The sheet will provide basic 

configuration descriptive information for hardware and software so that the reader will be able to 

determine if the evaluated instrument matches the product under consideration. The level of 

detail will focus on the successful satisfaction of requirements and criteria for a particular 

Compliance Level. A comments section will follow the summary, and it will address the 

exceptional observations or incidents that impacted the designated compliance level. This DNDO 

product will be made available on the limited access portion of the FEMA RKB and the 

GRaDER COI page on the HSIN. 

iii. The DNDO/NIST GRaDER Evaluation Report will report the detailed findings of the 

evaluation on each instrument make and model. It will aggregate the evaluation of multiple 

copies of the instrument make and model under test, and describe any test anomalies that 

impacted the evaluation. The level of detail will focus on a tabular summarization of the 

successful trials within each subtest as stratified within the methods prescribed by the standards. 

The report will assign a pass/fail/completion of requirements and criteria for a particular subtest 

Compliance Level. This DNDO product will be made available on the limited access FEMA 

RKB and the GRaDER COI page on the HSIN. 

iv. The GRaDER laboratory Test Report will report the actual test data in formats prescribed by 

the Test and Evaluation Protocols for each ANSI/IEEE N42 or government unique technical 

capability standard. This is a report for which ownership may be shared between the government 

and the manufacturer, by the manufacturer alone, or by the government alone. Distribution of 

this report will necessarily be limited and controlled, and shall be considered on a case-by-case 

basis. When the manufacture has an ownership stake, DNDO will consult with the manufacturer 

or rely on pre-agreed terms and conditions before providing the report to any requesting Federal, 

state, local, tribal and territorial government agency. DNDO has an obligation to verify the 

validity of the requesting entity and the agency’s authority to release sensitive, business 

proprietary information as prescribed by the provisions of the SAFE Port Act of 2006. 

• Reference Materials. 

The GRaDER Program has developed a significant assortment of programmatic guidance, 

checklists, agreements and forms that are available on the program’s public website (link 

http://www.dhs.gov/GRaDER). In addition, there are links to websites and web pages for other 

programs that have related interests and benefits for homeland security stakeholders (examples: 

DHS Office of SAFETY Act Implementation; General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule 

84, "Total Solutions for Law Enforcement, Security, Facilities Management, Fire, Rescue, 

Clothing, Marine Craft and Emergency/Disaster Response," Special Item Number (SIN) 426 4R, 

"Radiation/Nuclear Material Detection Equipment"). 

• Proficiency. 

DNDO, in conjunction with NIST, is developing a concept for proficiency testing of the NVLAP 

participating laboratories. This has not yet been funded or instituted. The intent is to employ 

laboratory proficiency testing bi-annually, in years for which no on-site assessment is required. 
90

This is intended to be added to the requirements for maintaining NVLAP accreditation. 

DNDO has 10 personnel involved in supporting the above activities, with time commitments 

ranging from 10% to 100% depending on the program and activity level. 

US-VISIT 

US-VISIT is actively involved in the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) 

Subcommittee on Biometrics and Identity Management Standards and Conformity Assessment 

(SCA) Working Group (WG), which, in support of biometric data exchange and interoperability 

across the U.S. Government, is charged with providing guidance and coordinating efforts for 

agencies on the development of standards; the adoption and implementation of standards; and the 

establishment of associated conformity assessment and interoperability testing programs. The 

SCA WG is responsible for the development and maintenance of the Registry of U.S. 

Government Recommended Biometric Standards, Agency Actions in Support of the NSTC 

Policy for the Development, Adoption and Use of Biometric Standards, Supplemental 

Information in Support of the NSTC Policy for Enabling the Development, Adoption and Use of 

Biometric Standards, and the Catalog of U.S. Government Biometric Product Testing Programs. 

US-VISIT conducts compatibility testing of e-passports issued by Visa Waiver Program 

countries to assess conformance with standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization 

(ICAO) and to ensure interoperability with e-passport readers deployed by DHS at U.S. ports of 

entry. 

USCG 

The Coast Guard considers the use of VCS in all its rulemakings, uses VCS in its rulemakings 

whenever appropriate, and provides for public comment on such decisions. Further, the Coast 

Guard continuously reviews its regulations to update outdated, obsolete or unnecessary 

standards. The Coast Guard relies heavily on the use of independent laboratories (including 

classification societies) to carry out conformity assessment activities on its behalf, and maintains 

formal acceptance and recognition programs for such laboratories worldwide. The requirements 

for acceptance and recognition are specified in regulation, and compliance is assessed by means 

of documentation provided by the laboratory, or where appropriate, site visits by technical 

experts. A searchable listing of accepted laboratories can be found at 

http://cgmix.uscg.mil/EQLabs/EqLabsSearch.aspx. With few exceptions, such laboratories 

supervise approval and production tests and examinations as specified in regulation to ensure 

that equipment and materials approved by the Coast Guard and sold for use in regulated 

applications comply with the relevant regulatory requirements. In most cases, the sampling, 

testing, and quality system requirements are traceable to international requirements prescribed by 

the International Maritime Organization, and are mandatory for ships on international voyages 

under international treaty obligations. To allow for oversight by the Coast Guard, accepted 

laboratories carrying out conformity assessment activities on behalf of the Coast Guard are 

required by regulation to report at least annually on those activities. 

During FY 2011, in addition to the conformity assessment activities conducted by qualified, 

independent third parties on the Coast Guard’s behalf, the Coast Guard also completed hundreds 

of conformity assessment activities, comprising evaluation of equipment and material for 

compliance with standards established in marine safety regulations. 

Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) 
91

OIC actively participates within the public safety specific standards development organizations 

to assist in the development of the Project 25 (P25) suite of standards, which are focused on 

developing open interoperability standards for public safety land mobile radio (LMR) systems. 

P25 allows radios and other components to interoperate regardless of manufacturer—enabling 

first responders to exchange critical communications. Through direction from the Congress, OIC 

has been instrumental in speeding the standards development process for the four critical 

interoperability interfaces in the P25 suite of standards. 

OIC, in partnership with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), established 

the P25 Compliance Assessment Program (P25 CAP). P25 CAP provides first responders with a 

consistent and traceable method to gather P25 compliance information on products thus helping 

them make more informed purchasing decisions. Finally, P25 CAP provides vendors with a 

method for testing their equipment for P25 compliance. 

P25 CAP leverages the standards developed in the P25 standards development process, and 

governs itself through the use of International Standards Organization (ISO) standards. Testing 

of emergency response communications equipment for standards compliance as part of P25 CAP 

is conducted at DHS recognized laboratories. To date, thirteen participating manufacturers, 

representing over 80% of the land mobile radio market, have completed testing on their 

communications equipment. Additional information on P25 can be found at 

http://www.safecomprogram.gov/currentprojects/project25cap/Default.aspx 

Furthermore, OIC partners with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) 

National Integration Center (NIC) to evaluate the adherence of products to the EDXL suite of 

standards. These standards are widely available for data applications and used to address the 

emergency response capabilities for alerts and notifications, resource management, situation 

awareness and reporting, and patient victim/information and tracking. Thus, DHS developed and 

implemented a vendor testing and certification program for EDXL, which is managed by 

FEMA’s Preparedness-Technology, Analysis, and Coordination Center. The Supporting 

Technology Evaluation Project (STEP) ensures vendor compliance with the standards. STEP 

evaluates incident management-related software and hardware against NIMS criteria, core target 

capabilities, and NIMS technical standards. The program evaluates products that support 

emergency managers and responders in decision-making prior to and during an incident, such as 

the following types of products: (1) alert and warning systems; (2) incident management; (3) 

communication and network infrastructure; (4) vulnerability analysis and consequence 

assessment; (5) intelligence and analysis; (6) physical and cyber security, access control, and 

surveillance; and (7) preparedness tools.

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

OMB Circular A-119, last revised in 1998, remains in need of updating to reflect the Federal 

government initiatives in interoperability and information sharing. Recommend that revision 

address the inclusion of public and private sector participants more directly in the evolution of 

relevant government standards and conventions rather than relying on existing voluntary 

standards, particularly those relating to data standardization and information exchanges, for 
92

information sharing purposes. 

At its Tenth Plenary Meeting, the ANSI Homeland Security Standards Panel examined progress 

made over the past decade and discussed the path forward. Predictably, interoperability 

international harmonization and continual review of standards and conformity assessment 

activities were discussed as vital to global security. It was there that the keynote speaker 

“acknowledged the critical role that standards – particularly those supporting personnel training 

and interoperability – play in enabling first responders to coordinate emergency environments.” 

Key in that much needed interoperability is the development and implementation of 

Government-led information sharing standards, to include the National Information Exchange 

Model (NIEM). Founded under the Federal government by the Departments of Justice and 

Homeland Security, NIEM has extended its multi-party conventions to developers and adopters 

among an increasing number of Federal agencies, commercial suppliers, and state and local 

operators. But NIEM is not a standard and, to all appearances, is discouraged under the policies 

and practices of Circular A-119, as it did not emerge as the product of the voluntary consensus 

standards process. 

NIEM, having evolved under Federal government-consensus processes, is the desired underlying 

method in establishing and maturing cross-boundary information exchanges--those that cross a 

bureau or agency boundary, including information sharing with international, state, local, tribal, 

industry, or non-governmental organization partners. In the FY11 Pass back, all agencies were 

asked to evaluate the adoption and use of NIEM, and NIEM was specifically promoted by the 

Federal Chief Architect, OMB, in Agency Information Sharing Functional SpecificationGuidance and Templates of March 4, 2010. 

But as noted, NIEM did not emerge from an OMB A-119-identified "body" (a domestic or 

international organization which plans, develops, establishes, or coordinates voluntary consensus 

standards using agreed-upon procedures). Those bodies have developed and will continue to 

develop standards for the performance of technologies and systems but are unlikely to initiate 

standards for information interoperability and sharing. 

Revising Circular A-119 to recognize the role of the Government in setting such conventions and 

standards as critical to cost-effective interoperability would promote a wider evolution of 

interoperability for the whole of Government and improve the potential for, if not the substance 

of, effective communication and response.

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

The following comments were offered: 

US-VISIT supports interoperability with the FBI Electronic Biometric Transmission 

Specification (EBTS), DOD EBTS, and Interpol’s Implementation (INT-I). In addition to 

participating in the interagency SCA WG and co-chairing the DHS BSWG, US-VISIT also 

participates actively in the DOD BSWG. 

The USCG continues to encourage government-wide use of risk-based methodologies in 

standards development and assessments. The Coast Guard uses risk-based methodologies to 
93

determine the level and degree of standardization needed. Using risk-based methods in a top 

down systems engineering approach we can determine the relative safety hazards and determine 

the effective level of standardization needed. 

The Coast Guard encourages its technical offices to partner with industry counterparts to develop 

VCS that support Coast Guard marine safety regulations. We have found that this type of 

partnership helps us strike the balance among the interests of Government, industry, and the 

public. 

The Coast Guard also encourages replacement of the GUS remaining in our regulations with 

appropriate consensus standards in keeping with the OMB Circular A-119 policies

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

The US-VISIT program maintains the Biometric Standards Requirements for US-VISIT as a 

primary reference for implementing biometric standards requirements for US-VISIT systems. It 

provides a baseline for implementing new and improved biometric technologies, capabilities, and 

services with the aim of promoting and achieving maximum stakeholder interoperability. The 

information in this document supports the development of US-VISIT data-sharing agreements 

with other U.S. Government agencies and foreign government partners. 

NPPD’s Risk Management and Analysis (RMA) pointed out that this survey is the only channel 

from which we receive requests to report RMA’s use of VCSs

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; Yes

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; C

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; Yes

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 5

Title: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report
94

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fiscal Year 2011 

Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

Standards are used to guide the work of the grantees and other HUD supported agencies in 

providing quality housing and improvements in America's communities. Generally, standards 

play a supporting role in the achievement of the HUD mission. In most cases, we are able to use 

standards developed in conjunction with other related users, such as model building codes that 

are adopted for use by communities nationwide. Because there are virtually no differences 

between HUD-assisted and market-based development, standards such are building codes that 

are developed for the entire construction industry are relevant. In some cases, HUD is 

responsible for the standards. This is the case with the Government Standard: 24 CFR 3280 –

Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, where HUD publishes and enforces the 

construction standard for manufactured housing, which is being converted to a consensus 

standard.

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 2

1. Government Unique Standard: 24 CFR 200.935 - Administrator qualifications and 

procedures for HUD building products and certififcation programs (Incorporated: 2000) 

Voluntary Standard

ANSI A119.1 N - Recreation Vehicles

Rationale

HUD Building-Product Standards & Certification Programs. HUD was required by 

legislation to “establish Federal construction and safety standards for manufactured 

homes and to authorize manufactured home safety research and development”. Recently, 

HUD retained a private consensus body (NFPA) to update and modernize the 

Manufactured Home Standards. At the conclusion of the development process, NFPA 

will submit the revised standard to HUD for regulatory adoption.

2. Government Unique Standard: 24 CFR 3280 - Manufactured Home Construction and 

Safety Standards (Incorporated: 2000) 

Voluntary Standard

ANSI A119.1 - Recreation Vehicles and NFPA 501C - Standard on Recreational 

Vehicles

Rationale

HUD-Unique Manufactured Home Construction & Safety Standards. HUD was required 

by legislation to “establish Federal construction and safety standards for manufactured 

homes and to authorize manufactured home safety research and development”. Recently, 
95

HUD retained a private consensus body (NFPA) to update and modernize the 

Manufactured Home Standards. At the conclusion of the development process, NFPA 

will submit the revised standard to HUD for regulatory adoption.

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 0

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: 

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 5

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

American Industrial Hygiene Association AIHA

American Society for Testing and Materials ASTM

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE

Federal Geographic Data Committee FGDC

International Code Council ICC

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 9

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

n/a

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

Because many of the activities supported by HUD are similar to the activities in the commercial 

market, and rely on the commercial market for execution, it is reasonable to rely on a common 
96

set of standards. Use of the more widely adopted (at a community level) model building codes 

are particularly notable in this regard.

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

n/a

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; Yes

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; E

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; No

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 0

Title: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

Department of the Interior (DOI) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

Standards are a critical component to the successful execution of regulatory functions associated 

with our four primary missions of resource protection, resource management, recreation, and 

serving communities. We evaluate, adopt and apply standards across a wide array of disciplines 

to include scientific research, engineering, safety, contract administration, information 

technology, data management, law enforcement, and facilities management. There are several 

examples of how standards have contributed to mission success at the DOI. 

The adoption of geospatial standards has enabled the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 
97

Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) to integrate multiple geospatial layers within a single 

digital map viewer. This improved marine spatial planning efforts by permitting the 

standardization of previously incompatible geospatial data across federal, state, and local 

government uses, which improved the ability to identify the best location for renewable energy 

projects. 

Continued participation in electrical engineering standards committees (IEEE) allows the Bureau 

of Reclamation (BOR) to identify the impacts of proposed changes, which has promotes the 

stability of the Western electric power grid, contributes to the prevention of billion-dollar 

regional blackouts, enhances the safety of BOR managed hydroelectric facilities, and improves 

Operations & Maintenance (O&M) testing, and diagnostics. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has adopted the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set 

(endorsed by the International Standards Organization) to describe the FWS collection of digital 

photos, videos, and other media that are currently stored in the FWS National Conservation 

Training Center (NCTC). This enhancement will reduce data anomalies and improve 

interoperability for data exchanges between NCTC and other systems. 

The Office of Surface Mining (OSM) has defined geospatial standards for coal mining 

boundaries (surface and underground) that have been adopted as international standards by the 

American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). These standards have improved miner and 

public safety, reduced the cost of regulatory compliance, and map generation, and improved the 

electronic permitting process by reducing the time required to review regulatory permit requests. 

The incorporation of consensus Government geospatial standards (approved by the Federal 

Geographic Data Committee FGDC) has resulted in improving the quality and reducing the cost 

of geospatial products produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). 

The National Park Service has adopted the NPS Bibliographic Metadata Exchange Standard, 

which consists of a proposed NPS enterprise core bibliographic element set based on qualified 

Dublin Core (DC). The purpose of establishing an enterprise level core bibliographic metadata 

element set, NPS Bibliographic Metadata Element Set (NPS-BMES), and application profile, 

NPS Bibliographic Metadata Application Profile (NPS-BibMAP), is to facilitate efficient 

exchange, harvesting (via ‘exposure’ of metadata in xml format), aggregation, and federated 

searching (promoting wide discovery) of NPS managed bibliographic data. 

The NPS-BMES is based on a subset of the ‘qualified’ level of the Dublin Core Metadata 

Element Set (DCMES) standard, while the NPS-BibMAP is based on the Dublin Core Library 

Application Profile (DC-Lib).

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 0

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 2
98

Voluntary Standard Government Standard

ASTM C376 on Reinforced Concrete Pressure 

Pipe

Reclamation’s M-1 Design Standard Concrete 

Pressure Pipe

NFPA 12, Standard on Carbon Dioxide 

Extinguishing Systems.

Design Standard 12, Chapter 3 on Testing of 

Carbon Dioxide Extinguishing Systems

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 2

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: 

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 85

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

Advisory Committee for Water Information ACWI

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials AASHTO

American Concrete Institute ACI

American Concrete Pipe Association ACPA

American Hardware Manufacturers Association AHMA

American Institute of Steel Construction AISC

American Institute of Timber Construction AITC

American Iron and Steel Institute AISI

American National Standards Institute ANSI

American Petroleum Institute API

American Rock Mechanics Association ARMA

American Society for Industrial Security ASIS

American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing ASPRS

American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE

American Society of Dam Safety Officials ASDSO

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE

American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME

American Water Works Association AWWA

American Welding Society AWS
99

American Wood Preservers Institute AWPI

Architectural Woodwork Institute AWI

ASCE Building Security Council BSC

ASTM International ASTM

Brick Industry Association BIA

Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association BHMA

Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute CISPI

Center for Internet Security CIS

Concrete Pipe Association CPA

Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute CRSI

Construction Specifications Institute CSI

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and 

Flora CITES

Cultural Resources Standards with State Historic Preservation Offices SHPO

Data Management Association DAMA

Dublin Core Metadata Initiative DCMI

Electronic Industries Alliance EIA

Engineered Wood Association EWA

European Petroleum Survey Group EPSG

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission FERC

Federal Geographic Data Committee FGDC

Forest Stewardship Council FSC

Ground Water Protection Council GWPC

Gypsum Association GA

INCITS Technical Committee L1, Geographic Information Systems INCITS TC L1

Information Technology Service Management Forum ITSMF

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEEE

Insulated Cable Engineers Association ICEA

Interagency Trails Data Standards ITDS

International Air Transport Association IATA

international Code Council ICC

InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards INCITS

International Organization for Standardization ISO

International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical 

Commission ISO/IEC

International Security Council ISC

Internet Society IS

Metal Building Manufacturers Association MBMA
100

Modular Systems Building Council MSBC

National Association of Corrosion Engineers International NACE

National CAD Standards NCS

National Digital Elevation Program NDEP

National Electrical Manufacturers Association NEMA

National Environmental Methods Index NEMI

National Fire Protection Association NFPA

National Trust Banking Industry NTBI

National Water-Quality Monitoring Council NWQMC

National Wildland Fire Coordinating Group NWCG

North American Electric Reliability Corporation NERC

North American Weeds Management Association NAWMA

Northwest Environmental Data Network NED

Open Geospatial Consortium OGC

Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards OASIS

Pacific Northwest Reginal Geospatial Information Council PNW-RGIC

Petrotechnical Open Standards Consortium, Inc. POSC

Project Management Institute PMI

Public Petroleum Data Management PPDM

SAVE International SAVE

Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning Contractors National Association SMACNA

Telecommunications Industry Association TIA

The National Digital Orthophoto Program NDOP

The Open Geospatial Consortium OGC

United States Committee on Large Dams USCOLD

Urban and Regional Information Systems Association URISA

US Green Building Council - Leadership in Energy and Environmental 

Design USGBC - LEEDS

Web Application Security Consortium WASC

Western Electricity Coordinating Council WECC

World Wide Web Consortium W3C

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 166

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 
101

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) of DOI is a 

member of the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) with representation on the 

Standards Working Group, the Coordinating Committee, the Steering Committee, the Marine 

Boundary Working Group, and ad hoc subcommittees developing standards for geospatial data. 

Bureau of Reclamation: The ISO 14001 standard requires that organizations conduct third- party 

conformance audits to determine conformance with the ISO Standard. Reclamation has adopted 

this requirement in a revised form and will conduct audits to determine conformance with both 

the Standard framework and the executive order. 

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA): BIA participated in the Federal Geospatial One-Stop and the 

Enterprise Geographic Information Management Committee. 

FWS: The FWS continues to implement key security standards and guidelines developed or 

approved by NIST to support the implementation of and compliance with the Federal 

Information Security Management Act (FISMA) including: 

• Standards for categorizing information and information systems by mission impact. 

• Standards for minimum security requirements for information and information systems. 

• Standards for encrypting government data. 

• Standards for applying and enforcing secure configuration baselines. 

• Standards for secure remote access. 

• Guidance for mapping types of information and information systems to appropriate security 

categories. 

• Guidance for planning and conducting technical information security testing. 

• Guidance for assessing security controls in information systems and determining security 

control effectiveness. 

• Guidance for certifying and accrediting information systems. 

The FWS is currently using secure configuration benchmarks developed by the Center for 

Internet Security (CIS), a non-profit organization whose mission is to help organizations reduce 

the risk of business and e-commerce disruptions resulting from inadequate technical security 

controls. These benchmarks have been deemed as "NIST" approved.

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

As a direct result of OMB Circular A-119, DOI’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), continues to increase our presence in voluntary 

standards groups – both domestic and international. We believe that A-119 continues to work in 

a straightforward manner to encourage the use of voluntary consensus standards. 

BOEMRE has not requested any exemptions, nor are we contemplating making such a request. 

We have no recommendations for changes to the Circular. 

Bureau of Indian Affairs strives to use VCS, whether as promulgated directly from a consensus 

standards body or as promulgated by regulatory body, are its first choice for guidance. This 

approach has helped us garner and retain options and flexibility in handling construction and new

systems development. In that regard, A-119 has been of great use. 
102

FWS: The NIST and/or OMB should identify high priority VCS and Non-consensus standards 

for implementation by Federal agencies, especially standards that pertain to E-Gov initiatives 

and IT security requirements. 

USGS: Since its issuance, Circular A-119 has worked in a straightforward manner to encourage 

the use of voluntary consensus standards. Some people, however, believe that there is an order of 

preference for voluntary consensus standards (for example, international VCS are to be preferred 

to domestic VCS). The USGS encourages NIST and OMB to adjudicate issues concerning 

interpretation of OMB Circular A-119. 

Circular A-119 allows exemptions where existing voluntary consensus standards are inconsistent 

with law or otherwise impractical and if each exemption is reported to OMB. The USGS has not 

requested any exemptions, nor is the FGDC contemplating making such a request. We have no 

recommendations for changes to the Circular.

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

As a direct result of OMB Circular A-119, DOI’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 

Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE, continues to increase our presence in voluntary 

standards groups (both domestic and international). We believe that A-119 continues to work in 

a straightforward manner to encourage the use of voluntary consensus standards. 

BOEMRE has not requested any exemptions, nor are we contemplating making such a request. 

We have no recommendations for changes to the Circular. 

Bureau of Indian Affairs strives to use VCS, whether as promulgated directly from a consensus 

standards body or as promulgated by regulatory body, are its first choice for guidance. This 

approach has helped us garner and retain options and flexibility in handling construction and new 

systems development. In that regard, A-119 has been of great use. 

FWS: The NIST and/or OMB should identify high priority VCS and Non-consensus standards 

for implementation by Federal agencies, especially standards that pertain to E-Gov initiatives 

and IT security requirements. 

USGS: Since its issuance, Circular A-119 has worked in a straightforward manner to encourage 

the use of voluntary consensus standards. Some people, however, believe that there is an order of 

preference for voluntary consensus standards (for example, international VCS are to be preferred 

to domestic VCS). The USGS encourages NIST and OMB to adjudicate issues concerning 

interpretation of OMB Circular A-119. 

Circular A-119 allows exemptions where existing voluntary consensus standards are inconsistent 

with law or otherwise impractical and if each exemption is reported to OMB. The USGS has not 

requested any exemptions, nor is the FGDC contemplating making such a request. We have no 

recommendations for changes to the Circular. 

Reclamation: FERC Electric Reliability Standards - In 2005, the Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission Electric Reliability Standards were made mandatory. Up until that time, 

Reclamation, like many other power generating entities, voluntarily complied with the standards. 

Since 2005, Reclamation has put considerable effort into activities related to the compliance with 
103

the standards. In 2011, Reclamation continued those activities. Compliance with the standards 

has resulted in improvements to Reclamation's hydropower operations and maintenance practices 

which will result in improved reliability to the Western electric power grid and reduced 

likelihood of large regional blackouts.

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; Yes

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; C

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; Yes

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 1

Title: Department of the Interior (DOI) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

Department of Justice (DOJ) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

The Department, in its primary mission roles, does not specify products requiring voluntary 

consensus standards. Because of the nature of the Department's missions, DOJ participates in the 

development of government standards for law enforcement information representation. The 

Department developed the National Information Exchange (HEIM) as a critical standard to 

facilitate Law Enforcement Information Sharing Program. NEIM serves as the government 

standard for information that lacks voluntary consensus standards.

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 0
104

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 0

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: 

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 0

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 1

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

N/A

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

The Department of Justice offers no recommended changes to the Circular A-119

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

No additional comments

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

No additional comments

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]
105

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; C

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; E

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; No

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 0

Title: Department of Justice (DOJ) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

Department of Labor (DOL) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) promulgates safety and health standards which 

provide minimum requirements for the protection of employees from workplace hazards. DOL 

consults and routinely relies on Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) whenever a Federal 

standard is written or updated. Since the VCS are on a shorter update cycle than Federal 

standards, the VCS provide a more current view of industry standards and practices than DOL 

can effectively or economically achieve. 

The Federal standards are comprehensive but they do not cover every hazard in every workplace. 

Compliance Safety and Health Officers reference VCS during inspections and investigations 

when no Federal standards apply in specific circumstances. VCS are also used for compliance 

assistance as reference to best industry practices. 

The Department of Labor maintains electronic access to its standards at: 

http://www.osha.gov 

http://www.msha.gov

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 12

1. Government Unique Standard: 29 CFR 1910 Subpart S - Electrical Standard 

(Incorporated: 2007) (Incorporated: 2007) 
106

Voluntary Standard

NFPA 70 - National Electric Code 

NFPA 70E - Electrical Safety Requirement for Employee Workplaces. 

ANSI/IEEE C2 - National Electrical Safety Code 

ANSI/ASME B30.4 - Portal, Tower, and Pedestal Cranes 

NFPA 33 - Spray Application Using Flammable or Combustible Materials 

ANSI Z133.1 Arboricultural Operations for Pruning, Repairing, Maintaining, and 

Removing Trees, and Cutting Brush

Rationale

Several voluntary consensus standards were relied upon for the various provisions in the 

final rule, however, no single VCS is available to cover all the workplace applications 

that are addressed by OSHA. The Agency believes that it would be less burdensome for 

the regulated community to use one OSHA standard rather than purchase and use the 6 

individual consensus standards it used to write the rule. 

2. Government Unique Standard: 29 CFR 1915 Subpart F – General Working Conditions 

in Shipyard Employment (Incorporated: 2011) (Incorporated: 2011) 

Voluntary Standard

• ANSI/IESNA RP–7–01, Recommended Practice for Lighting Industrial Facilities 

• ANSI/ISEA Z308.1–2009, Minimum Requirements for Workplace First Aid Kits and 

Supplies 

• ANSI Z358.1–2009, Emergency Eyewash and Shower Equipment 

• ANSI Z4.1–1995 and Z4.3–1995, Sanitation 

• ANSI/ASME B56.1–1992, Recognition of the hazard of powered industrial truck 

tipover and the need for the use of an operator re

Rationale

Several voluntary consensus standards (VCS) were relied upon for the various provisions 

in the final rule, however, no single VCS is available to cover all the workplace hazards 

that are addressed by OSHA in this final rule. The Agency believes that it is less 

burdensome for the regulated community to use the one OSHA standard rather than 

require the purchase and use of numerous individual consensus standards it used to write 

the rule.

3. Government Unique Standard: 29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC Cranes and Derricks in 

Construction (Incorporated: 2010) (Incorporated: 2010) 

Voluntary Standard

ASME B30.2-2005; ASME B30.5-2004; ASME B30.7-2001; ASME B30.14-2004; AWS 

D1.1/D1.1M:2002 ANSI/AWS D14.3-94; BS EN 13000:2004; BS EN 14439:2006; ISO 

11660-1:2008(E); ISO 11660-2:1994(E); ISO 11660-3:2008(E); PCSA Std. No.2; SAE 

J185; SAE J987; SAE J1063; ANSI B30.5-1968

Rationale

Sixteen voluntary consensus standards (VCS) were relied upon for the various provisions 

in the final rule, however, no single VCS is available to cover all varieties of cranes and 

derricks and their applications.
107

4. Government Unique Standard: 29 CFR 1926.1002 Roll-Over Protective Structures 

(Incorporated: 2006) (Incorporated: 2006) 

Voluntary Standard

SAE J1194-1999

Rationale

Many consensus standards were relied upon for various provisions in the final rule. The 

primary VCS that applies directly to ROPS is SAE J1194-1999 which incorporates by 

reference several other VCSs. If SAE J1194-1999 was adopted into the OSHA 

provisions, the regulated community would have to consult not only the primary VCS but 

all of the VCSs that are incorporated into it as well. OSHA believes it is less burdensome 

for the regulated community to use one OSHA standard rather than require the purchase 

and use of several VCSs. 

5. Government Unique Standard: 30 CFR Part 75 - Sealing of Abandoned Areas -

Emergency Temporary Standard. (Incorporated: 2007) 

Voluntary Standard

ACI 318-05 - Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and 

Commentary 

ACI 440.2R-02 - Design and Construction of Externally Bonded FRP 

Systems for Strengthening Concrete Structures 

ASTM E119-07 - Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building 

Construction and Materials 

ASTM E162-06 - Standard Test Method for Surface Flammability of Materials Using a 

Radiant Heat Energy Source

Rationale

Four consensus standards were relied upon for various provisions in the emergency 

temporary standard, but no one consensus standard is available that covered all of the 

topics covered by MSHA's Emergency Temporary Standard. 

6. Government Unique Standard: 30 CFR Part 75 – Safety Standards for Underground 

Coal Mines (Section 75.403 – Maintenance of Incombustible Rock Dust) – [Incorporated: 

2011] (Incorporated: 2011) 

Voluntary Standard

• ASTM C110-09 – Standard Test Methods for Physical Testing of Quicklime, Hydrated 

Lime, and Limestone 

• ASTM C737-08 – Standard Specification for Limestone Dusting of Coal Mines

Rationale

MSHA issued a final rule in June 2011 that finalized an Emergency Temporary Standard 

(ETS) on Maintenance of Incombustible Content of Rock Dust in Underground 

Bituminous Coal Mines. The basis of the ETS and final rule was a recommendation of 

the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health contained in their Report of 

Investigations 9679 published in 2010. The ASTM consensus standards do not include 
108

the NIOSH recommendations or address the specific hazard covered in the MSHA ETS 

and final rule.

7. Government Unique Standard: Electric Motor-Drive Equipment Rule (Incorporated: 

2001) 

Voluntary Standard

IEEE Standard 242-1986 Recommended Practice for Protection and Coordination of 

Industrial and Commercial Power Systems (IEEE Buff Book) and NFPA 70 - national 

Electric Code

Rationale

The MSHA rule is a design-specific standards. The NFPA and IEEE standards were used 

as a source for the rule; however, the exact requirements of the rule were tailored to apply 

specifically to electric circuits and equipment used in the coal mining industry.

8. Government Unique Standard: Exit Routes, Emergency Action Plans, and Fire 

Prevention Plans, 29 CFR 1910, Subpart E (Incorporated: 2003) 

Voluntary Standard

Life Safety Code, NFPA 101-2000

Rationale

The OSHA standard addresses only workplace conditions whereas the NFPA Life Safety 

Code goes beyond workplaces. However, in the final rule OSHA stated that it had 

evaluated the NFPA Standard 101, Life Safety Code, (NFPA 101-2000) and concluded 

that it provided comparable safety to the Exit Route Standards. Therefore, the Agency 

stated that any employer who complied with the NFPA 101-2000 instead of the OSHA 

Standard for Exit Routes would be in compliance.

9. Government Unique Standard: Fire Protection for Shipyards, 29 CFR Part 1915, 

Subpart P (Incorporated: 2004) 

Voluntary Standard

NFPA 312-2000 Standard for Protection of Vessels During Construction, Repair, and 

Lay-Up 

NFPA 33-2003 Standard for Spray Application Using Flammable or Combustible 

Materials

Rationale

Many consensus standards were relied on for various provisions in OSHA's final rule, 

including 15 consensus standards that are incorporated by reference. However, OSHA 

and its negotiated rulemaking committee determined that there was no, one consensus 

standard available that covered all the topics in the rule. 

10. Government Unique Standard: Longshoring and Marine Terminals; Vertical Tandem 

Lifts (Incorporated: 2009) 
109

Voluntary Standard

ISO 668:1995 - Series 1 freight containers--Classification, dimensions and ratings. 

ISO 1161:1984 - Series 1 freight containers--Corner fittings--Specification. 

ISO 1161:1984/Cor. 1:1990 - Technical corrigendum 1:1990 to ISO 1161:1984. 

ISO 1496-1:1990 - Series 1 freight containers--Specifications and testing--Part 1: General 

cargo containers for general purposes. 

ISO 1496-1:1990/Amd. 1:1993 -

Rationale

Several voluntary consensus standards were relied upon for the various provisions in the 

final rule, however, no single VCS is available to cover all the workplace applications 

that are addressed by OSHA. The Agency believes that it would be less burdensome for 

the regulated community to use one OSHA standard rather than purchase and use the nine 

individual consensus standards used in this rule.

11. Government Unique Standard: Sanitary Toilets in Coal Mines, 30 CFR 71, Subpart E 

(Incorporated: 2003) 

Voluntary Standard

Non-Sewered Waste Disposal Systems--Minimum Requirements, ANSI Z4.3-1987

Rationale

The ANSI standard was not incorporated by reference because certain design criteria 

allowed in the ANSI standard, if implemented in an underground coal mine, could 

present health or safety hazards. For instance, combustion or incinerating toilets could 

introduce an ignition source which would create a fire hazard. For certain other design 

criteria found in the ANSI standard, sewage could seep into the groundwater, or overflow 

caused by rain or run-off could contaminate portions of the mine. 

12. Government Unique Standard: Steel Erection Standards (Incorporated: 2002) 

Voluntary Standard

ANSI A10.13 - Steel Erection; ASME/ANSI B30 Series Cranes Standards

Rationale

Many consensus standards were relied upon for various provisions in the final rule, but 

there was no one consensus standard available that covered all of the topics covered by 

OSHA's final rule.

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.
110

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 2

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: 

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 22

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

Acoustical Society of America ASA

American Lift Institute ALI

American National Standards Institute ANSI

American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME

American Society of Safety Engineers ASSE

American Welding Society AWS

American Wind Energy Association AWEA

Association for Machine Technology AMT

ASTM International ASTM

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEEE

International Electrotechnical Commission IEC

International Organization for Standardization ISO

International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical 

Commission ISO/IEC

International Society of Automation ISA

International Window Cleaning Association IWCA

National Fire Protection Association NFPA

National Floor Safety Institute NFSI

National Safety Council NSC

Robotics Industries Association RIA

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE

Underwriters Laboratories UL

Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America WMMA

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 60

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 
111

None

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

No comment at this time.

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

No comment at this time.

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

No comment at this time.

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; No

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; D

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; No

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 0

Title: Department of Labor (DOL) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

Department of State (DOS) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

The Department of State, Economics & Energy Bureau, International Communications & 

Information Policy, Multilateral Affairs (EEB/CIP/MA) represents the nation at meetings of the 
112

United Nation's International Telecommunication Union (Telecommunication Development 

(ITU-D), Telecommunication Standardization (ITU-T), and Radiocommunication (ITU-R)). 

Especially in the case of the ITU-T, these sectors develop standards which govern the some of 

the technical and intergovernmental policy aspects of international telecommunications. The 

Department of State coordinates development of the Government's technical, policy, and 

regulatory positions based on advice provided by government agencies (such as the Federal 

Communications Commission and the Department of Commerce/National Telecommunications 

and Information Administration) and the U.S. telecommunications industry. The Department 

also leads delegations to these international meetings selected from the public and private 

sectors. In general the government does not participate in strictly technical discussions and the 

technical standards (Recommendations) are written almost exclusively by the international 

telecommunications industry. The resulting standards form the basis for much of the technical 

and policy aspects of international telecommunications and provide important input to the 

development of national regulatory policy. In particular, ITU-T standards are used to support 

standard quality of service and telecommunication transport mechanisms, among others.

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 0

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 0

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: n/a

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 1

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

International Telecommunication Union ITU

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 9
113

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

none

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

none

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

n/a

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; No

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; A

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; No

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 0

Title: Department of State (DOS) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

Department of Transportation (DOT) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.
114

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and its operating administrations rely upon a 

consensus rulemaking program to support the Department's strategic goals: safety, state of good 

repair, economic competitiveness, livable communities, and environmental sustainability. In 

addition, DOT relies upon standards development processes with various domestic and 

international standards developing organizations (SDOs) and stakeholders to advance innovative 

transportation technologies; and to improve the state of practice in all modes of transportation. 

Due to the varied nature of the standards activities and stakeholder communities of the DOT 

operating administrations, DOT has not developed a single standards website. Relevant operating 

administration websites include: 

• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Design Standards: 

http://www.faa.gov/airports_airtraffic/airports/construction/design_standards/ 

• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aviation System Standards: 

http://avn.faa.gov/index.asp?xml=index 

• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Flight Standards Service: 

http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/afs/ 

• Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Design Standards: 

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/standards.cfm 

• Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Freight Architecture and Data Standards: 

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/technology/standards/ 

• Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)/Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Standards 

Implementation: http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/int_its_deployment/standards_imp/standards.htm 

• Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) National Bridge Inspection Standards: 

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/nbis/ 

• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Rules and Regulations: 

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/rules-regulations.htm 

• Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Regulations, Orders, Notices, and Significant 

Guidance: http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/49 

• Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Regulations: 

http://www.fta.dot.gov/leg_reg.html

• Maritime Administration (MARAD) National Maritime Resource and Education Center: 

http://www.marad.dot.gov/ships_shipping_landing_page/nmrec_home/NMREC_home.htm 

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Laws and Regulations: 

http://www.nhtsa.gov/Laws-Regs 

• Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)/Hazardous Materials Safety 

Standards: http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/regs 

• Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)/Pipeline Safety Standards: 

http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/pipeline/regs 

• Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA)/Bureau of Transportation 

Statistics (BTS) Standards Manual: 

http://www.bts.gov/programs/statistical_policy_and_research/ 

• Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA)/Intelligent Transportation 

Systems (ITS) Standards Program: 

http://www.standards.its.dot.gov/ 
115

• St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation/Canadian and U.S. Regulations: 

http://www.greatlakes-seaway.com/en/commercial/regulations-and-laws/index.html

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 4

1. Government Unique Standard: 63 FR 17976; April 13, 1998 - Product Safety Signs 

and Labels (Incorporated: 1998) 

Voluntary Standard

ANSI Z535.4 - ANSI Requirements for Color Coded Header Messages for the Different 

Levels of Hazard

Rationale

NHTSA explained in the NPRM that the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) 

has a standard4 for product safety signs and labels (ANSI Z535.4) that identifies a 

hierarchy of hazard levels ranging from extremely serious to moderately serious and 

specifies corresponding hierarchies of signal words, i.e., “danger,” “warning,” and 

“caution,” and of colors. For the header, the ANSI standard specifies a red background 

with white text for “danger,” an orange background with black text for “warning,” and a 

yellow background with black text for caution.” 

The ANSI standard specifies that pictograms should be black on white, with occasional 

uses of color for emphasis, and that message text should be black on white. The agency 

noted in the NPRM that when it earlier updated the requirements for air bag warning 

labels to require the addition of color and pictograms, it had chosen not to adopt the 

colors specified in the ANSI standard. NHTSA chose to use yellow instead of orange in 

the background of the heading for the air bag warning label, even though the word 

“warning” was used, because of overwhelming focus group preference for yellow. Only 

two of the 53 participants preferred orange. Participants generally stated that yellow was 

more eye-catching than orange. Participants also noted that red (stop) and yellow 

(caution) had meaning to them, but not orange. 

NHTSA asked for comment on three color options for the revised utility vehicle rollover 

warning label. Proposed label 1 used the ANSI color format with the heading background 

in orange with the words in black. The remainder of the label had a white background 

with black text and drawings. Proposed label 2 used a color scheme like the air bag 

warning labels, which is the same as the ANSI color format except that the background 

color for the heading in the label is yellow. Proposed label 3 employed the color scheme 

used in the focus groups - the heading area had a red background with white text. The 

graphic areas had a yellow background with black and white drawings. The text area had 

a black background with yellow text. 

Despite focus group preference for the signal word “danger,” the agency proposed the use 

of the word “warning” as more appropriate to the level of risk. The agency also noted that 

the word “warning” is used in the air bag warning label. 
116

Recognizing that it might encounter additional conflicts between focus group preferences

and the ANSI standard in future rulemakings, NHTSA requested comments in the NPRM 

on the extent to which any final choice regarding colors and signal words should be 

guided by the focus group preferences instead of the ANSI standard. NHTSA also 

requested comments on the broader issue of the circumstances in which it would be 

appropriate for agency rulemaking decisions to be guided by focus group results or other 

information when such information is contrary to a voluntary consensus standard such as 

the ANSI standard. 

At this time (February 22, 1999), a final decision is still pending regarding its proposal to 

upgrade the rollover warning label. As to the general questions it posed in the NPRM, 

NHTSA recognizes that ANSI’s mission differs somewhat from that of the agency’s 

focus groups with respect to the labeling of hazardous situations. ANSI’s mission is to 

develop and maintain a standard for communicating information about a comprehensive 

hierarchy of hazards, while the focus groups’ mission is to design an effective label for a 

specific hazard. The agency recognizes further that, given the difference in their 

missions, their conclusions about the appropriate manner of communication might differ 

on occasion. 

Since agency labeling decisions are highly dependent on the facts regarding the specific 

hazard being addressed, NHTSA anticipates making case-by-case determinations of the 

extent to which it should follow voluntary standards versus information from focus 

groups and other sources. NHTSA will rely on its own expertise and judgment in making 

determinations under the NTTAA and the statutory provisions regarding vehicle safety 

standards.

2. Government Unique Standard: Air Bag Warning Label (1997) (Incorporated: 1997) 

Voluntary Standard

ANSI ISO

Rationale

The Air Bag Warning Label uses yellow as the background color, instead of orange, in 

accordance with an ANSI standard and uses a graphic developed by Chrysler Corporation 

to depict the hazards of being too close to an air bag, instead of the graphic recommended 

by the ISO. These decisions were based on focus group testing sponsored by the agency 

which strongly indicated that these unique requirements would be far more effective with 

respect to safety than the industry standards.

3. Government Unique Standard: Brake Performance, 49 CFR 393.52 - FMCSA's 

Performance-Based Brake Testers (PBBTs) Requirement (Incorporated: 2002) 

Voluntary Standard

SAE J667 - Brake Test Code Inertia Dynamometer (cancelled February 2002) 

SAE J1854 - Brake Force Distribution Performance Guide - Trucks and Buses

Rationale
117

FMCSA used government-unique standards in lieu of voluntary consensus standards 

when it implemented its final rule to allow inspectors to use performance-based brake 

testers (PBBTs) to check the brakes on large trucks and buses for compliance with federal 

safety standards and to issue citations when these vehicles fail (67 FR 51770, August 9, 

2002). The FMCSA evaluated several PBBTs during a round robin test series to assess 

their functional performance and potential use in law enforcement. The standard, a 

specific configuration of brake forces and wheel loads on a heavy-duty vehicle, was used 

to evaluate the candidate PBBTs and their operating protocols. The agency’s rationale for 

use of the government-unique standards was to verify that these measurements and new 

technology could be used by law enforcement as an alternative to stopping distance tests 

or on-road deceleration tests. PBBTs are expected to save time and their use could 

increase the number of commercial motor vehicles that can be inspected in a given time. 

Only PBBTs that meet specifications developed by the FMCSA can be used to determine 

compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. The final rule represents a 

culmination of agency research that began in the early 1990s.

4. Government Unique Standard: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 

226, ‘‘Ejection Mitigation" (49 CFR 571.226; 49 CFR 585, Subpart K) (2011). 

(Incorporated: 2010) 

Voluntary Standard

SAE J2568—Intrusion Resistance of Safety Glazing Systems for Road Vehicles; BSI AU 

209—Vehicle Security

Rationale

NHTSA studied the potential of applying these standards, but decided against adopting 

them for several reasons. These standards provide glazing intrusion resistance 

requirements from external impact (outside-in) as opposed 

to ejection mitigation (inside-out). Additionally, the requirements are not appropriate for 

vehicles with only side 

curtain air bags, given that there is a time dependence associated with a curtain’s ejection 

mitigation performance. Once deployed, the pressure in the air bag continuously 

decreases. The 16 km/h test is done at 6 seconds to assure that the pressure does not 

decrease too quickly. It does not seem that the 40 mm gap test could be done after the 6-

second impact, in any timeframe which is related to rollover and side impact ejections. 

Further, there was no shown safety need for applying the suggested standards. We cannot 

show that ejections that would not be prevented by the primary 100-mm displacement 

requirement would be prevented by a secondary 40-mm requirement. Also, it seemed that 

the 40-mm requirement would indirectly require installation of advanced glazing. The 

costs associated with advanced glazing installations at the side windows covered by the 

NHTSA standard are substantial in comparison to a system only utilizing rollover 

curtains. For these reasons, the agency did not accept the standards.

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0
118

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 8

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: 

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 50

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

Aerospace Industries Association of America AIA

American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators AAMVA

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials AASHTO

American Gas Association AGA

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics AIAA

American Petroleum Institute API

American Public Transportation Association APTA

American Pyrotechnic Association APA

American Railway Engineering & Maintenance-of-Way Association AREMA

American Society for Nondestructive Testing ASNT

American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE

American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME

Association of American Railroads AAR

ASTM International ASTM

Canadian General Standards Board CGSB

Chlorine Institute CI

Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Alliance CMVSA

Compressed Gas Association CGA

Electronic Components Assemblies & Materials Association ECAMA

European Telecommunications Standards Institute ETSI

Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Inc. HFES

Illuminating Engineering Society of North America IESNA

Industrial Truck Association ITA

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEEE

Institute of Transportation Engineers ITE
119

Intelligent Transportation Society of America ITSA

International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA

International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO

International Maritime Organization IMO

International Organization for Standardization ISO

International Society of Automation ISA

Manufacturers Standardization Society of the Valve and Fittings Industry MSSVFI

National Association of Corrosion Engineers International NACE

National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices NCUTCD

National Electrical Manufacturers Association NEMA

National Fire Protection Association NFPA

National Petroleum Management Association NPMA

National Safety Council NSC

North American Transport of Dangerous Goods Standards NATDGS

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD

Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics RTCA

Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services RTCM

Recreation Vehicle Industry Association RVIA

Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North 

America RESNA

Society for Protective Coatings SPC

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE

Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers SNAME

Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association TTMA

United Nations Committee on the Transport of Dangerous Goods UNTDG

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe UNECE

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 131

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA): Under 15 CFR Part 286, FRA’s conformity assessment 

activities are visible internationally through expanded efforts in the area of safe, uniform 

international transport of hazardous materials by participation in the Canadian General Standards 

Board Tank Car Committee and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Transportation 

Pressure Vessel Committee, as well as continuing to participate in the North American Transport 

of Dangerous Goods Standard Working Group and the Association of American Railroads Tank 
120

Car Committee. Participation in the voluntary consensus standards bodies listed above as well as 

in numerous committees and sub-committees of those bodies gives FRA access to the 

developmental stages of private sector conformity assessment standards to ensure that the agency 

viewpoint is considered in the development of these standards.

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

DOT believes that Circular A-119 is working effectively. The use of voluntary standards 

provides efficiencies for regulatory agencies, and for regulated entities and industries. There 

continues to be a low volume of government-unique standards being used in lieu of voluntary 

consensus standards within DOT. 

DOT recommends that OMB Circular A-119 be revised to require NTTAA reporting only on 

instances of government-unique standards being used in lieu of voluntary consensus standards, 

with the default position being that agencies are using VCS for regulatory work as much as 

possible. The Circular should continue the policy that there is no requirement to report on 

government-unique standards developed where a voluntary consensus standard is unavailable, 

per sections 6g and 9a of the Circular.

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

DOT offers no additional comments.

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

Standards referenced in the Code of Federal Regulations are periodically reviewed as part of the 

Section 610 reviews, and as a part of the continuing rulemaking process, including petitions for 

rulemaking. Some operating administrations also have an internal regulatory effectiveness 

review function, which provides a further opportunity to review both voluntary consensus and 

agency-unique standards. These avenues allow for both ad-hoc and periodic reviews. 

Standards incorporated into regulations for purposes of international harmonization are generally 

reviewed and updated every two years.

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; Yes
121

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; C

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; Yes

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 5

Title: Department of Transportation (DOT) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

Department of the Treasury (TRES) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

The Department of the Treasury's main mission is focused on promoting economic prosperity 

and ensuring financial security of the United States. Our mission: Maintain a strong economy 

and create economic and job opportunities by promoting conditions that enable economic growth 

and stability at home and abroad, strengthen national security by combating threats and 

protecting the integrity of the financial system, and manage the U.S. Government's finances and 

resources effectively. 

Treasury operates and maintains systems that are critical to the Nation’s financial infrastructure, 

such as producing coins and currency, disbursing payments to the American public, collecting 

taxes, and borrowing funds necessary to run the federal government. Treasury is working to 

ensure that its new responsibilities from the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act provide necessary protections against the financial excesses that contributed to the 

recent financial crisis, while preserving the benefits of financial innovation. 

Thus, Treasury implements several standards crucial to our enterprise information 

systems/application and core functions around manufacturing, including technical standards for 

data management. Since 2007, Treasury has adopted IT standards from a wide range of standards 

bodies, particularly the ISO and ANSI for data management. More details can be found at 

http://www.treasury.gov/about/organizationalstructure/offices/Documents/Technical_Standards_Profile.pdf. Currently, Treasury and its Office 

of the Chief Information Officer are updating the Strategic Plans, and it will reflect more recent 

innovation and service requirements around information sharing and shared services.

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 0
122

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 2

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: 

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 13

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

American National Standards Institute ANSI

Association of National Numbering Agencies ANNA

Extensible Business Reporting Language XBRL

Fix Protocol Ltd. FIX

International Organization for Standardization ISO

International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. ISDA

Internet Engineering Task Force IETF

Object Management Group OMG

Omgeo Omgeo

Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards OASIS

Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication SWIFT

Software & Information Industry Association's Financial Information 

Services Division SIIA/FISD

World Wide Web Consortium W3C

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 1

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 
123

1. Government Accountability (GAO) Audits (includes Data Center Consolidation Initiative and 

PKI) 

2. Certifications and Accreditations 

3. Legal Entity Identifier (ISO 17442) 

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) establishes 

the Office of Financial Research (OFR) under the Department of the Treasury, which has the 

authority to establish standards for how U.S. financial companies identify themselves in 

reporting to the OFR. 

The Dodd-Frank Act also requires the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) 

and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue rules for reporting swap 

transactions, including how counterparties to those transactions are identified. 

In November 2010, the OFR publishes a policy statement to promote the establishment of a 

universal Legal Entity Identifier (LEI). The statement asks for public input on the technical 

requirements for LEI, associated reference data, and a system that would issue and validate LEIs 

and reference data. The statement calls for establishing a public-private solution through 

international consensus. 

ISO 17442, Financial services – LEI is currently at the Draft International Standard stage and 

expected to be published as an ISO International Standard by January 2012. However, it was 

recently recommended by the Global Financial Management Association (GFMA) – a federation 

of global financial services trade associations – as a basis for a viable, uniform and global LEI 

solution. Key attributes of the standard, addressing the requirements from global industry and 

regulators are: 1) Enables unique identification of global entities requiring an LEI 2)Defines 

robust open governance of the issuance and maintenance of the LEI scheme 3) Defines an LEI 

that contains no embedded intelligence 4) Can be applied worldwide to support the financial 

services industry 5) Leverages the expertise of ISO/TC 68 in defining and maintaining identifier 

standards 6)Is persistent 7)Defines a scheme that is scalable and free from assignment 

limitations.

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

None.

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

The Department of the Treasury is working on its three year strategic plan. Simultaneously, the 

Office of the Chief Information Officer is strengthening its enterprise data management core in 

conjunction with the growth of the Office of Financial Research. OCIO's Enterprise Architecture 

is also working with Treasury three major bureaus that are implementing enterprise data policies 

to develop and deploy functional data exchanges; these projects along with work on OMB's 

Federal Enterprise Architecture Refresh will play a vital role in defining data as a strategic asset. 

In its IT Strategic Plan, the CIO has identified the following goals for enterprise data 

management: 

* Data centric infrastructure that supports policy analysis and decision making 
124

- Processes, operations, and customer service continuously improved through data driven 

technology 

- Improved data integrity through use of common data standards and definitions across Treasury 

- Transparency into information used to support policy decisions

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; Yes

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; C

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; Yes

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 1

Title: Department of the Treasury (TRES) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

None submitted.
125

Appendix E – Individual, Unabridged Commission and other 

Agency Reports

Access Board (ACCESS) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how your 

agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide any examples 

or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and links to your agency's 

standards website.

The Access Board is authorized to promulgate both guidelines and standards. The Board uses referenced 

standards to maintain harmonization with model codes and standards commonly used by entities covered 

by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968, Section 255 of the 

Telecommunications Act of 1996, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and Section 

510 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. The Access Board’s Guidelines and Standards for 

Information and Communications Technology (36 CFR Part 1193 Telecommunications Act Accessibility 

Guidelines and 36 CFR Part 1194 Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards 

currently are under revision (http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/refresh/draft-rule.htm). Another 

Standard 36 CFR Part 1195 for Accessible Medical Diagnostic Equipment is in development. The Board's 

guidelines are adopted as enforceable standards by other Federal agencies, these also include: 

36 CFR Part 1191 

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities; 

Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) Accessibility Guidelines 

http://www.access-board.gov/ada-aba/final.cfm 

36 CFR Part 1192 

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines for Transportation Vehicles 

http://www.access-board.gov/transit/html/vguide.htm 

36 CFR Part 1195 

Standards for Accessible Medical Diagnostic Equipment 

http://www.access-board.gov/mde/nprm.htm

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus standards 

during FY 2011: 1
126

1. Government Unique Standard: 36 CFR Part 1194 Electronic and Information Technology 

Accessibility Standards (December, 2000) (Incorporated: 2006) 

Voluntary Standard

ANSI/IEEE Standard for Hearing Aid Compatibility with Wireless Devices

Rationale

A provision in the Section 508 Standards requires that interference to hearing technologies be 

reduced to the lowest possible level that allows a user of hearing technologies to utilize a 

telecommunications product. Individuals who are hard of hearing use hearing aids and other 

assistive listening devices, but they cannot be used if products introduce noise into the listening 

aids because of electromagnetic interference. The ANSI/IEEE Standard for Hearing Aid 

Compatibility with Wireless Devices was not completed in time for reference by the agency in its 

final rule published in FY 2000. However, the agency will consider using the Standard in FY 

20007. In the meantime, because the requirement in the agency rule is a performance standard, 

the agency considers compliance with the VCS to meet the agency Standard. 

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government Unique 

Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to use during 

FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Non-consensus Standards that are 

developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 2011. In addition, please provide 

your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards that are developed in the private sector 

counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 0

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: The Access Board did not complete a rulemaking in FY 2011.

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency participated in 

during FY 2011: 7

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

Acoustical Society of America ASA

American National Standards Institute ANSI
127

American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME

ASTM International ASTM

International Code Council ICC

National Spa and Pool Institute NSPI

Web Accessibility Initiative WAI

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in:

Agency Representatives: 8

Activities: 7

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal Conformity 

Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, dated August 10, 2000) 

in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

N/A

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and recommendations for 

any changes:

N/A

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

N/A

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports its use 

of voluntary consensus standards:

N/A

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]
128

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to compliance 

purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; No

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, industry 

consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) Neither; or (e) Not 

applicable; C

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for purposes of 

updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; No

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter the 

number of years]: 0

Title: Access Board (ACCESS) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency 

Report

No report submitted

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency 

Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) is responsible for 

protecting the American public from unreasonable risks of injury and death associated with 

thousands of types of consumer products. Since its inception in 1973, the Commission has 

promoted the development of voluntary product safety standards to help it accomplish this 

mission. From 1990 - 2011, Commission staff supported the development of over 522 new, 

revised, or reaffirmed voluntary standards. Information on the Commission staff's involvement in 

voluntary standards activities can be found on CPSC's website at 

www.cpsc.gov/volstd/standards.html.

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 2
129

1. Government Unique Standard: 16 CFR 1500.17(a)(13), Metal-Cored Candlewicks 

Containing Lead and Candles With Such Wicks (Incorporated: 2003) 

Voluntary Standard

Voices of Safety International (VOSI) standard on lead in candle wicks

Rationale

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found that the VOSI standard is 

technically unsound, and thus would not result in the elimination or adequate reduction of 

the risk, and that substantial compliance with it is unlikely. See 68 Fed. Reg. 19145-6, 

paragraph H2, Voluntary Standards for further information on this finding.

2. Government Unique Standard: CPSC 16 CFR Parts 1213, 1500, and 1513 for Bunk 

Beds (Incorporated: 2000) 

Voluntary Standard

ASTM F1427-96 Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Bunk Beds

Rationale

The CPSC rules go beyond the provisions of the ASTM voluntary standard to provide 

increased protection to children from the risk of death and serious injury from 

entrapment.

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 1

Voluntary Standard Government Standard

Standard Consumer Safety Specification for 

Full-Size Cribs (ASTM F1169) and Standard 

Consumer Safety Specification for Non-FullSize Baby Cribs/Play Yards (ASTM F406)

Safety Standards for Full-Size Baby Cribs and 

Non-Full-Size Baby Cribs, 75 FR 81766 

(12/28/2010)

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 3

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: 

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 9
130

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

American National Standards Institute ANSI

American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME

Association of Pool and Spa Professionals APSP

ASTM International ASTM

International Organization for Standardization ISO

National Electrical Manufacturers Association NEMA

National Fire Protection Association NFPA

Underwriters Laboratories UL

Window Covering Manufacturers Association WCMA

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 29

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

On August 14, 2008, the President signed into law the Consumer Product Safety Improvement 

Act of 2008, hereinafter referred to as the Act. Among other things, this Act sets forth 

requirements for general conformity certification and third party testing for children's products 

subject to consumer product safety rules under the Act or similar rules, bans, standards, or 

regulations under any other Act enforced by the Commission. A copy of the Act and related 

information on CPSC conformity assessment activities are shown on CPSC's website at 

www.cpsc.gov under "Information on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act".

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

During FY 2011, Commission staff efforts to enhance voluntary safety standards development 

were complemented by the overall Federal policy set forth in the Circular. There are no 

recommendations for changes in the Circular at this time.

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

The Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), as amended, requires the Commission to defer to 

issued voluntary standards, rather than promulgate mandatory standards, when the voluntary 

standards will eliminate or adequately reduce the risk of injury addressed and it is likely that 

there will be substantial compliance with the voluntary standards. Additionally, the Commission 

is encouraged to provide technical and administrative assistance to groups developing product 

safety standards and test methods, taking into account Commission resources and priorities. The 

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) mandates several voluntary 

standards as mandatory standards and requires the Commission to adopt many durable infant 
131

product voluntary standards as mandatory standards, along with a mechanism to update them as 

the voluntary standards are updated. In addition, Congress signed the Virginia Graeme Baker 

Pool and Spa Act (VGB Act) into law in December 2007. The VGB Act makes the requirements 

of a voluntary standard dealing with entrapment protection a mandatory consumer product safety 

rule. 

Since its inception in 1973, the Commission has promoted the development of voluntary product 

safety standards. Policy statements in support of voluntary standards were published by the 

CPSC in 1975 and 1978. These policy statements were updated in 1988 and 2006 (16CFR 1031). 

Staff directives on implementation of portions of these policy statements were promulgated in 

1989 and updated in October 2001 and July 2006. Since the principles set forth in OMB Circular 

A-119 were published, the Commission has consistently supported them.

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

TITLE: CPSC STAFF VOLUNTARY STANDARDS MIDYEAR AND ANNUAL REPORTS

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; C

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; A

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; Yes

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 1

Title: Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.
132

Standards are important to EPA. Our mission is to protect the environment and human health and 

we do this primarily thru regulatory activities. Generally we don't use voluntary standards in lieu 

of regulations however we use such standards often within the context of regulations as 

acceptable test methods. We also use private sector standards and conformity assessment 

mechanisms in several Agency voluntary or partnership programs such as Water Sense and 

others.

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 23

1. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 1 – Traverse Points, Stationary Sources 

(Incorporated: 2001) 

Voluntary Standard

ASTM D3154-00, Standard Method for Average Velocity in a Duct (Pitot Tube Method)

Rationale

1. The standard appears to lack in quality control and quality assurance requirements. It

does not include the following: (1) Proof that openings of standard pitot tube have not 

plugged during the test; (2) if differential pressure gauges other than inclined manometers 

(e.g., magnehelic gauges) are used, their calibration must be checked after each test 

series; and (3) the frequency and validity range for calibration of the temperature sensors. 

2. They are too general, too broad, or not sufficiently detailed to assure compliance with 

EPA regulatory requirements.

Voluntary Standard

ASTM D3154-91 (1995), Standard Method for Average Velocity in a Duct (Pitot Tube 

Method)

Rationale

Is too general, too broad, or not sufficiently detailed to assure compliance with EPA 

regulatory requirements.

2. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 101 - Mercury Emissions, Chlor-Alkali 

Plants (Air) (Incorporated: 2001) 

Voluntary Standard

ASTM D6216-98 - Standard Practice for Opacity Monitor Manufacturers to Certify 

Conformance with Design and Performance Specifications.

Rationale

The EPA is incorporating ASTM D6216 (manufacturers certification) by reference into 

EPA Performance Specification 1, Sect. 5 & 6 in another rulemaking. ASTM D6216 does 

not address all the requirements specified in PS-1.

3. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 101a - Mercury Emissions Sewer/Sludge 

Incinerator (Incorporated: 2001) 

Voluntary Standard
133

ASTM D6216-98 - Standard Practice for Opacity Monitor Manufacturers to Certify 

Conformance with Design and Performance Specifications.

Rationale

The EPA is incorporating ASTM D6216 (manufacturers certification) by reference into 

EPA Performance Specification 1, Sect. 5 & 6 in another rulemaking. ASTM D6216 does 

not address all the requirements specified in PS-1.

4. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 10A – Carbon Monoxide for Certifying 

CEMS (Incorporated: 2001) 

Voluntary Standard

CAN/CSA Z223.21-M1978, Method for the Measurement of Carbon Monoxide: 3—

Method of Analysis by Non-Dispersive Infrared Spectrometry.

Rationale

1. It is lacking in the following areas: (1) Sampling procedures; (2) procedures to correct 

for the carbon dioxide concentration; (3) instructions to correct the gas volume if CO2 

traps are used; (4) specifications to certify the calibration gases are within 2 percent of 

the target concentration; (5) mandatory instrument performance characteristics (e.g., rise 

time, fall time, zero drift, span drift, precision); (6) quantitative specification of the span 

value maximum as compared to the measured value: The standard specifies that the 

instruments should be compatible with the concentration of gases to be measured, 

whereas EPA Method 10 specifies that the instrument span value should be no more than 

1.5 times the source performance standard. 2. Is too general, too broad, or not sufficiently 

detailed to assure compliance with EPA regulatory requirements.

5. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 12 – Inorganic Lead, Stationary Sources 

(Incorporated: 2000) 

Voluntary Standard

ASTM D4358-94 (1999), Standard Test Method for Lead and Chromium in Air 

Particulate Filter Samples of Lead Chromate Type Pigment Dusts by Atomic Absorption 

Spectroscopy

Rationale

These ASTM standards do not require the use of glass fiber filters as in EPA Method 12 

and require the use of significantly different digestion procedures that appear to be milder 

than the EPA Method 12 digestion procedure. For these reasons, these ASTM standards 

cannot be considered equivalent to EPA Method 12. Also, the subject ASTM standards 

do not require the use of hydrogen fluoride (HF) as in EPA Method 29 and, therefore, 

they cannot be used for the preparation, digestion, and analysis of Method 29 samples. 

Additionally, Method 29 requires the use of a glass fiber filter, whereas these three 

ASTM standards require cellulose filters and other probable nonglass fiber media, which 

cannot be considered equivalent to EPA Method 29.

Voluntary Standard

ASTM E1741-95 (1995), Standard Practice for Preparation of Airborne Particulate Lead 

Samples Collected During Abatement and Construction Activities for Subsequent 

Analysis by Atomic Spectrometry
134

Rationale

These ASTM standards do not require the use of glass fiber filters as in EPA Method 12 

and require the use of significantly different digestion procedures that appear to be milder 

than the EPA Method 12 digestion procedure. For these reasons, these ASTM standards 

cannot be considered equivalent to EPA Method 12. Also, the subject ASTM standards 

do not require the use of hydrogen fluoride (HF) as in EPA Method 29 and, therefore, 

they cannot be used for the preparation, digestion, and analysis of Method 29 samples. 

Additionally, Method 29 requires the use of a glass fiber filter, whereas these three 

ASTM standards require cellulose filters and other probable nonglass fiber media, which 

cannot be considered equivalent to EPA Method 29.

Voluntary Standard

ASTM E1979-98 (1998), Standard Practice for Ultrasonic Extraction of Paint, Dust, Soil, 

and Air Samples for Subsequent Determination of Lead

Rationale

These ASTM standards do not require the use of glass fiber filters as in EPA Method 12 

and require the use of significantly different digestion procedures that appear to be milder 

than the EPA Method 12 digestion procedure. For these reasons, these ASTM standards 

cannot be considered equivalent to EPA Method 12. Also, the subject ASTM standards 

do not require the use of hydrogen fluoride (HF) as in EPA Method 29 and, therefore, 

they cannot be used for the preparation, digestion, and analysis of Method 29 samples. 

Additionally, Method 29 requires the use of a glass fiber filter, whereas these three 

ASTM standards require cellulose filters and other probable nonglass fiber media, which 

cannot be considered equivalent to EPA Method 29.

6. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 17 - Particle Matter (PM) In Stack 

Filtration (Incorporated: 2001) 

Voluntary Standard

ASME C00049

Rationale

EPA looked at this standard for both Pulp and Paper Hazardous Air Pollutant rules and 

for the Small Municipal Waste Combustion rule. Contains sampling options beyond 

which would be considered acceptable for Method 5.

Voluntary Standard

ASTM D3685/3685M-95 - Standard Test method for Sampling and Determination of 

Particle Matter in Stack Gases 

Rationale

EPA looked at this standard for both Pulp and Paper Hazardous Air Pollutant rules and 

for the Small Municipal Waste Combustion rule. Contains sampling options beyond 

which would be considered acceptable for Method 5.

7. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 2 – Velocity and S-type Pitot 

(Incorporated: 1999) 

Voluntary Standard
135

ASTM D3464-96 (2001), Standard Test Method Average Velocity in a Duct Using a 

Thermal Anemometer

Rationale

Applicability specifications are not clearly defined, e.g., range of gas composition, 

temperature limits. Also, the lack of supporting quality assurance data for the calibration 

procedures and specifications, and certain variability issues that are not adequately 

addressed by the standard limit EPA's ability to make a definitive comparison of the 

method in these areas.

Voluntary Standard

ISO 10780:1994, Stationary Source Emissions-- Measurement of Velocity and Volume 

Flowrate of Gas Streams in Ducts

Rationale

The standard recommends the use of an L-shaped pitot, which historically has not been 

recommended by EPA. The EPA specifies the S-type design, which has large openings 

that are less likely to plug up with dust.

8. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 21 - Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) 

Leaks (Incorporated: 2003) 

Voluntary Standard

ASTM E1211-97 - Standard Practice for Leak Detection and Location Using SurfaceMounted Acoustic Emission Sensors

Rationale

This standard will detect leaks but not classify the leak as VOC, as in EPA Method 21. In 

addition, in order to detect the VOC concentration of a known VOC leak, the acoustic 

signal would need to be calibrated against a primary instrument. Background noise 

interference in some source situations could also make this standard difficult to use 

effectively.

9. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 25 – Gaseous Nonmethane Organic 

Emissions (Incorporated: 2001) 

Voluntary Standard

EN 12619:1999 Stationary Source Emissions--Determination of the Mass Concentration 

of Total Gaseous Organic Carbon at Low Concentrations in Flue Gases--Continuous 

Flame Ionization Detector Method

Rationale

The standards do not apply to solvent process vapors in concentrations greater than 40 

ppm (EN 12619) and 10 ppm carbon (ISO 14965). Methods whose upper limits are this 

low are too limited to be useful in measuring source emissions, which are expected to be 

much higher.

Voluntary Standard

ISO 14965:2000(E) Air Quality--Determination of Total Nonmethane Organic 

Compounds--Cryogenic Preconcentration and Direct Flame Ionization Method

Rationale
136

The standards do not apply to solvent process vapors in concentrations greater than 40 

ppm (EN 12619) and 10 ppm carbon (ISO 14965). Methods whose upper limits are this 

low are too limited to be useful in measuring source emissions, which are expected to be 

much higher.

10. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 25A – Gaseous Organic Concentration, 

Flame Ionization (Incorporated: 2001) 

Voluntary Standard

EN 12619:1999 Stationary Source Emissions--Determination of the Mass Concentration 

of Total Gaseous Organic Carbon at Low Concentrations in Flue Gases--Continuous 

Flame Ionization Detector Method

Rationale

The standards do not apply to solvent process vapors in concentrations greater than 40 

ppm (EN 12619) and 10 ppm carbon (ISO 14965). Methods whose upper limits are this 

low are too limited to be useful in measuring source emissions, which are expected to be 

much higher.

Voluntary Standard

ISO 14965:2000(E) Air Quality--Determination of Total Nonmethane Organic 

Compounds--Cryogenic Preconcentration and Direct Flame Ionization Method

Rationale

The standards do not apply to solvent process vapors in concentrations greater than 40 

ppm (EN 12619) and 10 ppm carbon (ISO 14965). Methods whose upper limits are this 

low are too limited to be useful in measuring source emissions, which are expected to be 

much higher.

11. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 28 (Section 10.1) – Wood Heaters, 

Certificate and Auditing (Incorporated: 2003) 

Voluntary Standard

ASME Power Test Codes, Supplement on Instruments and Apparatus, part 5, 

Measurement of Quantity of Materials, Chapter 1, Weighing Scales

Rationale

It does not specify the number of initial calibration weights to be used nor a specific 

pretest weight procedure.

Voluntary Standard

ASTM E319-85 (Reapproved 1997), Standard Practice for the Evaluation of Single-Pan 

Mechanical Balances

Rationale

This standard is not a complete weighing procedure because it does not include a pretest 

procedure.

12. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 29 – Metals Emissions from Stationary 

Sources (Incorporated: 2001) 

Voluntary Standard
137

ASTM D4358-94 (1999), Standard Test Method for Lead and Chromium in Air 

Particulate Filter Samples of Lead Chromate Type Pigment Dusts by Atomic Absorption 

Spectroscopy

Rationale

These ASTM standards do not require the use of glass fiber filters as in EPA Method 12 

and require the use of significantly different digestion procedures that appear to be milder 

than the EPA Method 12 digestion procedure. For these reasons, these ASTM standards 

cannot be considered equivalent to EPA Method 12. Also, the subject ASTM standards 

do not require the use of hydrogen fluoride (HF) as in EPA Method 29 and, therefore, 

they cannot be used for the preparation, digestion, and analysis of Method 29 samples. 

Additionally, Method 29 requires the use of a glass fiber filter, whereas these three 

ASTM standards require cellulose filters and other probable nonglass fiber media, which 

cannot be considered equivalent to EPA Method 29.

Voluntary Standard

ASTM E1741-95 (1995), Standard Practice for Preparation of Airborne Particulate Lead 

Samples Collected During Abatement and Construction Activities for Subsequent 

Analysis by Atomic Spectrometry

Rationale

These ASTM standards do not require the use of glass fiber filters as in EPA Method 12 

and require the use of significantly different digestion procedures that appear to be milder 

than the EPA Method 12 digestion procedure. For these reasons, these ASTM standards 

cannot be considered equivalent to EPA Method 12. Also, the subject ASTM standards 

do not require the use of hydrogen fluoride (HF) as in EPA Method 29 and, therefore, 

they cannot be used for the preparation, digestion, and analysis of Method 29 samples. 

Additionally, Method 29 requires the use of a glass fiber filter, whereas these three 

ASTM standards require cellulose filters and other probable nonglass fiber media, which 

cannot be considered equivalent to EPA Method 29.

Voluntary Standard

ASTM E1979-98 (1998), Standard Practice for Ultrasonic Extraction of Paint, Dust, Soil, 

and Air Samples for Subsequent Determination of Lead

Rationale

These ASTM standards do not require the use of glass fiber filters as in EPA Method 12 

and require the use of significantly different digestion procedures that appear to be milder 

than the EPA Method 12 digestion procedure. For these reasons, these ASTM standards 

cannot be considered equivalent to EPA Method 12. Also, the subject ASTM standards 

do not require the use of hydrogen fluoride (HF) as in EPA Method 29 and, therefore, 

they cannot be used for the preparation, digestion, and analysis of Method 29 samples. 

Additionally, Method 29 requires the use of a glass fiber filter, whereas these three 

ASTM standards require cellulose filters and other probable nonglass fiber media, which 

cannot be considered equivalent to EPA Method 29.

Voluntary Standard

CAN/CSA Z223.26-M1987, Measurement of Total Mercury in Air Cold Vapour Atomic 

Absorption Spectrophotometeric Method

Rationale

It lacks sufficient quality assurance and quality control requirements necessary for EPA 

compliance assurance requirements.
138

13. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 306 - Chromium Emissions, 

Electroplating and Anodizing (Incorporated: 2002) 

Voluntary Standard

ASTM D4358-94 (1999) - Standard Test Method for Lead and Chromium in Air 

Particulate Filter Samples of Lead Chromate Type Pigment Dusts by Atomic Absorption 

Spectroscopy

Rationale

This MACT standard (Petroleum Refineries) only cites Method 29. Therefore, the 

following EPA comment is only applicable for Method 29 not Method 12 and 306: 

Method 29 requires the use of hydrofluoric acid (HF) in its process of digestion of the 

sample. ASTM D4358-94 (1999) does not require the use of HF; therefore, it cannot be 

used in the preparation, digestion, and analysis of Method 29 samples. Additionally, 

Method 29 requires the use of a glass fiber filter, whereas the subject ASTM standard 

requires cellulose filters and other probable non-glass fiber media, and this further

negates their use as Method 29 equivalent methods. (Same comment as provided for 

ASTM E1741 and ASTM E1979).

14. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 306a - Chromium Emissions, 

Electroplating -- Mason Jar (Incorporated: 2002) 

Voluntary Standard

ASTM D4358-94 (1999) - Standard Test Method for Lead and Chromium in Air 

Particulate Filter Samples of Lead Chromate Type Pigment Dusts by Atomic Absorption 

Spectroscopy

Rationale

This MACT standard (Petroleum Refineries) only cites Method 29. Therefore, the 

following EPA comment is only applicable for Method 29 not Method 12 and 306: 

Method 29 requires the use of hydrofluoric acid (HF) in its process of digestion of the 

sample. ASTM D4358-94 (1999) does not require the use of HF; therefore, it cannot be 

used in the preparation, digestion, and analysis of Method 29 samples. Additionally, 

Method 29 requires the use of a glass fiber filter, whereas the subject ASTM standard 

requires cellulose filters and other probable non-glass fiber media, and this further 

negates their use as Method 29 equivalent methods. (Same comment as provided for 

ASTM E1741 and ASTM E1979).

15. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 3A – Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen 

Concentrations, IAP (Incorporated: 1999) 

Voluntary Standard

ISO 12039:2001, Stationary Source Emissions-- Determination of Carbon Monoxide, 

Carbon Dioxide, and Oxygen--Automated Methods

Rationale

This ISO standard is similar to EPA Method 3A, but is missing some key features. In 

terms of sampling, the hardware required by ISO 12039:2001 does not include a 3-way 

calibration valve assembly or equivalent to block the sample gas flow while calibration 
139

gases are introduced. In its calibration procedures, ISO 12039:2001 only specifies a twopoint calibration while EPA Method 3A specifies a three-point calibration. Also, ISO 

12039:2001 does not specify performance criteria for calibration error, calibration drift, 

or sampling system bias tests as in the EPA method, although checks of these quality 

control features are required by the ISO standard.

16. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 515.4 – Chlorinated Acids in DW by LL 

Fast CG/ECD (Incorporated: 2003) 

Voluntary Standard

ASTM D5317-98 -- Standard Test Method For Determination of Chlorinated Organic 

Acid Compounds in Water by Gas Chromatography With an Electron Capture Detector

Rationale

ASTM D5317-98 specifies acceptance windows for the initial demonstration of 

proficiency for laboratory fortified blank samples that are as small as 0 percent to as large 

as 223 percent recovery for picloram, with tighter criteria for other regulated 

contaminants. Therefore, this method permits unacceptably large control limits, which 

include 0 percent recovery.

Voluntary Standard

Standard Method 6640 B for the chlorinated acids

Rationale

The use of this voluntary consensus standard would have been impractical due to 

significant shortcomings in the sample preparation and quality control sections of the 

method instructions. Section 1b of Method SM 6640 B states that the alkaline wash 

detailed in section 4b2 is optional. The hydrolysis that occurs during this step is essential 

to the analysis of the esters of many of the analytes. Therefore, this step is necessary and 

cannot be optional. In addition, the method specifies that the quality control limits for 

laboratory-fortified blanks are to be based upon plus or minus three times the standard 

deviation of the mean recovery of the analytes, as determined in each laboratory. 

Therefore, this method permits unacceptably large control limits, which may include 0 

percent recovery.

17. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 531.2 – N-Methylcarbamoylozimes/ates, 

Aqueous In/HPLC (Incorporated: 2003) 

Voluntary Standard

Standard Method 6610, 20th Edition

Rationale

Standard Method 6610, 20th Edition has recently been approved for compliance 

monitoring. Standard Method 6610, 20th Supplemental Edition permits the use of a 

strong acid, hydrochloric acid (HCL), as a preservative. The preservatives in all of the 

other approved EPA and Standard Methods procedures for these analytes are weak acids

that adjust the pH to a specific value based upon the pKa of the preservative. The use of 

HCL would require accurate determinations of the pH of the sample in the field and 

could be subject to considerable error and possible changes in pH upon storage. Although 

not specifically observed for oxamyl or carbofuran during the development of similar 
140

methods, structurally similar pesticides have been shown to degrade over time when kept 

at pH 3. Therefore, approval of this method is impractical because it specifies the use of a 

strong acid (HCL) when positive control of the pH is critical.

Voluntary Standard

Standard Method 6610, 20th Supplemental Edition

Rationale

Standard Method 6610, 20th Edition has recently been approved for compliance 

monitoring. Standard Method 6610, 20th Supplemental Edition permits the use of a 

strong acid, hydrochloric acid (HCL), as a preservative. The preservatives in all of the 

other approved EPA and Standard Methods procedures for these analytes are weak acids 

that adjust the pH to a specific value based upon the pKa of the preservative. The use of 

HCL would require accurate determinations of the pH of the sample in the field and 

could be subject to considerable error and possible changes in pH upon storage. Although 

not specifically observed for oxamyl or carbofuran during the development of similar 

methods, structurally similar pesticides have been shown to degrade over time when kept 

at pH 3. Therefore, approval of this method is impractical because it specifies the use of a 

strong acid (HCL) when positive control of the pH is critical.

18. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method 5i - Low Level Particulate Matter, 

Stationary Sources (Incorporated: 2001) 

Voluntary Standard

ASTM D6331-98

Rationale

This standard does not have paired trains as specified in method 5 and does not include 

some quality control procedures specified in the EPA method and which are appropriate 

to use in this rule.

19. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method ALT 004 (Incorporated: 2002) 

Voluntary Standard

ASTM D5835-95 - Standard Practice for Sampling Stationary Source Emissions for 

Automated Determination of Gas Concentration

Rationale

Similar to Methods 3a, 6c, 7e, 10, ALT 004, CTM 022. Lacks in detail and quality 

assurance and quality control requirements. Very similar to ISO 10396.

Voluntary Standard

ISO 10396:1993 - Stationary Source Emissions: Sampling for the Automated 

Determination of Gas Concentrations 

Rationale

Duplicates Method 3a, 6c, 7e, 10, ALT 004, CTM 022. Lacks in detail and quality 

assurance plus quality control requirements. Similar to ASTM D5835. 

20. Government Unique Standard: EPA Method CTM 022 (Incorporated: 2002) 

Voluntary Standard
141

ASTM D5835-95 - Standard Practice for Sampling Stationary Source Emissions for 

Automated Determination of Gas Concentration

Rationale

Similar to Methods 3a, 6c, 7e, 10, ALT 004, CTM 022. Lacks in detail and quality 

assurance and quality control requirements. Very similar to ISO 10396.

Voluntary Standard

ISO 10396:1993 - Stationary Source Emissions: Sampling for the Automated

Determination of Gas Concentrations 

Rationale

Duplicates Method 3a, 6c, 7e, 10, ALT 004, CTM 022. Lacks in detail and quality 

assurance plus quality control requirements. Similar to ASTM D5835. 

21. Government Unique Standard: EPA Performance Specification 2 (nitrogen oxide 

portion only) (Incorporated: 2001) 

Voluntary Standard

ISO 10849:1996, Determination of the Mass Concentration of Nitrogen Oxides--

Performance

Rationale

Is too general, too broad, or not sufficiently detailed to assure compliance with EPA 

regulatory requirements.

22. Government Unique Standard: EPA Performance Specification 2 (sulfur dioxide 

portion only) (Incorporated: 2001) 

Voluntary Standard

ISO 7935:1992, Stationary Source Emissions--Determination of the Mass Concentration 

of Sulfur Dioxide--Performance Characteristics of Automated Measuring Methods"

Rationale

Is too general, too broad, or not sufficiently detailed to assure compliance with EPA 

regulatory requirements.

23. Government Unique Standard: SW846-6010b (Incorporated: 2002) 

Voluntary Standard

ASTM C1111-98 (1998) - Standard Test Method for Determining Elements in Waste 

Streams by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometers 

Rationale

This standard lacks details for instrument operation QA/QC, such as optimizing plasma 

operating conditions; upper limit of linear dynamic range; spectral interference 

correction; and calibration procedures, which include initial and continuous calibration 

verifications. Also lacks internal standard and method of standard addition options for 

samples with interferences. 

Voluntary Standard
142

ASTM D6349-99 (1999) - Standard Test Method for Determining Major and Minor 

Elements in Coal, Coke, and Solid Residues from Combustion of Coal and Coke by 

Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometers

Rationale

This standard lacks details for instrument operation QA/QC, such as optimizing plasma 

operating conditions, upper limit of linear dynamic range, spectral interference 

correction, and calibration procedures, that include initial and continuous calibration 

verifications. Also lacks details for standard preparation, and internal standard and 

method of standard addition options for samples with interferences.

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 26

Other Technical Standards: 1

Rationale: Used because they fit the needs of the Agency in meeting our mission via the relevant 

final regulations.

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 14

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

American Gas Association AGA

American National Standards Institute ANSI

American Water Works Association AWWA

ASTM International ASTM

Building Officials and Code Administrators International BOCA

Electronic Industries Alliance EIA

Green Seal Standards for Adhesives GSSA

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEEE

International Electrotechnical Commission IEC

International Organization for Standardization ISO

National Electrical Manufacturers Association NEMA

National Fire Protection Association NFPA
143

NSF International NSFI

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 80

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

Conformity assessment activities include but not limited to areas for: water sense verification,

greening superfund cleanup sites and activities in energy star and green buildings.

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

The fact that the Circular exists is helpful in getting the attention of management levels with 

regard to employee participation in standards activities as well as use of non-government 

standards in Agency programs. This reporting mechanism has not, in and of itself - at least for 

this Agency - proven to be a significant asset in trying to encourage strategic consideration of the 

voluntary standards and conformity assessment tools available here in the US and world wide. In 

effect, the Circular does not seem to need revision but a reconsideration of the reporting might be 

helpful in providing the Administration, Congress and the public with a better sense of the value 

of the standards system and how collaboration between the government and the system is to the 

benefit of all.

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

The creation of the NSTC subcommittee on standards and potential for use of the Interagency 

Committee on Standards Policy (referenced in the Circular) are positive steps in helping to focus 

attention on the relevance of standards in addressing key national issues such as cyber security 

which can impact missions across the entire federal sector.

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

Again, as said in past reports, questions 10.6 and 10.7 are not asked in a way that this Agency 

can respond to accurately since EPA reviews regulations on the basis of the regulatory content 

and impact not that of standards incorporated by reference.

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]
144

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; No

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d)

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; C

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; No

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 0

Title: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

The FCC references many standards in support of the Commission’s regulatory responsibilities. 

These standards, referenced in the FCC rules, range from references to measurement methods 

and conformity assessment procedures to radio carriage requirements for oceangoing vessels to 

promote safety of life. In addition, standards are used to promote compatibility between radios 

and to achieve coordination among Commission licensees. 

For example: In the Hearing Aid Compatibility Report and Order (WT Docket No. 07-250) the 

Commission set a date of March 31, 2011 for the standards development organization, 

Accredited Standards Committee C63® - Electromagnetic Compatibility, to update the standard 

used to determine if a digital wireless phone is capable of operating effectively with hearing aids 

based on certain performance measurement standards contained in the 2007 version of ANSI 

C63.19, “American National Standard for Methods of Measurement of Compatibility between 

Wireless Communication Devices and Hearing Aids” (ANSI C63.19-2007). The applicability of 

this edition of the standard is limited to those air interfaces and frequency bands (800-950 MHz 

and 1.6-2.5 GHz) for which technical standards are stated in the standard governing wireless 

hearing aid compatibility. 

Another example is the successful use of the Telecommunications Industry Association 

Telecommunications System Bulletin 10-F, "Interference Criteria for Microwave Systems." This 

standard, referenced within several Commission rule parts has become the cornerstone for 

applicants and licensees to successfully coordinate the use of microwave communications 

systems.
145

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 0

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 0

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: N/A

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 13

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

Accredited Standards CommitteeC63® - Electromagnetic Compatibility C63®

Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions ATIS

Federal Geographic Data Committee FGDC

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEEE

Intelligent Transportation Society of America ITSA

International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO

International Electrotechnical Commission IEC

International Maritime Organization IMO

International Organization for Standardization ISO

International Telecommunication Union ITU

Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics RTCA

Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services RTCM

Telecommunications Industry Association TIA

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 28
146

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

Accredited Laboratory Recognition Program 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has a conformity assessment program that 

allows manufacturers and suppliers of personal computers, computer peripherals and other Radio 

Frequency (RF) devices to demonstrate compliance by use of a “Declaration of Conformity” 

procedure. Such products must be tested by a recognized accredited Electromagnetic 

Compatibility (EMC) testing laboratory. The FCC has recognized the following accreditation 

bodies: National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP); ANSI-ASQ National 

Accreditation Board/ACLASS (ACLASS); and the American Association for Laboratory 

Accreditation (A2LA) 

The FCC also recognizes accredited testing laboratories that have been accredited by A2LA, 

ACLASS or NVLAP to perform testing on products subject to the Commission’s equipment 

authorization program on products subject to certification under Part 15. 

The accreditation of a laboratory located outside of the United States, or its possessions, is 

acceptable to the Commission if the accredited laboratory has been designated by a foreign 

designating authority and recognized by the Commission under the terms of a government-togovernment Mutual Recognition Agreement/Arrangement (MRA); or if the testing laboratory 

has been recognized by the Commission as being accredited by an organization that has entered 

into an arrangement between accrediting organizations and the arrangement has been recognized 

by the Commission. 

The FCC has recognized a total of 303 accredited laboratories. 103 are located in the United 

States and 200 are located outside of the United States. 

Telecommunications Certification Bodies (TCB) Program 

On December 17, 1998, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules for the 

establishment of Telecommunication Certification Bodies (TCB). A TCB is a private 

organization, which is authorized to issue grants, within its scope of designation, for equipment 

subject to the FCC’s certification procedure. Under these rules, a TCB has the authority to 

review and grant an application for certification to the FCC rules. This order also established 

procedures for foreign TCBs under the terms of a government-to-government Mutual 

Recognition Agreement/Arrangement (MRA). Foreign TCBs, where recognized, certify 

equipment to U.S. requirements using test procedures and technical requirements under the FCC 

rules for purposes of U.S.-valid equipment authorization. There are two “phases” of mutual 

recognition. Phase I permits tests performed outside the U.S. to be used in support of equipment 

authorization of products subject to the FCC’s Declaration of Conformity (DoC) requirements; 

Phase II permits the certification of products subject to the FCC’s certification requirements by a 

TCB located outside of the U.S. 

In May 2000, NIST initially evaluated American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) 
147

Conformity Assessment Program for compliance with ISO/IEC Guide 61 and the Federal 

Communications Commission (FCC) requirements for its TCB program. Every two years 

ANSI’s accreditation program is subject to re-evaluation by NIST. 

ANSI evaluates prospective TCBs for compliance with ISO/IEC Guide 65 and FCC 

requirements for the TCB program. FCC requires that a TCB must have core testing capability 

and that the testing laboratory must be accredited to ISO/IEC Standard 17025. NIST 

recommends accredited organizations to FCC for designation as TCBs. 

The FCC has recognized a total of 35 certification bodies under the TCB program. 19 are located 

in the United States and 16 are located outside of the United States.

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

N/A

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

N/A

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; No

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; C

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; No

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 0

Title: Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report
148

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency 

Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

Standards are utilized to achieve the mission of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

(FERC or the Commission) as follows: 

I. The Commission reviews reliability standards developed by the North American Electric 

Reliability Corporation (NERC) under the Federal Power Act, Section 215. NERC reliability 

standards define the reliability requirements for planning and operating the North American bulk 

power system. NERC develops the reliability standards using an industry-driven, American 

National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited process that ensures the process is: (1) open to all 

persons who are directly and materially affected by the reliability of the North American bulk 

power system; (2) transparent to the public; (3) demonstrates the consensus for each standard; (4) 

fairly balances the interests of all stakeholders; (5) provides for reasonable notice and 

opportunity for comment; and (6) enables the development of standards in a timely manner. 

Upon review, the Commission can either approve the proposed standards or remand them back 

to the electric reliability organization for further consideration. The reliability standards become 

mandatory and enforceable in the United States only after they are approved by the Commission. 

Standards can be found at the NERC website at http://www.nerc.com/page.php?cid=2|20. 

II. The Commission’s statutory authority centers on major aspects of the nation’s electric, natural 

gas, hydroelectric and oil pipeline industries. The Commission relies extensively on competitive 

market forces to accomplish its statutory goals of non-discriminatory, just and reasonable rates, 

terms, and conditions of jurisdictional service. In that context, reducing or eliminating barriers to 

trade among willing buyers and sellers is an important element of the Commission’s policies. 

The Commission has relied on business practice standards developed and promoted by the North 

American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) to facilitate well-functioning wholesale gas and 

electric markets. NAESB, an ANSI accredited consensus standards development organization, 

develops and adopts voluntary standards and model business practices designed to promote more 

competitive and efficient natural gas and electric service. Such standards apply to electronic data 

interchange, record formats, communications protocols, and related business practices that 

streamline the transactional processes of the natural gas and electric industries. NAESB 

standards have been used by the Commission to establish basic foundational and definitional 

elements of the natural gas and electric industries’ commercial business practices, such as the 

“gas day”, the “electric day,” as well as other definitions and commonly used industry terms. 

Recent NAESB efforts have encompassed a number of wholesale gas and electric issues 

including, for example, the creation of standards needed to support Electronic Bulletin Board 

posting requirements regarding waste heat feasibility and standards for the measurement and 

verification of participating entities in certain types of demand response programs. The 

Commission’s use of NAESB developed wholesale gas and electric standards ensure that the 
149

incorporated business practices and technical guidelines have broad industry development, 

involvement, and endorsement. 

NAESB’s website may be found at http://www.naesb.org/. From time to time, as the 

Commission considers appropriate, select NAESB standards applicable to wholesale natural gas 

and wholesale electric business practices are incorporated by reference into the Commission’s 

regulations. See, e.g., 18 C.F.R. Part 38 titled Business Practice Standards and Communication 

Protocols for Public Utilities, and 18 C.F.R. Part 284.12 titled Standards for Pipeline Business 

Operations and Communications.

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 0

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 0

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: 

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 0

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 0

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

Not applicable

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

No recommendations at this time are proposed by FERC.
150

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

No other comments are provided by FERC at this time.

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

FERC reviews its standards for purposes of updating such use on an as needed basis.

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; C

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; E

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; No

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 1

Title: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States Government 

charged with enforcing competition and consumer protection laws. The Commission's primary 

contact with voluntary consensus standards and the organizations that produce them is in 

connection with the enforcement of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits unfair 

methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts and practices affecting commerce. The 

Commission does not promulgate its own standards or engage in other standards activities 

pertinent to OMB Circular A-119.
151

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 0

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 0

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: See response to Question 1.

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 0

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 0

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

See response to Question 1.

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

See response to Question 1.

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

N/A

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]
152

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; C

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; E

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; No

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 0

Title: Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

General Services Administration (GSA) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

Standards play a significant role in the Federal Supply program. They are used to establish 

baselines for product quality, performance and features; allow competitive procurement of 

functionally equivalent products and; when necessary ensure interchangeability of products 

produced under different contracts and across different contract periods. The most signification 

aspect of our use of standards is to ensure the safety and durability of the products purchased for 

government use. 

GSA maintains a standards website, http://www.gsa.gov Home>About GSA>Reference>Supply 

Standards

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 3

1. Government Unique Standard: Federal Specification KKK-A-1822E - Federal 

Specification for Ambulances (Incorporated: 2003) 

Voluntary Standard

ASTM F2020 - Standard Practice for Design, Construction, and Procurement of 

Emergency Medical Services Ambulances

Rationale
153

The ASTM Standard Practice for Design, Construction, and Procurement of Emergency 

Medical Services (EMSS) Ambulances (ASTM F2020) is not practical for use, and 

therefore GSA uses the Federal Specification for Ambulances (KKK-A-1822E). GSA has 

determined the ASTM document is not practical for use for the following reasons: 

1) GSA has determined that ASTM F2020 contains specific practices that are technically 

and economically impractical to use for the acquisition of commercial based vehicles 

because the document is financially burdensome and technically ineffective. Specifically 

at issue is the ASTM Standard Specification for Medical Oxygen Delivery Systems for 

EMS Ground Vehicles, F1949-99 which is inclusive to ASTM F2020. 

2) GSA has determined that ASTM F2020 is impractical because it is defined as a 

standard practice which is ambiguous and an ineffective substitution for specifications or 

requirements for use in GSA contract documents. ASTM F1949-99, a Standard 

Specification for Medical Oxygen Delivery Systems for EMS Ground Vehicles is 

included in ASTM F2020. ASTM F1949-99 is defined as a “standard specification”. 

3) GSA has determined that ASTM F2020 is impractical because ASTM International 

does not provide interpretations and written guidance to their publications which is 

inadequate and less useful. ASTM members may only offer personal opinions. ASTM 

offers no mechanism to support timely resolution of conflicts between contractor and 

procurement organizations on technical subject matter. GSA provides interpretations, 

clarifications and engineering determinations when required. This is one of the most 

important concerns presented by the Ambulance Manufacturers Division (AMD). 

4) The AMD has determined through consensus that it is impractical to replace the 

Federal Specification for Ambulances, KKK-A-1822E with the ASTM Standard Practice, 

F2020. GSA initiated a survey to collect public responses from a wide range of 

constituent users of the Federal Ambulance Specification. The National Association of 

Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), the International Association of Fire Chiefs 

(IAFC), the National Association of State EMS Directors (NASEMSD) and the National 

Association of EMS Physicians universally accept and support the continued use of the 

Federal Specification. The AMD and constituent users have determined that it is 

impractical to replace the Federal Specification for Ambulances, KKK-A-1822E with the 

ASTM Standard Practice, F2020 because rule promulgation is burdensome and costly. 

Staff and administration resources would need to be diverted in each state EMS office to 

implement the change in statutes, public health codes, rules and regulations. 

5) GSA has determined that ASTM F2020 is impractical because it is burdensome to 

GSA procurement efforts. While the current ASTM document recites many of the 

requirements from the Federal Specification, a future ASTM document would likely have 

diverging requirements unacceptable to the Government. This was verified by a member 

of the ASTM F2020 subcommittee at the September 4, 2003 meeting of the Federal 

Interagency Committee on Emergency Medical Services.

2. Government Unique Standard: FF-L-2937 (Incorporated: 2006) 
154

Voluntary Standard

UL 768

Rationale

Federal Specification FF-L-2937 – Combination Lock, Mechanical used in lieu of UL 

768 Combination Locks. The lock covered by the GUS is used for the protection of 

classified information and weapons. The UL specification did not meet identified 

government needs for dialing tolerance and bolt end pressure.

3. Government Unique Standard: MIL-G-9954 - Glass Beads for Cleaning and Peening 

(Incorporated: 2000) 

Voluntary Standard

SAE/AMS 2431 - Peening Media, General Requirements

Rationale

This government-unique standard contains specific size & performance required for Air 

Force critical applications that are not present in the voluntary standards.

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 8

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: 

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 16

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

Ambulance Manufacturers Division AMD

American Gas Association AGA

American National Standards Institute ANSI

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE

American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME

ASTM International ASTM

Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association BHMA
155

Institute of Packaging Professionals IOPP

National Fire Protection Association NFPA

National Institute of Packaging, Handling Engineers NIPHLE

National Sanitation Foundation NSF

National Truck Equipment Association NTEA

Qualified Products Management Council QPMC

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE

Technical Association for the Worldwide, Pulp Paper and Converting 

Industry TAPPI

The Maintenance Council of American Trucking Associations TMC/ATA

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 18

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

N/A

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

N/A

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

N/A

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; No
156

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; C

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; Yes

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 1

Title: General Services Administration (GSA) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

Government Printing Office (GPO) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

The use of standards has ensured consistency in our manufacturing process and the ability to 

maintain the highest quality in the production of our documents. The use of standards is very 

important in our procurement / acquisition process and defining our needs. When dealing with 

vendors, standards provide a level playing field for them when bidding on our Agency 

requirements. We use VCSs by reference to inform potential bidders and offerors of our 

minimum requirements. 

We also use standards to ensure consistency, and accuracy in the services that we provide to our 

customers. 

To formulate compliance policies and procedures that govern air quality, waste management, 

waste water discharge, pollution prevention, health and safety’ GPO relies on VCSs and 

applicable Federal and District regulations. 

Standards-based cataloging rules and procedures ensure consistent record creation, search, 

retrieval, and transfer of records in catalogs across libraries internationally (e.g., NISO Z39.50). 

In CY 2011, GPO created and contributed 22,347 new records for the libraries nationwide as part 

of Title 44 responsibilities while following VCSs.

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 0

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 
157

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 0

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: 

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 4

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative FADGI

International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO

National Information Standards Organization NISO

Program for Cooperative Cataloging PCC

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 7

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

Guidance review, internal inspections and audits, external inspections, and periodic walkthrough are conducted for compliance with GPO procurement contractors. 

Audits for the procurement activities of the Washington, DC, APS Teams and the nationwide 

Regional Offices conducted under Print Procurement’s Internal Audit Program (IAP), headed by 

the Director, APSP4, and staffed on an ad hoc basis by management and supervisory Contracting 

Officers. 

In FY 2011, GPO conducted multiple: 

• Evaluations of the Contractor’s performance 

• Evaluations how well a contractor meets requirements 

• Evaluations of the timeliness and accuracy of required deliverables.

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

NA

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

none
158

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

Review of standards use at GPO varies by standard and by Business Unit.

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; Yes

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; C

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; Yes

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 1

Title: Government Printing Office (GPO) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Fiscal Year 2011 

Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

Standards are critical to NASA’s science and technology-based mission. They provide the basis 

for defining engineering, safety, and mission assurance requirements that are levied on both our 

contracted activities as well as on our in-house developments. Standards are also used by 

programs for evaluating proposed approaches and assessing performance throughout system life 

cycles. NASA Technical Standards support achievement of NASA’s Mission and serve all 

NASA Programs, Projects, and Facilities. The Technical Standards Program's Website accessible 

at http://standards.nasa.gov provides direct access to NASA-developed standards, other 

government-developed standards, and to non-government Standards Development Organizations' 

(SDO) Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCSs).

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011:
159

This agency reports voluntary consensus standards usage on a category basis

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 0

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: 

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 12

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

Aerospace Industries Association of America AIA

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics AIAA

American Society for Nondestructive Testing ASNT

American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME

American Welding Society AWS

ASTM International ASTM

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEEE

International Organization for Standardization ISO

IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries IPC

National Fire Protection Association NFPA

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE

Underwriters Laboratories UL

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 71

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 
160

- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) 

Star assessments 

- ISO 9001 - Quality Management System assessments and audits 

- ISO 14001 - Environmental Management System assessments and audits 

- AS 9100 - Aerospace Quality Management System registration (ongoing, Stage 2)

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

OMB Circular A-119 and the preference for VCS are directly cited in NASA policy (NASA 

Policy Directive (NPD) 7120.4- NASA Engineering and Program/Project Management Policy 

and recently approved NASA Procedural Requirements (NPR) 7120.10 (Technical Standards 

Products for NASA Programs and Projects) which requires consideration of VCS alternatives 

before a NASA Technical Standard is developed or revalidated. The Circular also effectively 

provides a basis for increasing attention to VCS and has helped to maintain an effective level of 

participation of NASA personnel in VCS activities in the face of budget challenges.

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

None

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; Yes

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; C

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; Yes

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 5

Title: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report
161

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Fiscal Year 2011 

Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

NARA uses standards to strengthen its records management and archival programs. We cite 

standards, which are incorporated by reference, in our regulations (Code of Federal Regulations). 

These provide direction to agencies about the records management and archival standards 

applicable to storage facilities, as well as for record media. Information about incorporation by 

reference is among our Federal Register web pages at http://www.archives.gov/federalregister/cfr/ibr-locations.html. 

For example, NARA uses ISO 15489 as a framework for Federal records management training. 

ISO 15489 provides a systematic strategy for capturing and maintaining records, regardless of 

media or format. The standard also defines characteristics needed to support a trustworthy 

recordkeeping system.

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 1

1. Government Unique Standard: NARA data standard (Incorporated: 2000) 

Voluntary Standard

Archives, Personal Papers, and Manuscripts (APPM); 

General International Standard Archival Description (ISAD(G)); 

International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons, and 

Families (ISAAR(CPF)); 

Encoded Archival Description (EAD); 

Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC)

Rationale

These voluntary standards do not meet the precise needs of the agency.

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 13
162

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: 

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 9

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

American National Standards Institute ANSI

Association for Information and Image Management AIIM

ASTM International ASTM

Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems CCSDS

Federal Geographic Data Committee FGDC

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEEE

International Organization for Standardization ISO

National Information Standards Organization NISO

Nuclear Information and Records Management Association, Inc. NIRMAI

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 14

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

NARA did not participate in any conformity assessment activities in FY 2011.

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

We believe that the Circular is working effectively and have no recommendations for any 

changes.

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

Rationale for the use of GUS (question 2). 

Some of the voluntary standards: 

- Are library standards not suitable for NARA's use instead of archival standards; 

- Dictate a physical design solution that NARA does not find technically sound; and, 

- Focus on personal papers collections, not government records. 

NARA's archival description standard is one that NARA uses to describe its own holdings and is 

not a standard imposed externally.
163

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; No

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; A

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; Yes

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 5

Title: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

National Science Foundation (NSF) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

None submitted

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report

1. Please describe the importance of standards in the achievement of your agency's mission, how 

your agency uses standards to deliver its primary services in support of its mission, and provide 

any examples or case studies of standards success. Please include relevant Internet links and 

links to your agency's standards website.

It is the policy of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to increase the involvement 

of stakeholders in our regulatory development process and, consistent with the provisions of the 

National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-113), to 

encourage NRC staff participation in the development of consensus standards in support of its 

mission. NRC involvement also encourages standards developing organizations (SDOs) to 

develop codes, standards, and guides that can be endorsed by the NRC and carried out by the 

industry, and increases the likelihood that the standards that SDOs develop will meet both public 

and private sector needs. 

The NRC uses voluntary consensus standards (VCSs) as a key part of our regulatory framework. 
164

Some standards are incorporated by reference into NRC regulations. NRC’s regulations may be 

found at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/. The NRC staff also issues 

documents providing guidance on acceptable methods for complying with NRC regulations, such 

as Regulatory Guides. These guidance documents frequently reference consensus standards as 

acceptable methods for compliance with NRC regulations. Regulatory Guides are cataloged here: 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/management-directives/ 

The NRC’s reasons for using standards include providing the level of regulatory certainty and 

predictability desired by stakeholders, improving efficiency and transparency, providing 

regulations and guidance of high technical quality, and accessing the broad range of technical 

expertise and experience of the individuals who are represented on many consensus standards 

organizations. Participation in standards development minimizes the expenditure of NRC 

resources that would otherwise be necessary to develop regulations and guidance which provide 

the technical depth and level of detail of consensus standards. 

NRC is working with several standards developing organizations to update voluntary consensus 

standards that may be applied to license amendments for existing light water reactors or new 

nuclear plant construction, including advanced reactor technologies and small modular reactors. 

The NRC cooperated with the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST), and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to establish the 

Nuclear Energy Standards Coordination Cooperative (NESCC). Formed in 2009, and continuing 

to meet two to three times per year, the group is open to standards developing organizations 

(SDOs) and all stakeholders in the development and application of standards related to nuclear 

energy technology, including operating and proposed new power plants. Its goals are to identify 

standards needs, prioritize standards for development or revision, and initiate or support 

collaboration in writing standards. The NESCC has established task groups to examine standards 

in specific technical areas, such as concrete and welding. In addition, an effort is under way to 

compile a database of standards referenced in NRC regulations and guidance. 

An additional benefit of improved communications among standards developers and the nuclear 

stakeholders was realized this year in the response to the earthquake, tsunami, and resulting 

nuclear accident in Japan. A multi-SDO effort is being assembled to review that event and to 

recommend codes and standards initiatives to be pursued by the SDOs. While this effort was not 

directly related to the NESCC, it is the kind of technical cooperation that can result from open 

communications and an understanding of stakeholders’ shared priorities. 

The NRC intends to continue participating in the NESCC and other cooperative efforts to close 

technical and regulatory gaps through development and application of consensus standards. 

Standards continue to provide a critical element in our safety mission. For more information, the 

NRC website on standards development is at: http://www.nrc.gov/aboutnrc/regulatory/standards-dev.html.

2. Please list the government-unique standards your agency used in lieu of voluntary consensus 

standards during FY 2011: 2
165

1. Government Unique Standard: NRC NUREG-1556, “Consolidated Guidance about 

Materials Licenses” (Incorporated: 2011) 

Voluntary Standard

(ANSI) N 13.2-1969, “Guide for Administrative Practices in Radiation Monitoring”

Rationale

(ANSI) N 13.2-1969, “Guide for Administrative Practices in Radiation Monitoring,” had 

been endorsed in Regulatory Guide 8.2, with the same title, issued in February, 1973. The 

standard has not been revised since its inception, and it now refers to obsolete technical 

practices and outdated requirements. Therefore, Revision 1 of RG 8.2, published in May, 

2011, removed endorsement of ANSI N 13.2-1969. Guidance is now provided through 

two referenced NRC reports, which could be considered Government-unique standards: 

NUREG-1556, “Consolidated Guidance about Materials Licenses,” and NUREG-1736, 

“Consolidated Guidance: 10 CFR Part 20—Standards for Protection against Radiation.”

2. Government Unique Standard: NRC NUREG-1736, “Consolidated Guidance: 10 CFR 

Part 20—Standards for Protection against Radiation” (Incorporated: 2011) 

Voluntary Standard

(ANSI) N 13.2-1969, “Guide for Administrative Practices in Radiation Monitoring”

Rationale

(ANSI) N 13.2-1969, “Guide for Administrative Practices in Radiation Monitoring,” had 

been endorsed in Regulatory Guide 8.2, with the same title, issued in February, 1973. The 

standard has not been revised since its inception, and it now refers to obsolete technical 

practices and outdated requirements. Therefore, Revision 1 of RG 8.2, published in May, 

2011, removed endorsement of ANSI N 13.2-1969. Guidance is now provided through 

two referenced NRC reports, which could be considered Government-unique standards: 

NUREG-1556, “Consolidated Guidance about Materials Licenses,” and NUREG-1736, 

“Consolidated Guidance: 10 CFR Part 20—Standards for Protection against Radiation.”

3. Please list the Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) your agency substituted for Government 

Unique Standards (GUS) in FY 2011 as a result of review under Section 15(b)(7) of OMB 

Circular A-119: 0

4. Please provide the total number of Voluntary Consensus Standards your agency BEGAN to 

use during FY 2011: Optional: If possible, also please provide the total number of Nonconsensus Standards that are developed in the private sector your agency began to use during FY 

2011. In addition, please provide your agency's rationale for using the Non-consensus Standards 

that are developed in the private sector counted in this question.

Voluntary Consensus Standards: 33

Other Technical Standards: 0

Rationale: 
166

5. Please enter the Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies (VCSB) in which your agency 

participated in during FY 2011: 15

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

American Concrete Institute ACI

American Institute of Steel Construction AISC

American National Standards Institute ANSI

American Nuclear Society ANS

American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE

American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME

American Welding Society AWS

ASTM International ASTM

Health Physics Society HPS

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEEE

Institute of Nuclear Materials Management INMM

International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical 

Commission ISO/IEC

International Society of Automation ISA

National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements NCRP

National Fire Protection Association NFPA

6. Please provide the total number of your agency's representatives who participated in voluntary 

consensus standards activities during FY 2011 and the total number of activities these agency 

representatives participated in: 189

7. Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as described in “Guidance on Federal 

Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal Register, Volume 65, Number 155, 

dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved in FY 2011. 

None

8. Please provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of Circular A-119 policy and 

recommendations for any changes:

The NRC believes that the Circular provides appropriate direction and encouragement for federal 

agencies to develop internal agency-wide guidelines. The circular also provides sufficient and 

reasonable flexibility for each agency to make an independent determination regarding its 

participation on voluntary consensus bodies and use of developed standards.

9. Please provide any other comments you would like to share on behalf of your agency.

No comment
167

10. Please use this box to provide any additional comments on how your agency currently reports 

its use of voluntary consensus standards:

10-1. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-2. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-3. Removed [This question was deprecated in 2005]

10-4. Does your agency report standards that it uses for guidance purposes (as opposed to 

compliance purposes)? (a) Yes; (b) No; (c) Not applicable; Yes

10-5. Does your agency report use of standards from non-ANSI accredited standards developers, 

industry consortia groups, or both? (a) non-ANSI Accredited; (b) Consortia; (c) Both; (d) 

Neither; or (e) Not applicable; D

10-6. Does your agency have a schedule for periodically reviewing its use of standards for 

purposes of updating such use? (a) Yes; (b) No; Yes

10-7. How often does your agency review its standards for purposes of updating such use? [enter 

the number of years]: 5

Title: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Fiscal Year 2011 Agency Report
168

Appendix F – Federal Agency Activities Related to Conformity 

Assessment

FY 2011 Responses to Question 7: Please provide any conformity assessment activities (as 

described in “Guidance on Federal Conformity Assessment Activities” found in the Federal 

Register, Volume 65, Number 155, dated August 10, 2000) in which your agency was involved 

in FY 2010.

Agency Response

USDA N/A

DOC National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) 

Overview 

NVLAP (CFR, Title 15, Part 285) provides third-party accreditation to testing and 

calibration laboratories. NVLAP's accreditation programs are established in 

response to legislative or administrative actions by the Federal Government or to 

requests from government agencies and private-sector organizations. NVLAP 

operates its accreditation system in accordance with the international conformity 

assessment standard ISO/IEC 17011, “Conformity assessment – General 

requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies,” 

which is published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 

and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). NVLAP accredits 

laboratories that are found competent to perform specific tests or calibrations 

through a rigorous assessment against the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025, 

“General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.” 

Information about accredited laboratories is published in NVLAP Directory of 

Accredited Laboratories, which is available on NVLAP’s website 

(www.nist.gov/nvlap). 

NVLAP is a signatory to the following Mutual Recognition Arrangements 

(MRAs), which support international trade by promoting international confidence 

and acceptance of accredited laboratory data: International Laboratory 

Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), the Asia-Pacific Laboratory Accreditation 

Cooperation (APLAC), and the InterAmerican Accreditation Cooperation 

(IAAC). By participating in these MRAs, NVLAP facilitates the mutual 

recognition of accredited test and measurement results of its signatory partners, 

thereby reducing the need for redundant testing and lowering costs to customers. 

NVLAP currently operates 22 laboratory accreditation programs with 

approximately 850 accreditations worldwide. 
169

Accreditation Program Activities in FY 2011 

Recent trends in program activities: 

Over the past decade, NVLAP has seen an increase in accreditation activities 

undertaken to support the needs of other Federal agencies and their stakeholders. 

There has been growth in the development of laboratory accreditation programs 

(LAPs) and expansion of existing LAPs in areas that are inherently governmental 

in function or that are aimed at improving safety, security, health, and the 

environment. Conformity assessment activities for these LAPs in which NVLAP 

was involved in FY 2011 are described below. 

Healthcare Information Technology Testing LAP: 

In response to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical 

Health (HITECH) Act of 2009, the U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services along with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information 

Technology (ONC) requested establishment of the NVLAP Healthcare 

Information Technology Testing Laboratory Accreditation Program (HIT LAP). 

This program accredits laboratories that perform functional and conformance 

testing of EHR technology products to meaningful use requirements as defined in 

the nationally recognized EHR products testing standards. Significant FY 2011 

activities contributing to the development of this program include: 

• a NVLAP-sponsored public workshop held on April 26, 2011, to facilitate the 

exchange of information among NVLAP, the NIST Information Technology 

Laboratory, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and 

laboratories interested in seeking NVLAP accreditation to perform testing of HIT 

electronic health record technology under the permanent certification program 

administered under the ONC, HHS; 

• establishment of the scope of accreditation to include current procedures from 

the ONC-Approved Test Procedures, version 1.1 which are based on the 

meaningful use technical requirements found in §170.302, §170.304, and 

§170.306 of 45 CFR Part 170, dated July 28, 2010; 

• development of the technical requirements and publication of these requirements 

in NIST Handbook 150-31, which describes how NVLAP criteria are applied for 

accreditation under the HIT LAP; 

• publication of NVLAP application and assessment documents needed to begin 

accepting applications from HIT LAP applicants on January 1, 2012. 

Energy Efficient Lighting Products LAP: 

NVLAP experiences continued growth in the number of laboratory applicants for 
170

the Energy Efficient Lighting Products (EEL) laboratory accreditation program. 

At the end of FY 2011, there were a total of 32 EEL accreditations, seven of 

which were first-time or new accreditations. There were also 14 EEL applications 

in process. The growth is due to the FY 2010 expansion of the program to 

accredit solid-state lighting (SSL) test methods that are recognized by the 

Department of Energy’s (DOE) CALiPER program and, also, to NVLAP’s 

recognition (attained on November 24, 2010) from the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR Program as an accrediting body to 

accredit laboratories to conduct testing for ENERGY STAR-qualified products. 

In 2011, EPA agreed to accept accreditation to Appendix A of its product 

specification for decorative lighting strings for acceptance of laboratories in the 

ENERGY STAR program for this product. In August NVLAP expanded the 

scope of accreditation offerings for the EEL program to include decorative 

lighting strings and three laboratories have been accredited so far for this field of 

accreditation. 

Biometrics Testing LAP: 

In February 2011 NVLAP granted its first accreditations to biometrics testing 

laboratories. The NVLAP Biometrics Testing program was established in 2008 in 

response to a request from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for 

NIST to establish a laboratory accreditation program for laboratories that perform 

performance and conformance biometrics testing on Personal Identification 

Verification equipment used in Homeland Security Applications. 

Radiation Detection Instruments LAP: 

In February 2011 a workshop for the NVLAP Radiation Detection Instruments 

(RDI) Testing accreditation program was held at NIST. The workshop attendees 

included interested laboratories, equipment manufacturers, and assessors. The 

requirements for accreditation were discussed as well as how to obtain 

recognition by the Department of Homeland Security, and the NIST requirements 

for submission of test data. The RDI accreditation program is designed to satisfy 

the requirements of contractors, state and local governments, and Federal 

agencies specifying accreditation for laboratories that conduct testing of radiation 

detection instruments used in homeland security applications. Initial accreditation 

of applicant laboratories is expected to be announced in FY 2012. 

Expansion of Cryptographic and Security Testing LAP: 

In December 2010 NVLAP received a request from the Transportation Worker 

Identification Credential (TWIC) Program Director, Transportation Security 
171

Administration (TSA), for the addition of a scope of accreditation to the NVLAP 

Cryptographic and Security Testing (CST) LAP for conformance testing of TSA 

Identity and Privilege Credential Management (IPC:v1) systems. The purpose of 

the request was to establish additional criteria within the current CST LAP for the 

support of the conformance testing process to the required full set or a subset of 

the test methods referred to as IPCM test methods for credential readers and 

biometric equipment. 

In April 2011 a meeting was held at TSA offices to outline the steps needed to 

proceed with the addition of the TWIC methods to the NVLAP CST LAP. An 

outcome of the meeting was the identification of requirements specific to the 

TWIC program to be added to the NVLAP CST program handbook (NIST 

Handbook 150-17). In October 2011 TSA provided comments to NVLAP on the 

TWIC annex of this handbook. These comments were reviewed and additional 

feedback was collected in December 2011. The revisions to the handbook will be 

published in 2012. 

National Voluntary Conformity Assessment System Evaluation (NVCASE) 

Program 

The NVCASE Program (CFR, Title 15 Part 286) enables U.S. industry to satisfy 

mandated foreign technical requirements using the results of U.S.-based 

conformity assessment programs that perform technical evaluations comparable 

in their rigor to practices in the receiving country. Under this program, the 

Department of Commerce, acting through the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology, evaluates U.S.-based conformity assessment bodies in order to be 

able to give assurances to a foreign government that qualifying bodies meet that 

government's requirements and can provide results that are acceptable to that 

government. The program provides a technically-based U.S. approval process for 

U.S. industry to gain foreign market access; the acceptability of conformity 

assessment results to the relevant foreign government will be a matter for 

agreement between the two governments. Currently, there are two NVCASE subprograms that are operational: (1) EMC/Telecommunications; and (2) Organic 

Production and Processing. Additional information about the NVCASE Program 

can be found at http://gsi.nist.gov/global/index.cfm/L1-4/L2-38. 

Conformity Assessment Activities under Mutual Recognition 

Agreements/Arrangements (MRAs) 

The United States and the European Community Mutual Recognition Agreement 
172

(US-EU MRA) is a multi-sector bilateral government-to-government agreement 

between the United States and the 27 Member States of the European Union. 

Under this MRA, NIST is responsible for designating organizations in the U.S. 

Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) for two sectors: 1) Electromagnetic 

Compatibility (EMC) and 2) Telecommunications. After a NIST review and 

designation process, CABs that meet certain criteria are formally recognized by 

the EU and may operate as a CAB as described in the US-EU MRA and the 

specific technical regulations of the EU governing the appropriate product sectors. 

The US-EU MRA is an important regulatory and trade agreement which provides 

greater market access in a timelier manner for U.S. manufacturers exporting to 

Europe and European manufacturers exporting to the United States. 

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Mutual Recognition Arrangement for 

Conformity Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment (APEC TEL MRA) 

is intended to streamline the conformity assessment procedures for a wide range 

of telecommunications and telecommunications-related equipment and thereby to 

facilitate trade among the parties. It provides for the mutual recognition by the 

importing parties of CABs and mutual acceptance of the results of testing and 

equipment certification procedures undertaken by those bodies in assessing 

conformity of equipment to the importing parties’ own technical regulations. 

Under Phase-I of the APEC TEL Mutual Recognition Arrangement, NISTdesignated CABs are able to produce test data in their facilities that are accepted 

as evidence that the tested product satisfies an APEC economy's appropriate 

technical requirements. CABs operating under Phase-II of the MRA are able to 

certify products as being in compliance with the technical and administrative 

requirements of the importing economy. NIST publishes general and specific 

requirements that must be met in order to be nominated as a CAB under the 

APEC TEL MRA. 

The United States and Japan Mutual Recognition Agreement (US-Japan MRA) is 

a single sector bilateral agreement. The scope of the US-Japan MRA includes 

radio and telecommunications equipment, including telephone terminal 

equipment. The MRA provides for the mutual recognition of qualified CABs and 

mutual acceptance of the results of equipment certification undertaken by 

recognized CABs (similar to Phase II of the APEC TEL MRA as described 

above). The US-Japan MRA is intended to streamline the conformity assessment 

procedures for a wide range of telecommunications and telecommunicationsrelated equipment and facilitate trade between the United States and Japan. 
173

United States and Mexico Mutual Recognition Agreement (US-Mexico MRA) is 

the newest single sector bilateral telecommunications conformity assessment 

agreement. It was signed in 2011. The US-Mexico MRA covers equipment 

subject to telecommunications regulation, including wire and wireless equipment, 

and terrestrial and satellite equipment. The MRA provides for the mutual 

recognition of qualified CABS and mutual acceptance of the testing results 

generated by those CABS in assessing conformity of equipment to the importing 

parties’ technical regulations. NIST expects to implement the MRA by the end of 

2012, at the conclusion of the confidence building period. 

The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) Mutual 

Recognition Agreement is almost identical to the APEC Tel MRA in purpose and 

structure. The goal of the CITEL MRA is to facilitate trade among the 34 Member 

States of the Organization of American States. The conformity assessment 

activities under this Agreement have yet to become operational. When 

operational, NIST will serve as the Designating Authority of U.S. CABs. In the 

meantime, NIST continues to work towards implementation of the Agreement. 

More information on the telecom MRAs can be found at 

http://gsi.nist.gov/global/index.cfm/L1-4/L2-16/L3-101 

Additional NIST Activities in Conformity Assessment and Standards 

Development 

Under the NTTAA, NIST is responsible for coordinating conformity assessment 

activities with private sector technical standards activities and conformity 

assessment activities, with the goal of eliminating unnecessary duplication and 

complexity. FY2011 NIST activities in this area include: 

Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) – NIST 

consulted and advised the General Services Administration, and the Office of 

Management and Budget to develop and implement the conformity assessment 

model for FedRAMP. FedRAMP is a government-wide program that provides a 

standardized approach to security assessment, authorization and continuous 

monitoring of cloud products and services. The conformity assessment aspects of 

the program further the program goal of developing trusted relationships between 

federal executive departments and agencies and cloud service providers. 

Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) –

NIST has continued to provide guidance to ONC on the transition to the 

permanent certification program, which includes accreditation of testing 
174

laboratories to ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO/IEC Guide 65. Under the temporary 

certification program the ONC has authorized six testing and certification bodies 

and listed hundreds of certified electronic health record products. ONC has 

requested NVLAP to accredit testing organizations in support of the permanent 

certification program. 

Voting System Improvements - Under the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA), 

NIST has a key role in helping to realize nationwide improvements in voting 

systems (http://www.nist.gov/itl/vote/). NIST works with the Technical 

Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) which is charged by the U.S. 

Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to provide technical guidance on 

implementing election-related technologies and to foster the development of 

voluntary, consensus guidelines. The NIST Director chairs the TGDC and NIST 

staff conduct the committee's technical work in accordance with HAVA. The 

TGDC and NIST are currently working on high level guidelines to support the 

Federal Voting Assistance Program as it carries out its mandates to ensure that 

military and overseas voters can vote in a timely fashion. They are also working 

to update the Voluntary Voting Standards Guidelines (VVSG). In 2011, NIST 

collaborated with IEEE to develop the first of a planned suite of standards for 

common data format for electronic exchange of voting system data, with the 

approval of P1622 Standard for IEEE Standard for Electronic Distribution of 

Blank Ballots for Voting Systems. NIST, in cooperation with the TGDC, also 

transmitted “Voluntary High Level Goals for Remote Electronic Voting Systems” 

to the EAC for its approval. 

NIST is developing a set of public test suites to be used as part of the EAC 

Testing and Certification Program. The tests correspond to VVSG requirements in 

the 2007 VVSG Recommendations, which is currently under review by the EAC, 

and certain parts of the 2005 VVSG revision. Test labs will be able to use these 

publicly available test suites to help determine that the VVSG requirements are 

met by voting systems. 

NVLAP has established an accreditation program for laboratories that perform 

testing of voting systems, including hardware and software components. This 

program provides for the accreditation of laboratories that test voting systems 

using standards determined by the EAC. Currently two laboratories are accredited 

under this program. The EAC, not NIST, certifies voting systems for use in 

elections.

DoD The Department of Defense does not collect information on DOD-wide 
175

conformity assessment activities.

ED None

DOE The Department of Energy does not track conformity assessment activities.

HHS Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) 

None 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 

None 

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 

Medicare fee-for-service has developed a Certification Test Package to be used to 

assess the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) compliance with 

Business Rules implemented with the upgrade to the new versions of HIPAA 

standards, ASC X12 5010 and NCPDP D.0 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

Conformance activities are conducted under applicable regulations and guidance. 

Standards may become part of conformance activities as they may provide an 

acceptable approach to be in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. 

Related to this response, FDA would also like to note that the agency is pursuing 

ISO 17025 accreditation for its laboratories, where appropriate. 

Indian Health Service (IHS) 

The IHS does not engage in conformity assessments activities. The IHS strives to 

use industry-based standards and commercial off-the-shelf products. The IHS 

partners with the Veterans Health Administration for many of the health 

information technology used in its facilities, thereby maintaining continuity of 

standards between the two agencies and collaboration of appropriate data. In 

addition, IHS is actively involved with working groups of the Federal Health 

Architecture and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information 

Technology (ONC), stays abreast of developments in the HIT Standards and HIT 

Policy Committees, and participates in cross-Federal committees and working 

groups. 

National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) 

Not Applicable 

National Institutes of Health / National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM) 

Not Applicable 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 

There was no conformity assessment activities performed in 2011. 
176

Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) 

Certification of Health IT will provide assurance to purchasers and other users 

that an EHR system, or other relevant technology, offers the necessary 

technological capability, functionality, and security to help them meet the 

meaningful use criteria established for a given phase. Providers and patients must 

also be confident that the electronic health IT products and systems they use are 

secure, can maintain data confidentially, and can work with other systems to share 

information. Confidence in health IT systems is an important part of advancing 

health IT system adoption and allowing for the realization of the benefits of 

improved patient care. 

Eligible professionals and eligible hospitals who seek to qualify for incentive 

payments under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs are required 

by statute to use Certified EHR Technology. Once certified, Complete EHRs and 

EHR Modules would be able to be used by eligible professionals and eligible 

hospitals, or be combined, to meet the statutory requirement for Certified EHR 

Technology. FY 2011 conformance assessment activities include -

• ONC selected organizations as ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification 

Bodies (ATCBs). ONC-ATCBs are authorized to perform Complete EHR and/or 

EHR Module testing and certification. These ONC-ATCBs are required to test 

and certify EHRs to the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary 

under subpart C of Part 170 Part II and Part III as stipulated in the Standards and 

Certification Criteria Final Rule. Certification by an ATCB will signify to eligible 

professionals, hospitals, and critical access hospitals that an EHR technology has 

the capabilities necessary to support their efforts to meet the goals and objectives 

of meaningful use. 

• In collaboration with ONC, the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

(NIST) has developed the functional and conformance testing requirements, test 

cases, and test tools to support the proposed Health IT Certification Programs. 

These conformance test methods (test procedures, test data, and test tools) will 

help ensure compliance with the meaningful use technical requirements and 

standards. (http://xw2k.nist.gov/healthcare/use_testing/index.html)

DHS DNDO 

In FY2011, DNDO, working in conjunction with NIST and other federal 

agencies, continued the active development of technical capability standards 

(TCSs). DNDO completed the validation of the first Technical Capability 

Standard (TCS) for hand-held instruments used for the detection and 

identification of radionuclides. This standard was published by DHS this past fall. 

DNDO also initiated the development of two additional TCSs, providing draft 

documents for TCSWG review and comment. 

DNDO sponsored the attendance of an Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

representative at the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) meetings 

related to radiological and nuclear (rad/nuc) standards. The individual is the 

chairman of one committee and a member of two other committees. In addition, 

he attends the IEC plenary sessions. 

DNDO continued to actively support ANSI N42.42 Data Format standard review 
177

and modification efforts. DNDO personnel attended working group sessions and 

provided significant input to proposed revisions. In addition, DNDO is assisting 

in getting the ANSI N42.42 standard co-adopted by the IEC as a voluntary 

international standard. 

DNDO is actively supporting the Illicit Trafficking Radiation Assessment 

Program (ITRAP+10). This is an effort established by the Joint Research Center 

(JRC) of the European Union (EU) to measure the effectiveness of equipment for 

detection use at border crossings. Due to limitations on the extent of JRC testing 

under ITRAP+10 and the capabilities of DNDO, the JRC invited DNDO to join 

the program. DNDO is now testing nine classes of radiation detection equipment 

against ANSI and IEC standards. Results will be provided in a final report that 

will be used by the EU for future acquisitions. 

DNDO continued to fund the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 

(IEEE) Get N42 effort. This effort provides free access to published N42 

standards related to rad/nuc detection. There were approximately 3400 N42 

standard documents downloaded in FY2011, in support of the DNDO objective to 

actively promulgate and encourage the use and application of the N42 rad/nuc 

detection standards. 

DNDO continued to actively participate in and support the DHS Standards 

Council and related meetings, such as Homeland Security Standards Panel 

Plenary sessions. 

DNDO has joined and is actively participating in the Test & Evaluation 

Capabilities and Methodologies Integrated Product Team (TECMIPT). The 

purpose of the TECMIPT is to provide joint, cross-community subject matter 

expertise and rigor to establish T&E standards, leveraging existing information. 

DNDO began testing under the Graduated Rad/Nuc Detector Evaluation and 

Reporting (GRaDERSM) program. 

The SAFE Port Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-347) established DNDO by statute. 

Responsibilities given to the DNDO include testing and evaluating rad/nuc 

detectors, as well as developing technical capability standards for these 

instruments in collaboration with NIST and other departments and agencies of the 

Federal government. Since test and evaluation against standards is one of the 

critical components of a conformity assessment system, DNDO established the 

GRaDER program to carry out this responsibility. 

The GRaDER Program is designed to be a voluntary, fee-for-service program: 

manufacturers or vendors decide whether to have their products tested and, if so, 

pay to offset the costs for the test and evaluation. It assists the DHS grant program 

managers and Federal, state, local, tribal and territorial government agency 

purchasers that have a fiduciary responsibility to verify that grant funds are spent 

on equipment that complies with standards (where standards are available). The 

GRaDER Program reports this information to homeland security stakeholders and 

other outside agencies by using the controlled access DNDO GRaDER 

Community of Interest (COI) page on the DHS Homeland Security Information 

Network (HSIN) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 

Responder Knowledge Base (RKB). The business incentive is that equipment that 

has been tested against standards in the GRaDER program test and evaluation 
178

may be reported on the DHS GRaDER Evaluated Equipment List (GEEL), 

thereby enabling this verification. The result should lead to increasing sales of 

quality equipment to DHS components, other Federal departments and agencies, 

and state and local grantees seeking to establish or enhance capabilities to detect 

and interdict illicit nuclear or radiological material. 

GRaDER is a standards-based conformity assessment program. A suite of 

voluntary consensus standards developed by ANSI, in conjunction with IEEE, has 

been adopted as DHS National Standards. The ANSI/IEEE N42 series standards 

formed the standards bedrock for GRaDER. 

A key part of the conformity assessment system will be the use of test 

organizations that are accredited to ISO 17025 and the ANSI/IEEE N42 suite of 

standards. The National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) 

will be the accrediting body. Participating test organizations use uniform formats 

and procedures for measuring compliance and reporting test data, and the 

GRaDER program establishes and applies published criteria to assess base 

compliance levels. 

• Sampling and testing. 

DNDO initiated a test campaign in late 2010 that continues through 2011 called 

the GRaDER Program One-Time Shared Cost Test Campaign for New Additions 

to the Evaluated Equipment List. DNDO issued a Request for Information 

soliciting interest in the test campaign, and a total of six manufacturers provided 

instrument models of alarming Personal Radiation Detectors (PRDs) and 

Radioisotope Identifiers (RIIDs) for testing against appropriate ANSI/IEEE N42 

consensus standards. In addition, DNDO tested ten instrument models from 

DNDO operational inventory that included PRDs, RIIDs and backpack detectors. 

Once the test results are evaluated and scored, DNDO will publish summaries of 

the evaluations in three formats with increasing detail in controlled access 

electronic media. 

• Inspection. 

Inspections of instruments for certain characteristics and functionalities are 

imbedded in the requirements of the ANSI/IEEE N42 consensus standards. These 

instrument inspections are performed by the testing laboratory. In addition, 

DNDO performs inspections of manufacturer supplied operator manuals, 

technical information, product certifications and supplier’s declarations of 

conformity upon receipt of applications for participating in the GRaDER 

program, and later during the instrument evaluation conducted at DNDO. This 

examination was performed on sixteen instrument models that were included in 

the GRaDER Program One-Time Shared Cost Test Campaign for New Additions 

to the Evaluated Equipment List. 

• Supplier’s declaration of conformity. 

DNDO examined manufacturer supplied declarations of conformity if supplied 

with applications for participating in the GRaDER program, and later during the 

instrument evaluation conducted at DNDO. This examination procedure was 

applied to six instrument models that were submitted by manufacturers to the 

GRaDER Program One-Time Shared Cost Test Campaign. 

• Certification. 
179

a. DNDO continues the evaluation of the test results from the GRaDER Program 

One-Time Shared Cost Test Campaign. The evaluated items will be compiled into 

the GEEL and published for the stakeholders to use. 

b. The DNDO-accepted laboratories are all participants in NVLAP. DNDO 

begins by evaluating each laboratory / laboratory team’s self-declaration of 

conformity, and determines that the preparations are appropriate to begin testing. 

DNDO then issues a Letter of Acceptance for a period not to exceed one year or 

upon award of NVLAP accreditation. Manufacturers may ask for this letter as 

evidence that the laboratory / laboratory team is certified by DNDO to report 

results of tests that will be acceptable to DNDO for use in the GRaDER Program. 

c. DNDO requires that the participating manufacturers submit copies of testing 

certifications from other certifying bodies when applying for consideration by the 

GRaDER Program. 

• Quality and environmental management system assessment and registration. 

DNDO examines the GRaDER Program participating laboratories’ Quality 

Assurance and Management policies and procedures that are included in the 

laboratories’ self-declarations of conformity and applications for accreditation 

under the NVLAP program. 

• Accreditation. 

The DNDO-accepted laboratories are all participants in NVLAP. DNDO 

evaluates each laboratory / laboratory team’s self-declaration of conformity, and 

determines that the preparations are appropriate to begin testing. Test results 

generated as a result of testing against standards that are included in the 

laboratory’s scope are used by the laboratory to demonstrate competence and 

capability. The NVLAP assessors are able to audit these results of testing during 

the on-site assessment for accreditation. DNDO supports the NVLAP assessment 

by providing observers, and by providing the programmatic guidelines under 

which the laboratories operate. 

DNDO issues a Letter of Acceptance to participating laboratories for a period not 

to exceed one year or upon award of NVLAP accreditation. This document serves 

as interim confirmation to customers that the laboratory is participating in the 

applicable NVLAP accreditation program and has an active application in 

progress. 

• Recognition. 

a. The GRaDER Program publishes a list of ANSI/IEEE N42 consensus standards 

and government unique technical capability standards that are included in the 

scope of the program. This listing is provided on the GRaDER Program public 

website. 

b. The GRaDER Program publishes a list of participating laboratories / laboratory 

teams that are accepted by DNDO to perform testing and submit test reports to the 

program for consideration. This listing provides contact information and a brief 

description of the scope of capabilities. This listing is provided on the GRaDER 

Program public website. 

c. The GRaDER program publishes the GEEL, along with several supporting 

products. The media with which these reporting products are delivered to the 

intended recipients will be access controlled and already familiar to the 
180

operational community. 

i. The GEEL will report to the community stakeholders the make, model and 

equipment category of instruments that have been independently tested by DNDO 

accepted or NVLAP accredited laboratories. This DNDO listing will be made 

available on the FEMA RKB and can be placed on the GRaDER public website. 

It will be updated as instruments are considered by the GRaDER program. Each 

listing will have a limited life of not more than four years, and will be extendable 

based on satisfactory completion of additional independent product testing or 

DNDO/NIST surveillance testing. 

ii. The instrument Evaluation Summary Sheet will report the DNDO evaluation 

results for an independently tested instrument make and model by clause and 

subtest, within the scope of the appropriate standard for the particular category of 

equipment. The sheet will provide basic configuration descriptive information for 

hardware and software so that the reader will be able to determine if the evaluated 

instrument matches the product under consideration. The level of detail will focus 

on the successful satisfaction of requirements and criteria for a particular 

Compliance Level. A comments section will follow the summary, and it will 

address the exceptional observations or incidents that impacted the designated 

compliance level. This DNDO product will be made available on the limited 

access portion of the FEMA RKB and the GRaDER COI page on the HSIN. 

iii. The DNDO/NIST GRaDER Evaluation Report will report the detailed 

findings of the evaluation on each instrument make and model. It will aggregate 

the evaluation of multiple copies of the instrument make and model under test, 

and describe any test anomalies that impacted the evaluation. The level of detail 

will focus on a tabular summarization of the successful trials within each subtest 

as stratified within the methods prescribed by the standards. The report will assign 

a pass/fail/completion of requirements and criteria for a particular subtest 

Compliance Level. This DNDO product will be made available on the limited 

access FEMA RKB and the GRaDER COI page on the HSIN. 

iv. The GRaDER laboratory Test Report will report the actual test data in formats 

prescribed by the Test and Evaluation Protocols for each ANSI/IEEE N42 or 

government unique technical capability standard. This is a report for which 

ownership may be shared between the government and the manufacturer, by the 

manufacturer alone, or by the government alone. Distribution of this report will 

necessarily be limited and controlled, and shall be considered on a case-by-case 

basis. When the manufacture has an ownership stake, DNDO will consult with the 

manufacturer or rely on pre-agreed terms and conditions before providing the 

report to any requesting Federal, state, local, tribal and territorial government 

agency. DNDO has an obligation to verify the validity of the requesting entity and 

the agency’s authority to release sensitive, business proprietary information as 

prescribed by the provisions of the SAFE Port Act of 2006. 

• Reference Materials. 

The GRaDER Program has developed a significant assortment of programmatic 

guidance, checklists, agreements and forms that are available on the program’s 

public website (link http://www.dhs.gov/GRaDER). In addition, there are links to 

websites and web pages for other programs that have related interests and benefits 
181

for homeland security stakeholders (examples: DHS Office of SAFETY Act 

Implementation; General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule 84, "Total 

Solutions for Law Enforcement, Security, Facilities Management, Fire, Rescue, 

Clothing, Marine Craft and Emergency/Disaster Response," Special Item Number 

(SIN) 426 4R, "Radiation/Nuclear Material Detection Equipment"). 

• Proficiency. 

DNDO, in conjunction with NIST, is developing a concept for proficiency testing 

of the NVLAP participating laboratories. This has not yet been funded or 

instituted. The intent is to employ laboratory proficiency testing bi-annually, in 

years for which no on-site assessment is required. This is intended to be added to 

the requirements for maintaining NVLAP accreditation. 

DNDO has 10 personnel involved in supporting the above activities, with time 

commitments ranging from 10% to 100% depending on the program and activity 

level. 

US-VISIT 

US-VISIT is actively involved in the National Science and Technology Council 

(NSTC) Subcommittee on Biometrics and Identity Management Standards and 

Conformity Assessment (SCA) Working Group (WG), which, in support of 

biometric data exchange and interoperability across the U.S. Government, is 

charged with providing guidance and coordinating efforts for agencies on the 

development of standards; the adoption and implementation of standards; and the 

establishment of associated conformity assessment and interoperability testing 

programs. The SCA WG is responsible for the development and maintenance of 

the Registry of U.S. Government Recommended Biometric Standards, Agency 

Actions in Support of the NSTC Policy for the Development, Adoption and Use 

of Biometric Standards, Supplemental Information in Support of the NSTC Policy 

for Enabling the Development, Adoption and Use of Biometric Standards, and the 

Catalog of U.S. Government Biometric Product Testing Programs. 

US-VISIT conducts compatibility testing of e-passports issued by Visa Waiver 

Program countries to assess conformance with standards of the International Civil

Aviation Organization (ICAO) and to ensure interoperability with e-passport 

readers deployed by DHS at U.S. ports of entry. 

USCG 

The Coast Guard considers the use of VCS in all its rulemakings, uses VCS in its 

rulemakings whenever appropriate, and provides for public comment on such 

decisions. Further, the Coast Guard continuously reviews its regulations to update 

outdated, obsolete or unnecessary standards. The Coast Guard relies heavily on 

the use of independent laboratories (including classification societies) to carry out 

conformity assessment activities on its behalf, and maintains formal acceptance 

and recognition programs for such laboratories worldwide. The requirements for 

acceptance and recognition are specified in regulation, and compliance is assessed 

by means of documentation provided by the laboratory, or where appropriate, site 

visits by technical experts. A searchable listing of accepted laboratories can be 

found at http://cgmix.uscg.mil/EQLabs/EqLabsSearch.aspx. With few exceptions, 

such laboratories supervise approval and production tests and examinations as 

specified in regulation to ensure that equipment and materials approved by the 
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Coast Guard and sold for use in regulated applications comply with the relevant 

regulatory requirements. In most cases, the sampling, testing, and quality system 

requirements are traceable to international requirements prescribed by the 

International Maritime Organization, and are mandatory for ships on international 

voyages under international treaty obligations. To allow for oversight by the 

Coast Guard, accepted laboratories carrying out conformity assessment activities 

on behalf of the Coast Guard are required by regulation to report at least annually 

on those activities. 

During FY 2011, in addition to the conformity assessment activities conducted by 

qualified, independent third parties on the Coast Guard’s behalf, the Coast Guard 

also completed hundreds of conformity assessment activities, comprising 

evaluation of equipment and material for compliance with standards established 

in marine safety regulations. 

Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) 

OIC actively participates within the public safety specific standards development 

organizations to assist in the development of the Project 25 (P25) suite of 

standards, which are focused on developing open interoperability standards for 

public safety land mobile radio (LMR) systems. P25 allows radios and other 

components to interoperate regardless of manufacturer—enabling first responders 

to exchange critical communications. Through direction from the Congress, OIC 

has been instrumental in speeding the standards development process for the four 

critical interoperability interfaces in the P25 suite of standards. 

OIC, in partnership with the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

(NIST), established the P25 Compliance Assessment Program (P25 CAP). P25 

CAP provides first responders with a consistent and traceable method to gather 

P25 compliance information on products thus helping them make more informed 

purchasing decisions. Finally, P25 CAP provides vendors with a method for 

testing their equipment for P25 compliance. 

P25 CAP leverages the standards developed in the P25 standards development 

process, and governs itself through the use of International Standards 

Organization (ISO) standards. Testing of emergency response communications 

equipment for standards compliance as part of P25 CAP is conducted at DHS 

recognized laboratories. To date, thirteen participating manufacturers, 

representing over 80% of the land mobile radio market, have completed testing on 

their communications equipment. Additional information on P25 can be found at 

http://www.safecomprogram.gov/currentprojects/project25cap/Default.aspx 

Furthermore, OIC partners with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s 

(FEMA) National Integration Center (NIC) to evaluate the adherence of products 

to the EDXL suite of standards. These standards are widely available for data 

applications and used to address the emergency response capabilities for alerts 

and notifications, resource management, situation awareness and reporting, and 

patient victim/information and tracking. Thus, DHS developed and implemented a 

vendor testing and certification program for EDXL, which is managed by 

FEMA’s Preparedness-Technology, Analysis, and Coordination Center. The 

Supporting Technology Evaluation Project (STEP) ensures vendor compliance 

with the standards. STEP evaluates incident management-related software and 
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hardware against NIMS criteria, core target capabilities, and NIMS technical 

standards. The program evaluates products that support emergency managers and 

responders in decision-making prior to and during an incident, such as the 

following types of products: (1) alert and warning systems; (2) incident 

management; (3) communication and network infrastructure; (4) vulnerability 

analysis and consequence assessment; (5) intelligence and analysis; (6) physical 

and cyber security, access control, and surveillance; and (7) preparedness tools.

HUD N/A

DOI The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement 

(BOEMRE) of DOI is a member of the Federal Geographic Data Committee 

(FGDC) with representation on the Standards Working Group, the Coordinating 

Committee, the Steering Committee, the Marine Boundary Working Group, and 

ad hoc subcommittees developing standards for geospatial data. 

Bureau of Reclamation: The ISO 14001 standard requires that organizations 

conduct third- party conformance audits to determine conformance with the ISO 

Standard. Reclamation has adopted this requirement in a revised form and will 

conduct audits to determine conformance with both the Standard framework and 

the executive order. 

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA): BIA participated in the Federal Geospatial OneStop and the Enterprise Geographic Information Management Committee. 

FWS: The FWS continues to implement key security standards and guidelines 

developed or approved by NIST to support the implementation of and compliance 

with the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) including: 

• Standards for categorizing information and information systems by mission 

impact. 

• Standards for minimum security requirements for information and information 

systems. 

• Standards for encrypting government data. 

• Standards for applying and enforcing secure configuration baselines. 

• Standards for secure remote access. 

• Guidance for mapping types of information and information systems to 

appropriate security categories. 

• Guidance for planning and conducting technical information security testing. 

• Guidance for assessing security controls in information systems and determining 

security control effectiveness. 

• Guidance for certifying and accrediting information systems. 

The FWS is currently using secure configuration benchmarks developed by the 

Center for Internet Security (CIS), a non-profit organization whose mission is to 

help organizations reduce the risk of business and e-commerce disruptions 

resulting from inadequate technical security controls. These benchmarks have 

been deemed as "NIST" approved.

DOJ N/A
184

DOL None

DOS None

DOT Federal Railroad Administration (FRA): Under 15 CFR Part 286, FRA’s 

conformity assessment activities are visible internationally through expanded 

efforts in the area of safe, uniform international transport of hazardous materials

by participation in the Canadian General Standards Board Tank Car Committee 

and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Transportation Pressure 

Vessel Committee, as well as continuing to participate in the North American 

Transport of Dangerous Goods Standard Working Group and the Association of 

American Railroads Tank Car Committee. Participation in the voluntary 

consensus standards bodies listed above as well as in numerous committees and 

sub-committees of those bodies gives FRA access to the developmental stages of 

private sector conformity assessment standards to ensure that the agency 

viewpoint is considered in the development of these standards

TRES 1. Government Accountability (GAO) Audits (includes Data Center 

Consolidation Initiative and PKI) 

2. Certifications and Accreditations 

3. Legal Entity Identifier (ISO 17442) 

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank 

Act) establishes the Office of Financial Research (OFR) under the Department of 

the Treasury, which has the authority to establish standards for how U.S. financial 

companies identify themselves in reporting to the OFR. 

The Dodd-Frank Act also requires the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to 

issue rules for reporting swap transactions, including how counterparties to those 

transactions are identified. 

In November 2010, the OFR publishes a policy statement to promote the 

establishment of a universal Legal Entity Identifier (LEI). The statement asks for 

public input on the technical requirements for LEI, associated reference data, and 

a system that would issue and validate LEIs and reference data. The statement 

calls for establishing a public-private solution through international consensus. 

ISO 17442, Financial services – LEI is currently at the Draft International 

Standard stage and expected to be published as an ISO International Standard by 

January 2012. However, it was recently recommended by the Global Financial 

Management Association (GFMA) – a federation of global financial services 

trade associations – as a basis for a viable, uniform and global LEI solution. Key 

attributes of the standard, addressing the requirements from global industry and 

regulators are: 1) Enables unique identification of global entities requiring an LEI

2)Defines robust open governance of the issuance and maintenance of the LEI 

scheme 3) Defines an LEI that contains no embedded intelligence 4) Can be 

applied worldwide to support the financial services industry 5) Leverages the 
185

expertise of ISO/TC 68 in defining and maintaining identifier standards 6)Is 

persistent 7)Defines a scheme that is scalable and free from assignment 

limitations.

ACCESS N/A

CPSC On August 14, 2008, the President signed into law the Consumer Product Safety 

Improvement Act of 2008, hereinafter referred to as the Act. Among other things, 

this Act sets forth requirements for general conformity certification and third 

party testing for children's products subject to consumer product safety rules 

under the Act or similar rules, bans, standards, or regulations under any other Act 

enforced by the Commission. A copy of the Act and related information on CPSC 

conformity assessment activities are shown on CPSC's website at www.cpsc.gov 

under "Information on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act".

EPA Conformity assessment activities include but not limited to areas for: water sense 

verification, greening superfund cleanup sites and activities in energy star and 

green buildings.

FCC Accredited Laboratory Recognition Program 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has a conformity assessment 

program that allows manufacturers and suppliers of personal computers, computer 

peripherals and other Radio Frequency (RF) devices to demonstrate compliance 

by use of a “Declaration of Conformity” procedure. Such products must be tested 

by a recognized accredited Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) testing 

laboratory. The FCC has recognized the following accreditation bodies: National 

Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP); ANSI-ASQ National 

Accreditation Board/ACLASS (ACLASS); and the American Association for 

Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) 

The FCC also recognizes accredited testing laboratories that have been accredited 

by A2LA, ACLASS or NVLAP to perform testing on products subject to the 

Commission’s equipment authorization program on products subject to 

certification under Part 15. 

The accreditation of a laboratory located outside of the United States, or its 

possessions, is acceptable to the Commission if the accredited laboratory has been 

designated by a foreign designating authority and recognized by the Commission 

under the terms of a government-to-government Mutual Recognition 

Agreement/Arrangement (MRA); or if the testing laboratory has been recognized 

by the Commission as being accredited by an organization that has entered into an 

arrangement between accrediting organizations and the arrangement has been 

recognized by the Commission. 

The FCC has recognized a total of 303 accredited laboratories. 103 are located in 

the United States and 200 are located outside of the United States. 
186

Telecommunications Certification Bodies (TCB) Program 

On December 17, 1998, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted 

rules for the establishment of Telecommunication Certification Bodies (TCB). A 

TCB is a private organization, which is authorized to issue grants, within its scope 

of designation, for equipment subject to the FCC’s certification procedure. Under 

these rules, a TCB has the authority to review and grant an application for 

certification to the FCC rules. This order also established procedures for foreign 

TCBs under the terms of a government-to-government Mutual Recognition 

Agreement/Arrangement (MRA). Foreign TCBs, where recognized, certify 

equipment to U.S. requirements using test procedures and technical requirements 

under the FCC rules for purposes of U.S.-valid equipment authorization. There 

are two “phases” of mutual recognition. Phase I permits tests performed outside 

the U.S. to be used in support of equipment authorization of products subject to 

the FCC’s Declaration of Conformity (DoC) requirements; Phase II permits the 

certification of products subject to the FCC’s certification requirements by a TCB 

located outside of the U.S. 

In May 2000, NIST initially evaluated American National Standards Institute’s 

(ANSI) Conformity Assessment Program for compliance with ISO/IEC Guide 61 

and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requirements for its TCB 

program. Every two years ANSI’s accreditation program is subject to reevaluation by NIST. 

ANSI evaluates prospective TCBs for compliance with ISO/IEC Guide 65 and 

FCC requirements for the TCB program. FCC requires that a TCB must have core 

testing capability and that the testing laboratory must be accredited to ISO/IEC 

Standard 17025. NIST recommends accredited organizations to FCC for 

designation as TCBs. 

The FCC has recognized a total of 35 certification bodies under the TCB 

program. 19 are located in the United States and 16 are located outside of the 

United States.

FERC Not applicable

FTC See response to Question 1.

GSA N/A

GPO Guidance review, internal inspections and audits, external inspections, and 

periodic walk-through are conducted for compliance with GPO procurement 

contractors. 

Audits for the procurement activities of the Washington, DC, APS Teams and the 

nationwide Regional Offices conducted under Print Procurement’s Internal Audit 

Program (IAP), headed by the Director, APSP4, and staffed on an ad hoc basis by 

management and supervisory Contracting Officers. 

In FY 2011, GPO conducted multiple: 
187

• Evaluations of the Contractor’s performance 

• Evaluations how well a contractor meets requirements 

• Evaluations of the timeliness and accuracy of required deliverables.

NASA - Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Voluntary Protection 

Program (VPP) Star assessments 

- ISO 9001 - Quality Management System assessments and audits 

- ISO 14001 - Environmental Management System assessments and audits 

- AS 9100 - Aerospace Quality Management System registration (ongoing, Stage 

2)

NARA NARA did not participate in any conformity assessment activities in FY 2011.

NRC None
188

Appendix G – Federal Agency Activities Related to 

Use of Private Sector Standards

There were 528 total Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in which Federal Agencies 

Participated during fiscal year 2011.

FY 2011 Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in which Federal Agencies 

Participated

Voluntary Consensus Standards Body Acronym

3-A Sanitary Standards, Inc 3-A SSI

3A/NSF International Meat and Poultry Equipment Standards 3A/NSF

3rd Generation Partnership Project 3GPP

American Association for Laboratory Accreditation A2LA

The Aluminum Association, Inc. AA

Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care 

International AAALAC

American Association of Blood Banks AABB

Associated Air Balance Council AABC

American Association of Cereal Chemists AACC

Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering AACEI

American Architectural Manufacturers Association AAMA

Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation AAMI

American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators AAMVA

American Academy of Pediatrics AAP

American Association of Physicists in Medicine AAPM

Association of American Railroads AAR
189

Association of American Seed Control Officials AASCO

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials AASHTO

American Association of Tissue Banks AATB

American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists AATCC

Adeno Associated Virus Reference Standard Working Group AAVSWG

Almond Board of California ABC

American Bearing Manufacturers Association ABMA

American Backflow Prevention Association ABPA

American Bureau of Shipping ABS

American Boat and Yacht Council ABYC

American Chemistry Council ACC

Advisory Committee on Casualty Assessment Health Canada ACCA

American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists ACGIH

American Concrete Institute ACI

American College of Nuclear Physicians ACNP

American Concrete Pipe Association ACPA

American College of Radiology ACR

American Chemical Society ACS

Advisory Committee for Water Information ACWI

American Dental Association ADA

American Dietetic Association ADA

ADC International ADC

Analytical Environmental Immunochemical Consortium AEIC
190

International for Electronic Healthcare Transactions AFEHCT

American Gas Association AGA

American Gear Manufacturers Association AGMA

American Glovebox Society AGS

American Hardboard Association AHA

American Hardware Manufacturers Association AHMA

Aerospace Industries Association of America AIA

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics AIAA

American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE

American Industrial Hygiene Association AIHA

Association for Information and Image Management AIIM

Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility AIM

American Institute of Steel Construction AISC

American Iron and Steel Institute AISI

American Institute of Timber Construction AITC

American Institute of Ultrasound Manufacturers AIUM

American Leather Chemists Association ALCA

American Ladder Institute ALI

American Lift Institute ALI

American Medical Association AMA

Air Movement and Control Association AMCA

Ambulance Manufacturers Division AMD

American Meteorological Society AMS

Association for Machine Technology AMT
191

ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board ANAB

American National Metric Council ANMC

Association of National Numbering Agencies ANNA

American Nuclear Society ANS

American National Standards Institute ANSI

AOAC International AOAC

American Oil Chemists Society AOCS

Association of Official Seed Analysts AOSA

Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies AOSCA

American Psychiatric Association APA

American Pyrotechnic Association APA

APA - The Engineered Wood Association APA

APCO International APCO

Asian Pacific Economic Conference APEC

American Public Health Association APHA

American Petroleum Institute API

Association of Pool and Spa Professionals APSP

American Public Transportation Association APTA

American Railway Engineering & Maintenance-of-Way Association AREMA

Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute ARI

American Rock Mechanics Association ARMA

Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association ARMA

Adeno Associated Virus Reference Materials Working Group ARMWG

Acoustical Society of America ASA
192

American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers ASABE

American Society of Agricultural Engineers ASAE

American Society of Addiction Medicine ASAM

Appraisal Standards Board ASB

American Society of Cinematographers ASC

ASC X9, Inc. ASC X9

American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE

Aerospace & Defense Industries Association of Europe ASD

American Society of Dam Safety Officials ASDSO

American Society for Gene Therapy ASGT

American Society for Healthcare Engineering ASHE

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE

American Society for Industrial Security ASIS

American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME

American Society of Mass Spectrometry ASMS

American Society for Nondestructive Testing ASNT

American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing ASPRS

American Society for Quality ASQ

American Society for Reproductive Medicine ASRM

American Society of Safety Engineers ASSE

American Society of Sanitary Engineering ASSE

ASTM International ASTM

American Trucking Association ATA

American Type Culture Collection ATCC
193

Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions ATIS

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry ATSDR

American Veterinary Medical Association AVMA

American Vacuum Society AVS

American Wind Energy Association AWEA

Architectural Woodwork Institute AWI

American Wood Preservers Association AWPA

American Wood Protection Association AWPA

American Wood Preservers Institute AWPI

American Welding Society AWS

American Water Works Association AWWA

Brighton Collaboration BC

Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association BHMA

Brick Industry Association BIA

Biometrics Application Programming Interface Consortium BioAPI

International Bureau of Weights and Measures BIPM

Baking Industry Sanitary Standards Committee BISSC

Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms Technical Forum BLAS

Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc BOCA

ASCE Building Security Council BSC

British Standards Institute BSI

Bluetooth Special Interest Group BT-SIG

Accredited Standards CommitteeC63® - Electromagnetic Compatibility C63®

College of American Pathologists CAP
194

Cousel for Affordable Quality Healthcare CAQH

Center for Applied Special Technology CAST

Cantaloupe Board of California CBC

Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems CCSDS

Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium CDISC

Consumer Electronics Association CEA

European Committee for Standardization CEN

European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization CENELEC

Conference for Food Protection CFP

Compressed Gas Association CGA

Canadian General Standards Board CGSB

International Committee for Cosmetic Harmonization and International 

Cooperation CHIC

Chlorine Institute CI

Cordage Institute CI

International Commission on Illumination CIE

Council for International Organizations of Medical Science CIOMS

International Committee for Weights and Measures CIPM

Cosmetic Ingredient Review CIR

Council on Ionizing Radiation Measurements and Standards CIRMS

Center for Internet Security CIS

Ceilings and Interior Systems Construction Association CISCA

Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute CISPI

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and 

CITES
195

Flora 

Central Laboratory for Blood Transfusion CLBT

Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute CLSI

Crane Manufacturing Association of America CMAA

Chocolate Manufacturers Association CMS

Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Alliance CMVSA

Committee on Data for Science and Technology CODATA

Codex Alimentarius Commission CODEX

Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity COP/CBD

Pan-American Standards Commission COPANT

Committee on Operating Rules CORE

Council for Optical Radiation Measurements CORM

Concrete Pipe Association CPA

Corn Refiners Association CRA

Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute CRSI

Canadian Standards Association CSA

Construction Safety Association of Ontario CSAO

California Strawberry Commission CSC

Construction Specifications Institute CSI

Cosmetic Toiletry and Fragrance Association CTFA

Cooling Technology Institute CTI

Data Management Association DAMA

Dublin Core Metadata Initiative DCMI

Deep Foundations Institute DFI
196

Deutsches Institut fur Nomung - German Institute for Standardization DIN

Data Interchange Standards Association, Inc. DISAI

Dimensional Metrology Standards Consortium DMSC

Designated Standards Maintenance Organizations Board DSMO

Eye Bank Association of America EBAA

Electronic Components Assemblies & Materials Association ECAMA

Electronic Commerce Code Management Association ECCMA

European Centre for Validation of Alternative Methods ECVAM

European Directorate for Quality of Medicines EDQM

European Food Safety Authority EFSA

Electronic Industries Alliance EIA

Emergency Management Accreditation Program EMAP

Electronic Products Codes Global EPCG

European Petroleum Survey Group EPSG

External RNA Controls Consortium ERCC

ESD Association ESD

Electrostatic Discharge Association ESDA

European Telecommunications Standards Institute ETSI

Engineered Wood Association EWA

Foundation for Accreditation of Cellular Therapies FACT

Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative FADGI

American Foundation for the Accreditation of Haematopoietic Cell Therapy FAHCT

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO
197

Federal Facilities Council FFC

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association FFVA

Federal Geographic Data Committee FGDC

Facility Guidelines Institute FGI

Facial Identification Scientific Working Group FISWG

Fix Protocol Ltd. FIX

FM Global FMG

Factory Mutual Research Corporation FMRC

Fresh Produce Association of America FPAA

Fire Protection Research Foundation FPRF

Forest Stewardship Council FSC

Gypsum Association GA

Glass Association of North America GANA

Graphic Communications Association GCA

Government Electronics & Information Technology Association GEITA

Global Harmonization Task Force GHTF

Gelatin Manufacturers of America GMA

Gas Processors Association GPA

GS1 GS1

Green Seal Standards for Adhesives GSSA

Ground Water Protection Council GWPC

Honey Board HB

Health Care Claim Reason and Status Code Committtee HCCRSCC

Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Inc. HFES
198

High Frequency Industry Association HFIA

Hydraulic Institute HI

Healthcare Information and Management Systems HIMSS

Healthcare Interpretations Task Force HITF

Health Level Seven HL7

Health Physics Society HPS

Hardwood Plywood & Veneer Association HPVA

International Association of Color Manufacturers IACM

International Association of Cancer Registrars IACR

International Association of Drilling Contractors IADC

International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA

International Association of Lighthouse Authorities IALA

International Alliance for NanoEHS Harmonization IANH

Interagency Advanced Power Group IAPG

International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials IAPMO

International Association for the Properties of Water and Steam IAPWS

International Air Transport Association IATA

International Blood Group Reference Laboratory IBRGL

International Bottled Water Association IBWA

International Cartographic Association ICA

Institute of Clean Air Companies ICAC

International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO

Industry Consortium for Advancement of Security on the Internet ICASI
199

International Conference of Building Officials ICBO

International Code Council ICC

International Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative 

Methods ICCVAM

Insulated Cable Engineers Association ICEA

International Council for the Exploration of the Sea ICES

International Crystal Foundation ICF

International Conference on the Harmonization of Technical Requirements 

for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use ICH

Industry-wide Cooperative Meat Identification Standards Committee ICMISC

International Committee of Medical Journal Editiors ICMJE

International Commission of Non-ionizing Radiation Protection and 

Measurements ICNIRP

International Commission on Radiation Protection ICRP

International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements, Inc. ICRU

International Council for Science ICSU

International Dairy Federation IDF

International Dairy Foods Association IDFA

International Electrotechnical Commission IEC

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IEEE

International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service IERS

Illuminating Engineering Society of North America IESNA

Institute of Environmental Sciences & Technology IEST

Internet Engineering Task Force IETF
200

International Federation of Fruit Juice Producers IFFJP

International Federation on Information Processing IFIP

International Fresh-cut Produce Association IFPA

International Fragrance Association IFRA

Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise IHE

International Hydrographic Organization IHO

International Health Terminology Standard Development Organization IHTSDO

International Institute of Welding IIW

International Life Sciences Institute ILSI

Institute of Makers of Explosives IME

International Maritime Organization IMO

International Nomenclature Committee INC

InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards INCITS

Institute of Nuclear Materials Management INMM

International Natural Sausage Casing Association INSCA

International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange IODE

National Academies of Science Institute of Medicine IOM

Institute of Packaging Professionals IOPP

IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries IPC

International Pharmaceutical Excipients Council IPEC

International Plant Protection Convention/International Standards for 

Phytosanitary Measures IPPC/ISPM

Internet Society IS

International Society of Automation ISA
201

International Society for Analytical Cytology ISAC

International Security Council ISC

International Society for Cardiovascular Surgery ISCVS

International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. ISDA

Insulated Steel Door Systems Institute ISDSI

Industrial Safety and Equipment Association ISEA

International Sprout Growers Association ISGA

International Organization for Standardization ISO

International Organization for Standardization / International 

Electrotechnical Commission Joint Technical Committee 1 ISO/IEC

Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference ISSC

International Seed Testing Association ISTA

International Society on Thrombosis and Homeostasis ISTH

Industrial Truck Association ITA

Interagency Trails Data Standards ITDS

Institute of Transportation Engineers ITE

Information Technology Industry Council ITI

Intelligent Transportation Society of America ITSA

Information Technology Service Management Forum ITSMF

International Towing Tank Conference ITTC

International Telecommunication Union ITU

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry IUPAC

International Union of Pure and Applied Physics IUPAP

International Window Cleaning Association IWCA
202

Joint Commissionon Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations JCAHO

Joint Cotton Industry Bale Packaging Committee JCIBPC

Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives JECFA

JEDEC - Solid State Technology Association JEDEC

Java Grande Forum JGF

Laser Institute of America LIA

Logical Observation Identifier Names and Codes LOINC

Metal Building Manufacturers Association MBMA

Machinery Information Management Open Systems MIMOSA

Motion Imagery Standards Board MISB

Metal Lath/Steel Framing Association, A Division of NAAMM MLSFA

Magnetic Materials Producers Association MMPA

Moving Picture Experts Group MPEG

Meat and Poultry Business-to-Business Data Standards Organization mpXML

Modular Systems Building Council MSBC

Manufacturers Standardization Society of the Valve and Fittings Industry MSSVFI

North American Association of Central Cancer Registries NAACCR

National Association of Architectural Metal Manufacturers NAAMM

National Association of Corrosion Engineers International NACE

National Automated Clearinghouse Association NACHA

National Cooperation for Laboratory Accreditation NACLA

National Association of Chain Manufacturers NACM

North American Energy Standards Board NAESB
203

North America Free Trade Association NAFTA

National Automatic Merchandising Association NAMA

North American Open Math Initiative NAOMI

National Association of Photographic Manufacturers NAPM

North American Plant Protection Organization/Regional Standards for 

Phytosanitary Measures NAPPO/RSPM

National Association of Relay Manufacturers NARM

National Aerospace Standards Commitee NASC

North American Security Products Organization NASPO

North American Transport of Dangerous Goods Standards NATDGS

North American Weeds Management Association NAWMA

National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards NCCLS

National Forum on Education Statistics NCES Forum

National Conference for Interstate Milk Shipments NCIMS

National Concrete Masonry Association NCMA

National Council for Prescription Drug Program NCPDP

National Cancer Registrar Association NCRA

National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements NCRP

National CAD Standards NCS

NCSL International NCSLI

National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices NCUTCD

National Conference on Weights and Measures NCWM

National Digital Elevation Program NDEP

The National Digital Orthophoto Program NDOP
204

Northwest Environmental Data Network NED

National eHealth Collaboration NeHC

National Electrical Manufacturers Association NEMA

National Environmental Methods Index NEMI

North American Electric Reliability Corporation NERC

National Egg Regulators Association NERO

National Fluid Power Association NFLPA

National Fire Protection Association NFPA

National Food Processors Association NFPA

National Floor Safety Institute NFSI

National Ground Water Association NGWA

Northwest Horticultural Council NHC

National Institute of Building Sciences NIBS

National Institute for Biological Sciences and Controls NIBSC

National Institute of Packaging, Handling Engineers NIPHLE

Nuclear Information and Records Management Association, Inc. NIRMAI

National Information Standards Organization NISO

National Marrow Donor Program NMDP

National Marine Electronics Association NMEA

National Oilseed Processors Association NOPA

National Petroleum Management Association NPMA

National Public Safety Telecommunications Council NPSTC

National Quality Forum NQF

National Roofing Contractors Association NRCA
205

National Safety Council NSC

National Sanitary Foundation International NSFI

National Spa and Pool Institute NSPI

National Trust Banking Industry NTBI

National Truck Equipment Association NTEA

National Type Evaluation Program NTEP

National Toxicology Program NTP

National Uniform Billing Committee NUBC

National Uniform Claim Committee NUCC

National Wildland Fire Coordinating Group NWCG

National Window and Door Association NWDA

National Water-Quality Monitoring Council NWQMC

Open Applications Group OAGi

Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards OASIS

Open DeviceNet Vendor Association ODVA

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD

Optics and Electro-Optics Standards Council OEOSC

Open Geospatial Consortium OGC

World Organization for Animal Health OIE

International Organization of Legal Metrology OIML

Optical Laboratories Association OLA

Object Management Group OMG

Omgeo Omgeo

Open Math Society OMS
206

The Open Group OPEN

Optical Storage Technology Association OSTA

Pan American Health Organization PAHO

Pan American Network for Drug Regulatory Harmonization PANDRH

Portland Cement Association PCA

Program for Cooperative Cataloging PCC

Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute PCI

Personal Care Products Council PCPC

Parenteral Drug Association PDA

Painting and Decorating Contractors of America PDCA

Plumbing and Draining Institute PDI

Postsecondary Electronic Standards Organization PESC

Pipe Fabrication Institiute PFI

Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association PHCCA

Public Health Data Standards Consortium PHDSC

Parachute Industry Association PIA

Produce Marketing Association PMA

Project Management Institute PMI

Pacific Northwest Reginal Geospatial Information Council PNW-RGIC

Petrotechnical Open Standards Consortium, Inc. POSC

Public Petroleum Data Management PPDM

Plastic Pipe Institute PPI

Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association PPTA

Post-Tensioning Institute PTI
207

Quarter-Inch Cartridge Drive Standards, Inc. QCDS

Qualified Products Management Council QPMC

Remark Code Committee RCC

Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North 

America RESNA

Resilient Floor Covering Institute RFCI

Robotics Industries Association RIA

Research Institute for Fragrance Materials RIFM

International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Materials, Systems and 

Structures RILEM

International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Materials, Systems and 

Structures/International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and 

Construction RILEM/CIB

Rubber Manufacturers Association RMA

Rack Manufacturers Institute RMI

Regulated Product Submission RPS

Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics RTCA

Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services RTCM

Recreation Vehicle Industry Association RVIA

Resistance Welders Manufacturers Association RWMA

Society of Automotive Engineers SAE

Scientific Apparatus Makers Association SAMA

Society of American Value Engineers International SAVE

Society of Allied Weight Engineers SAWE

Society of Cosmetic Chemists SCC
208

SDO Charter Organization SCO

Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers SCTE

The Soap and Detergent Association SDA

Steel Deck Institute SDI

Steel Door Institute SDI

Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International SEMI

Standards Engineering Society SES

Society of Fire Protection Engineers SFPE

Steel Founders Society of America SFSA

Society for Glassware and Ceramic Decorations SGCD

Cultural Resources Standards with State Historic Preservation Offices SHPO

Schools Interoperability Framework Association SIFA

Software & Information Industry Association's Financial Information 

Services Division SIIA/FISD

Inter-American Metrology System SIM

Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization SISO

Steel Joist Institute SJI

Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (El/Sec) SLDS

Screen Manufacturers Association SMA

Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning Contractors National Association SMACNA

Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers SMPTE

Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers SNAME

Society for Toxicology SOT

Society for Protective Coatings SPC
209

Single Ply Roofing Institute SPRI

Scaffolding, Shoring, and Forming Institute, Inc. SSFI

Society of Toxicologic Pathology STP

Steel Window Institute SWI

Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication SWIFT

Tea Association of America TAA

Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry TAPPI

Technical Committee for Juice and Juice Products TCJJP

Therapeutic Goods Administration TGA

Telecommunications Industry Association TIA

The Maintenance Council of American Trucking Associations TMC/ATA

The Tire and Rim Association, Inc. TRAI

Transportation Technology Center, Inc. TTCI

Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association TTMA

United Egg Producers UEP

United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association UFFVA

Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society UHMS

International Union Against Cancer UICC

Underwriters Laboratories UL

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe UNECE

United Nations Committee on the Transport of Dangerous Goods UNTDG

International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants UPOV

Urban and Regional Information Systems Association URISA
210

United States Animal Health Association USAHA

United States Adopted Names Council USANC

United States Committee on Large Dams USCOLD

United States Egg and Poultry Association USEPA

U.S. Green Building Council USGBC

United States Pharmacopoeia USP

Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards VAMAS

International Cooperation on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for 

Registration of Veterinary Products VICH

Video Quality Experts Group VQEG

World Wide Web Consortium W3C

Web Accessibility Initiative WAI

Web Application Security Consortium WASC

Window Covering Manufacturers Association WCMA

Window and Door Manufacturers Association WDMA

Web3D Consortium Web3D

Western Electricity Coordinating Council WECC

Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange WEDI

Water Environment Federation WEF

Western Growers Association WGA

World Health Organization WHO

World Intellectual Property Organization WIPO

Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America WMMA

World Meteorological Organization WMO
211

Accredited Standards Committee X12 X12

Extensible Business Reporting Language XBRL
212

Appendix H – The Interagency Committee on Standards Policy 

(ICSP)

The Interagency Committee on Standards Policy, also known as the ICSP, is the primary body 

responsible for coordinating standards use among agencies of the Federal government.

The ICSP seeks to promote effective and consistent standards policies plus foster cooperation 

between government, industry, and other private organizations involved in standards activities. 

The Committee reports to the Secretary of the Department of Commerce (DOC) through the 

Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). 

To review the current charter of the ICSP, click here: 

http://standards.gov/icsp/query/index.cfm?do=Home.ICSPCharter

To see a list of the current ICSP membership, click here: 

http://standards.gov/icsp/query/index.cfm?do=Home.ICSPExecutives
213

Appendix I – Publications Related to the National Technology 

Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA) and Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-119 

To review publications and reference documents related to Federal agency implementation of the 

NTTAA as well as OMB Circular A-119, visit the NTTAA Library online at 

http://gsi.nist.gov/global/index.cfm/L1-5/L2-44/A-327

These documents can be obtained in hardcopy form by sending a written request to: 

Standards Services Group (SSG) 

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-2150 

301-975-2490

When making requests, please identify specific documents by title, author, and date wherever 

possible.