ANSI As the coordinator for national standards in the United States
ANSI (American National Standards Institute) is a member of non-treaty international standards organizations. ANSI coordinates the activities involved in US participation in international standardization bodies. The American National Standards Institute has serve as administrator of the US standardization system in a private sector approximately 90 years. One of the goals of this institution was to support the competitiveness of U.S. business by coordinating, promoting and facilitating conformity assessment systems. The headquarters is located in Washington, D.C.
There exist standards developing organizations (SDOs) and the American National Standards Institute accredits their procedures. Accreditation by ANSI signifies that the procedures used by the standards body in connection with the development of American National Standards meet the Institute’s essential requirements for openness, balance, consensus and due process.
So what was the origin of ANSI? Originally this institution was founded as the American Engineering Standards Committee (AESC). The first standard that was approved by the organization was the standard on pipe threads. After that, in 1920, the American Engineering Standards Committee coordinated national safety codes – the first American Standard Safety Code was approved in 1921. This code covered the protection of the heads and eyes of industrial workers. In the next decade the institution approved different standards in mining, electrical and mechanical engineering, construction and highway traffic.
ANSI promotes the use of U.S. standards internationally, advocates U.S. policy and technical positions in international and regional standards organizations, and encourages the adoption of international standards as national standards where they meet the needs of the user community.
Today the American National Standards Institute is the main representative of the United States (and a founding member) in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) (via the U.S. National Committee (USNC)). ANSI plays a strong leading role in both of these organizations.