ANSI Announces Free Conference: "Standards and the Service Economy"

NEW YORK, July 14, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) will offer a free conference titled "Standards and the Service Economy" on September 29, 2015, as a highlight of  World Standards Week (WSW) 2015, the U.S. standards and conformance community's major annual event.

Services are tremendous contributors to the global economy – about 78% or $10.3 trillion of the U.S. GDP in 2012. But the services industry is quite diverse, from utilities, IT, and finance to tourism, healthcare, education, and retail. While each of these areas has different needs and priorities, it's clear that effective standards and conformity assessment programs are critical to helping this sector continue its growth.

The 2015 ANSI Conference, supported by NSF International, will be held at the FHI 360 Conference Center in Washington D.C. where leaders from international standards bodies and service providers will reflect on how domestic and international standardization can meet the evolving needs of the service sector during panel discussions. Stakeholders from Disney, Citi, Oracle, the Los Angeles Department of Power and Water, and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) will be panelists, in addition to leaders from the national and regional standards bodies for the UK, Germany, Singapore, and Europe.

The conference, which will include a networking reception and Q&A sessions with the audience, is open to all ANSI members and interested stakeholders including those from government, industry, business, consumer groups, and academia. The event will run from 1 to 5 pm, with the networking reception scheduled for 5 to 6 pm.

The first conference session, Strategies for Addressing Standards Needs in the Services Sector will be moderated by Mary Saunders, associate director for management resources at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Panelists are scheduled to include:

• Torsten Bahke, Chairman of the Executive Board, DIN (German Institute for Standardization)
• Sauw-Kook Choy, Assistant Chief Executive, SPRING Singapore
• Ashok Ganesh, Director of Innovation, CEN/CENELEC (European Committee for Standardization, European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization)
• Kevin McKinley, Acting Secretary General, ISO (International Organization for Standardization)
• Richard Taylor, Director of Standards Market Development, BSI Group

The second session, Stakeholders Speak: Service Industry Needs will be moderated by Laura Hitchcock, senior project manager of Boeing. Panelists are scheduled to include:

• Donald Deutsch, Vice President, Standards Strategy and Architecture, Oracle
• David Heumann, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
• Ari Marcus, Director, Information Services Group, Citi
• Dave Wardlaw, Director of Worldwide Standards and Auditing, Disney

Hosted each year by ANSI – coordinator of the U.S. standardization system – World Standards Week is designed to foster open exchange among various types of standards-setting and conformity assessment/compliance organizations who are working in close partnership with government and industry in nearly every sector and product line. This year, WSW will be held on September 28 - October 2, and is expected to bring together over 300 departmental and agency officials, industry leaders, consumer advocates, academics, and standardization executives from across the country.

The 2015 ANSI Conference is a free event, but advance registration is required. The full schedule of WSW 2015 events and registration details are available at www.ansi.org/wsweek.

About ANSI
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is made up of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide. 

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

SOURCE American National Standards Institute

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