As you may be aware, AIHA exited the standards development business almost ten years ago. We no longer directly manage the development or revision of technical standards. However, we still play a key role in advancing standards that reflect occupational and environmental health and safety.

Standards activities are housed under the AIHA Guideline Foundation. The AIHA Standards Advisory Panel (SAP) is tasked with identifying those standards committees that are most critical to AIHA’s interests and prioritizing where official AIHA representatives should be assigned.

Currently, AIHA has twenty official representatives assigned to various technical committees. These include the following ANSI/ASSP committees:

• Z10 (U.S. equivalent of ISO 45001, Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems)
• Z117 (confined spaces)
• Z16 (health metrics)
• Z490 (safety, health, and environmental training)
• Z9 (ventilation)

We also have representatives to ANSI/ISEA Z87 (eye/face protection against biological hazards), ASTM D22 (various sub-committees pertaining to air quality, quality control, indoor air, sampling/analysis of asbestos, and sampling/analysis of microorganisms), and ISO 45001, 23874 (gas chromatography requirements for hydrocarbon dewpoint calculation), and 31000 (risk management).

Over their three-year appointment, standards representatives:

• participate in the scheduled meetings of the consensus standard body, which may be face-to-face or virtual
• use technical expertise to develop draft language, review draft versions of the standard, and provide editorial comments, as needed
• vote to approve or disapprove the standard document
• consult with the SAP and relevant volunteer groups regarding possible problems and AIHA’s general position
• report annually to SAP regarding the results of the standard activities
• promptly communicate to the SAP any development or direction within the standard body that indicates a significant change in direction, policy, or any overall aspects that affect AIHA
• disclose any conflicts of interest during their appointment

Each standard representative is backed by an AIHA-designated alternate who also participates in the standard-setting process to the extent allowed by the standard-setting entity.

AIHA’s standards representatives are playing a key role on behalf of the OEHS profession to ensure our input is being heard. If you would like to get involved in our standards work, feel free to contact AIHA’s staff liaison to the SAP, Michele Twilley, DrPH, CIH. On behalf of the AIHA Board, we appreciate your time and attention to this under-recognized volunteer opportunity.