Standards Development

Standards Development

Q9::

Regarding UL Standards Development, what are the differences between the old process Industry Advisory Committee (IAC) and the new process Standards Technical Panel (STP)?

A9::

Under the IAC process, the members of the committee were primarily manufacturers. UL was responsible for the development of most proposals. There was no formal appeals process and the ANSI approval process occurred after the proposals were published as requirements in the Standard.

Under the STP process, it is a collaborative development from expertise from a wide and balanced cross section of interest groups including producers, supply chain, commercial/ industrial user, Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), government, testing/ standards organizations, consumers and general interest. It is a method of developing and maintaining UL/ ANSI Standards where each proposed change to a standard goes through the consensus process before it is adopted and published. Proposals may be submitted by anyone and proceed through a ballot process involving all STP members and which also includes the option of a formal appeals process. Attendance at STP meetings is open to any interested parties, space permitting.

Q10::

Can I get involved in the Standards development process? If yes, how?

A10::

There are a number of ways to participate in the Standards development process.

	•	You can apply to become a member of one of UL’s Standards Technical Panels (STPs) by downloading an application from the UL Standards Infonet, completing the application, and submitting it to the STP Project Manager. The Call for Members page also lists which STPs are currently seeking new members. (http://ulstandardsinfonet.ul.com/stp/call_4_members.html) And there are various ways non-STP members can participate in the Standards development process.

	•	Standards proposals can be submitted by anyone via UL’s Collaborative Standards Development System (CSDS), which is an on-line, user-friendly, internet-based system that allows anyone involved in the Standards development process 24/7 access to proposals, comments, votes and other information related to the development of UL Standards for Safety. You may access the UL CSDS at http://csds.ul.com in order to submit proposals for a UL standard.

	•	Current subscribers to a standard receive proposals and may submit comments via CSDS. However, if you are not currently a subscriber, you may alternately watch for listings of proposals in ANSI’s Standards Action publication (http://www.ansi.org). These announcements will inform you when UL is balloting a proposal for a standard, and welcoming comments. If you wish to subscribe to specific standards and associated proposals, you may do so at http://www.comm-2000.com.

	•	As an alternative, you may also sign up for UL’s free “What’s New e-Notification” Service. This is an electronic notification which is sent out twice a month, and includes a list (including the scope) of all the standards documents published for that time period. You may watch for the publication of relevant documents, and purchase any that are of interest to you. Here is the link for signing up: http://ulstandardsinfonet.ul.com/whatsnew/ whatsnewservice.html

	•	In addition, attendance at STP meetings is always open, and simply requires that you inform the STP Chair of your desire to attend, prior to the meeting. Notification regarding STP meetings is posted on UL’s website (http://ulstandardsinfonet.ul.com/stp/ index.html) by selecting STP Meetings on the left side of the page. From this location you will be able to view upcoming STP meetings and request attendance via the UL CSDS. Notifications of upcoming meetings are also sent to STP members and Subscribers.

	•	Also, if you are a UL product certification customer, all UL standards, revisions, and proposals are available to UL product certification customers via a dedicated Web site at www.ULStandards.com. To access these documents, you will need a username and password which can be obtained by calling the UL Standards customer service team at 1-888-853-3503. Or you can send an e-mail to clientservices@comm-2000.com. Beyond being able to access all UL Standards, you can set up a customized standards library. With this feature, you will receive e-mail notifications of all updates, including revisions and proposals, to UL Standards material in your libraries.