Public Law 104-113 , also known as the National TechnologyTransfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA), was signed into law on March 7, 1996.Among other things, The Act directs NIST to bring together federal agenciesas well as state and local governments to achieve greater reliance on voluntarystandards and decreased dependence on in-house standards. To illustrate, whengovernment agencies discovered a need for a standard, they had, in the past,created and adopted unique, proprietary standards when voluntary consensus standardsalready existed that effectively addressed those needs. The result was an unnecessarygovernment standard that created confusion and added expense for those who hadto comply with it. In order to prevent this kind of occurrence, The Act requiresthat federal agencies adopt private sector standards, particularly those developedby standardsdeveloping organizations (SDOs) , wherever possible in lieu of creating proprietary,non-consensus standards. NIST encourages and supports federal agencies in theirefforts to comply with the Act.

The Act requires that NIST "coordinate Federal, State, and local technical standards activities and conformity assessment activities, with private sector technical standards activities and conformity assessment activities with the goal of eliminating unnecessary duplication and complexity in the development and promulgation of conformity assessment requirements and measures.' NIST is also charged through NTTAA with helping federal agencies to compare standards used in manufacturing, commerce, industry and educational institutions with standards developed by the federal government. Through this activity, federal as well as state and local government agencies will be able to identify unnecessary government standards that duplicate existing private sector standards and that should be eliminated.

Finally, the NTTAA requires that NIST create guidanceon conformity assessment activities. This guidance outlines Federal agencies'responsibility for evaluating the efficacy of their conformity assessment activities.In order to use its resources most efficiently, each agency is responsible forcoordinating its conformity assessment activities with those of other appropriategovernment agencies and with those of the private sector. This guidance appliesto all federal agencies which set policy for, manage, operate or use conformityassessment activities and results, both domestic and international, except foractivities carried out pursuant to treaties.

Conformity assessment is defined in ISO/IEC Guide 2: 1996 as: "any activity concerned with determining directly or indirectly that relevant requirements are fulfilled." Conformity assessment procedures provide a means of ensuring that the products, services, or systems produced or operated have the required characteristics, and that these characteristics are consistent from product to product, service to service, or system to system.

Conformity assessment includes: sampling and testing; inspection; certification; management system assessment and registration; accreditation of the competence of those activities and recognition of an accreditation program's capability. A specific conformity assessment process may include one or more of these conformity assessment activities. While each of these activities is a distinct operation, they are closely interrelated. In addition, standards are interwoven into all aspects of these activities and can have a major impact on the outcome of a conformity assessment process.

Conformity assessment activities form a vital link between standards (which define necessary characteristics or requirements for products) and the products themselves. Together standards and conformity assessment activities impact almost every aspect of life in the United States.

OMB Circular A-119 - Federal Participationin the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards and in ConformityAssessment Activities states the following:

"The use of [voluntary consensus] standards, whenever practicable and appropriate, is intended to achieve the following goals:

1. Eliminate the cost to the Government of developing its own standards anddecrease the cost of goods procured and the burden of complying with agencyregulation.
2. Provide incentives and opportunities to establish standards that servenational needs.
3. Encourage long-term growth for U.S. enterprises and promote efficiencyand economic competition through harmonization of standards.
4. Further the policy of reliance upon the private sector to supply Governmentneeds for goods and services."

These benefits can accrue to state and local governments as well. For example:

• Governments become "friendlier" for their suppliers of goodsand services to deal with since the suppliers need not be concerned withmodifying manufacturing processes, inspections or certifications in orderto satisfy a unique set of technical requirements contained in a superfluousgovernment standard.
• Governments can save tax dollars by
• Avoiding costly and time-consuming efforts in creating and updating proprietary technical standards.
• Purchasing off-the-shelf goods manufactured to voluntary consensus standards rather than purchasing goods manufactured to specific government standards at significantly higher cost.
• Companies wishing to supply products and services to governments in morethan one jurisdiction would experience less confusion and frustration stemmingfrom trying to meet several different compliance standards for the sameproduct or service.
• Technical standards can enable or constrain trade not only at the federalbut also at the state and local levels. Therefore, creating and choosingthe right technical standards can lead to an environment that encouragesglobal trade which can keep local companies competitive.

Federal compliance is mandatory, while state and local compliance is entirely voluntary. You will benefit greatly from learning about and subsequently encouraging the use of voluntary consensus standards in your government agency. Aside from helping your agency experience the benefits listed above, you will personally have the opportunity to meet and to share ideas with like-minded individuals from all over the United States.

If you are unfamiliar with the universe of voluntary consensus standards, you will learn from more experienced people the ways in which their agencies are adopting voluntary consensus standards to cut costs, streamline purchases, and conduct more effective regulatory activities. If, on the other hand, you are already familiar with voluntary consensus standards, you will have an opportunity to share information, accomplishments and lessons learned in your agency with your peers. At the same time, you will learn new and different ways of applying voluntary consensus standards to further benefit your own organization in ways you may not yet recognize.

The fields of standards and conformity assessment are wide-ranging and rather complex at times. Therefore, it is recommended that you begin your campaign to comply with the Act by taking advantage of available training opportunities. Visit the The American National Standards Institute at http://www.ansi.org/ for more information about training.

For more detailed information about the NTTAA, you can examine our Standards Executive Toolkit . Or simply send your questions and comments to NTTAA@nist.gov .