Standards Technical Panels (STPs) are the
consensus bodies for ANSI/UL Standards and advisory bodies for
UL Standards. The STP process provides input from all
interested parties—regulatory officials, design
professionals, consumer groups, producers, government
agencies, and others—at the earliest stage of standards
development. Additional participation by AHJs will further
improve what UL believes is a value-added system of standards
development.
Many STPs currently include AHJs who
provide a valuable resource at the table by sharing their
expertise based on field experience. UL would like to have
more AHJs participate on STPs. Having AHJs on the STPs helps
promote public safety requirements and produces UL Standards
that are compatible with the installation codes. AHJs bring a
very important perspective to the STP and they have been
successful in maintaining a balance between the needs of the
producers and the needs of the regulatory community.
"Membership on a STP provides the
authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) with a unique opportunity
to participate and contribute to the standards development
process," says Lanny McMahill, city of Phoenix.
"Being able to provide an AHJ’s perspective is a
critical aspect in the development of product safety
standards. The AHJs’ participation can help to ensure that
installation codes and product standards work in harmony with
one another. Harmonizing codes and standards equates to the
essential goal of affording the public protection from fire
and shock hazards."
How does the STP process work? The STP
process includes the following features:
· Standards Technical Panels (STPs) –
Comprised of a balanced group that includes AHJs, design
professionals, consumers, producers, government agencies,
(such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission), and other
knowledgeable, interested parties. Standards Technical Panels
(STPs) serve as the standards development forum, or
"consensus" bodies, for new and revised UL
Standards.
· Early participation – All interested
parties have the opportunity to provide input from the
beginning of the standards development process.
· Open meetings – STP meetings are open
to all interested parties.
· Continuous maintenance – For UL
Standards that have been approved as American National
Standards by ANSI, the STP process provides for concurrent
development of requirements and ANSI recognition using continuous
maintenance. The continuous maintenance process permits UL
to submit revisions of ANSI-approved standards through an
accredited consensus process as the revisions are developed.
This means that ANSI/UL Standards will be constantly updated
to reflect new technologies and field experience.
UL has established more than 270 STPs, and
we continue to recruit AHJs and general interest participants
for many of those STPs. UL may provide funding for regulatory
participants to attend an STP meeting upon request.
We are looking forward to having more AHJs
apply for membership on STPs so they can share their expertise
in the development of product safety requirements, as well as
the continued participation of those already on STPs.
Participation on a STP does not necessarily require a
tremendous investment in time or expense, and will help ensure
that the regulatory officials’ concerns are adequately
re-presented in the development of UL Standards. We would
encourage all interested AHJs and code users to contact UL to
find out more about serving on these STPs.
For more information on UL’s standards
development process, or on serving on a Standards Technical
Panel, go to http://ulstandardinfonet.ul.com/stp/index/html.
For a list of STPs presently seeking new members, go to http://ulstandardinfonet.ul.com/stp/call_4_members.html and
search for STP’s seeking user category members or contact
Deborah Prince by phone at (919) 549-1460, by fax at (919)
547-6178 or by e-mail at Deborah.R.Prince@us.ul.com. |
