In an effort to communicate the vital role that standards play in daily life, the American National Standards Institute publishes, on an ongoing basis, a series of snapshots of the diverse standards initiatives undertaken in the global and national standards arena, many of which are performed by ANSI members and ANSI-accredited standards developers. Two of the latest selections follow:
Air Conditioning Installation
As the summer approaches, spring cleaning and annual maintenance demand the attention of many businesses and home owners. Topping many springtime “to-do” lists is the annual test run of air conditioners to determine whether a unit needs to be upgraded or replaced. This year, a new American national standard lends a helping hand, outlining national requirements for the quality installation (QI) of residential and commercial heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems.
The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), an ANSI member organization, recently published ANSI/ACCA 5 QI-2007, HVAC Quality Installation Specification: Residential and Commercial Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Applications. The standard spells out consensus requirements for quality installations, procedures for measuring or verifying conformity with those requirements, and acceptable forms of documentation to demonstrate compliance.
Written to meet the needs of contractors, equipment manufacturers, HVAC trainers and building owners, the standard defines steps to ensure that HVAC equipment is properly sized, selected, and installed for residential and commercial applications. Specifically, ANSI/ACCA 5 QI addresses equipment and its installation, duct distribution, system documentation, and owner education, all of which are contributing factors to consumer satisfaction and energy savings.
Document Records Management
“Out with the old, in with the new” is another spring time anthem, particularly for businesses and organizations that need to archive electronic and paper documents. A new standard from ARMA International, ANSI/ARMA 16-2007, The Records Conversion Process: Program Planning, Requirements and Procedures, guides organizations through the conversion process from one recordkeeping system to another.
Focusing on digital-to-digital conversion, the standard identifies requirements that businesses and organizations can use to ensure that information systems produce authentic and reliable records. A collaborative project between archivists and records managers, ANSI/ARMA 16-2007 addresses fundamental policy, procedural and technical issues associated with the conversion and migration process.
