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ASTM Adds Certification Programs

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Venerable standards developer ASTM International has announced that it will offer certification services for materials, products, services, systems and personnel.

The voluntary ASTM International Certification Programs, which the ASTM board authorized in October, are being launched in response to inquiries for ASTM to provide certification for independent, third-party demonstrations of compliance to standards.

Most of the demand has involved new standards development activities; some has come from those facing regulatory pressures to demonstrate standards compliance.

"The board agreed that the ability for the Society to offer certification programs as a part of ASTM's portfolio of services - similar to our successful proficiency testing and training programs - is important in remaining relevant in the changing global marketplace," explains James A. Thomas, president of ASTM International.

"This is the first step toward certification in ASTM's 111-year history. The board approved this initiative to satisfy the requirements of ASTM's diverse stakeholder community and to meet the needs of industries relying on ASTM International standards."
Potential product benefits of the ASTM Product Certification Program to manufacturers and consumers include: increased confidence; reliable product comparisons; equitable testing and rating; potential liability reduction; and facilitating regulatory compliance.

Requests for an ASTM program may come from ASTM technical committees or directly from industry, purchasers or government bodies. A product certified through ASTM's program would be tested, at the direction of ASTM International, by a third-party laboratory to determine the product's ability to conform to one or more ASTM standards.

All program initiatives will be based on the level of interest of the relevant ASTM technical committee as well as the support of industry.

For more information, visit www.astm.org/cert or contact Ken Pearson, senior vice president, ASTM International at 610-832-9672 or kpearson@astm.org.