The Power of Standards
Where would your business be without standards? Can you imagine if every gear manufacturer used different inspection and rating criteria? Or if you had to re-learn new gear nomenclature for each manufacturer you talked to? Standards are the documented set of generally accepted rules, guidelines, and requirements within an industry. They are based on proven and verified practices and provide a common language for an industry. AGMA has standards covering all aspects of gearing, from design, to inspection, to materials, to assembly, and to specialized applications such as wind or aerospace industries.
Outside of AGMA there are standards for almost every good and service you can imagine. Such as Quality Management (ISO 9001), IT Security (ISO SAE 21434), Environmental Management (ISO 14001), and Food and Environmental Safety (NSF/ANSI 61) just to name a few. Standards are behind the scenes in almost all products you use everyday. In fact, The U.S. Department of Commerce reports that 92 percent of U.S. goods exports are affected by standards and technical regulations legacy.trade.gov/td/osip/documents/osip_standards_trade_full_paper.pdf
In the United States, we have a “bottom-up” approach to standardization. In the bottom-up approach users of the standards you have the strongest voice to decide what to standardize, and how to write the standards. AGMA staff does not write standards. Instead, we coordinate diverse, volunteer stakeholders to ensure consensus processes are followed fairly and openly, which avoids monopoly or anti-trust issues. Overseeing AGMA is the American Nation Standards Institute (ANSI). ANSI’s main roles are accrediting standards developing organizations such as AGMA, making sure organizations are not duplicating efforts (such as other organizations also writing gear standards), and facilitating U.S. participation on the global stage through ISO. The bottom-up approach offers speed and flexibility to those that use the standards to independently find solutions for their market. In the United States, when a standard exists, the government is less likely to write a regulation, and if a regulation is written it is more likely to cite the standard.
In contrast to the United States, many countries use a “top-down” approach to standardization. In a top-down approach the national standards body (often a governmental agency) has the most influence. Standards users are at the bottom of the pyramid, having the standards that affect them dictated mainly by other entities. In a “top-down” approach there is more central planning on what to standardize, how the standards are written, and in this system when regulations are written there may not be as much input from the affected stakeholders.
For more information see the ANSI website here:
standardsportal.org/usa_en/standards_system/introduction.aspx
