ABSTRACT
This invited chapter was prepared by Robert B. Toth, President of R. B. Toth Associates, Alexandria, VA. Bob Toth has earned an international reputation and is a recognized standardization management expert. R. B. Toth Associates specializes in strategic services for the industrial infrastructure, and provides consulting services in all aspects of standardization and conformity assessment to clients worldwide: international agencies, manufacturers, standards developers, trade organizations, and government agencies. He has assisted more than a dozen countries to restructure or upgrade their metrology, standardization, and conformity assessment systems. With permission of the author, the chapter was specially adapted from a prior publication for inclusion in this book. Bob Toth is the author and editor of many papers and books including Standards Management: A Handbook for Profits; The Economics of Standardization; and The Role of Standardization in Economic Development. He is a graduate engineer, certified standards engineer, Fellow of the Standards Engineering Society, and Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He can be reached at bob.toth@erols.com
The odds are very high that an American attending an international standardization meeting or consulting in a foreign country will be asked about the U.S. standardization system. How is it organized? Who is responsible for developing standards? How many standards-developing organizations are there? How many standards? Who sees to their implementation? What is the government's role?
