Voluntary Standards cover entire initiatives spectrum.
Press Release Summary:
To communicate the vital role standards play in daily life, ANSI will publish, on an ongoing basis, a series of snapshots of the diverse standards initiatives undertaken in the global and national standards arena. These snapshots, performed by ANSI members and ANSI-accredited standards developers, include the 2 latest on animal-drawn equipment as well as lighting/marking of animal drawn equipment. Another addresses safety standards for mechanical power transmission apparatus.
Original Press Release:
Voluntary Standards Cover the Spectrum: from Animal Drawn Equipment to Mechanical Power Transmission
In an effort to communicate the vital role that standards play in daily life, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) will publish, 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:
Animal Drawn Equipment
Seeing a horse and a buggy can evoke romantic memories, but the merging of high-powered vehicles with animal drawn equipment in urban centers or on public roadways creates potentially hazardous situations requiring special safety procedures.
A recent standard - ANSI/ASAE EP576.1 JUL2008, Lighting and Marking of Animal Drawn Equipment - from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) establishes a unique identification system for slow-moving animal-drawn vehicles, such as Amish buggies, horse-drawn farm wagons, and urban carriages on public roadways or highways.
The document includes proper lighting and marking of both the vehicle and the animal, including the use of headlamps, tail lamps, battery-operated or generator-powered lighting systems, and retroreflective material, as well as rules on the display of slow-moving emblems. This identification system is intended as a complement to existing laws, rules, and regulations in individual states, provinces, and municipalities.
An accredited standards developer and organizational member of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), ASABE is an educational and scientific membership organization of agricultural, food and biological engineers seeking to develop efficient and environmentally sensitive methods of producing food, fiber, timber, and renewable energy sources.
Mechanical Power Transmission
Workers operating pulleys, motor shafts, leadscrews, belts, and chains face various hazards pertaining to the rotating, oscillating, reciprocating, transversing, or other motions associated with equipment used in the mechanical transmission of power.
To address these risks, the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) has recently published ANSI B15.1-2000 (R2008), Safety Standard for Mechanical Power Transmission Apparatus.
The requirements of this standard apply to any source of hazard to people from the operation of mechanical power transmission apparatus on machines, equipment, or systems that are stationary in their use, other than the point of operation.
"Stationary in their use" also includes mechanical power transmission apparatus that is mounted on, part of, or attached to equipment that is capable of being moved when the mechanical power transmission apparatus is not performing its function.
An ANSI organizational member and accredited standards developer, AMT is a membership organization that represents and promotes the interests of American providers of manufacturing machinery and equipment through technological advancements and improvements in the industry including sales, design, automation, material removal, material forming, assembly, inspection, testing, communications, and control of manufacturing products.
