Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Conformity Assessment Guidance and Best Practices Workshop: Canada – Mexico – USA

NIST organized and hosted a workshop on August 6 entitled Conformity Assessment Guidance and Best Practices Workshop: Canada – Mexico – USA. The goal of this workshop was to share stakeholder experiences in conformity assessment best practices and guidance between Mexico, Canada and the United States. Approximately 55 individuals participated representing all 3 countries and many sectors. Participants learned about how conformity assessment is conducted in each of the three countries from the perspectives of industry, conformity assessment bodies and government. 

It was noted that all three countries influence the development of standards and thus there should be opportunities for more collaboration.   Several examples of cooperation were highlighted such as the United States Coast Guard and Transport Canada’s work on personal flotation device (PFD) recognition; NIST and Canadian counterparts joint conformity assessment program for encryption equipment;  and government to government Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) for telecommunications equipment which includes all three economies. 

 Other observations included a desire for faster development and regulatory adoption of standards as technology development moves very rapidly in fields such as the ICT sector.  At the same time others stated that longer lead times are required to implement the new regulations and establish the required conformity assessment programs as many products have large global supply chains that need to be modified accordingly.  During the summary it was agreed that there is a range of conformity assessment tools for a regulator to choose from and the appropriate tool depends on the level of risk associated with the product.  Making regulatory policy more consistent with trade policy was identified as an objective that would be beneficial to support commerce among the countries of North America. Workshop participants supported having future workshops to continue engagement.

NIST thanks the panelists for sharing their experience and expertise and all participants for attending.    

 

AGENDA


10:00 am        
Welcome
Gordon Gillerman
, Director, Standards Coordination Office, NIST

10:15   am      
Panel 1: Government Overview

Government stakeholders from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. will provide an overview of their approaches to conformity assessment and different regulatory and voluntary programs they have established or helped design.

Moderator: Capt. Scott Colburn, Director, CDRH Standards Program, U.S. Food and Drug Administration 
Elias Rafoul, Vice President of Accreditation Services, SCC
Jesus Lucatero Diaz, Deputy Director General of Operations, DGN
Lisa Carnahan, Computer Scientist, NIST

11:15   am      
Panel 2: CABs and ABs Supporting Regulated Product

Conformity assessment bodies from all three countries will discuss working with government conformity assessment programs.

ModeratorKaren Grunstra, Global Government Affairs, UL 
Rick Morrison, Director, Technical Excellence, Canadian Standards Association
Cesar Silva, Business Development and International Operation Director, NYCE
Trace McInturff, Senior Director, A2LA

12:15   pm       Lunch - Atrium

1:15 pm         
Welcome from the Society of Standards Professionals (SES) 

Ed Mikoski, President, SES

1:30 pm         
Panel 3: Industry Perspective on CA
An industry panel will describe their views on engaging with government conformity assessment programs and CABS in having their products and services tested or certified for the North American market.

Moderator:  Jeffrey Weiss Esq., Venable LLC
Josh Rosenberg, Director, Global Policy, Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)
Ing. Rafael L Nava y Uribe, CONCAMIN: Standards Commission Member
Alan Kaufman, Senior Vice-President, Toy Association

2:30  pm
Panel 4: Case Study: Telecommunications

Trading partners work together helping to improve the transparency of telecom regulations, laws, policies and procedures in which conformity assessment is a critical component. On this panel MRA stakeholders in North America will discuss their role(s) within the Telecom MRA framework.    

Moderator: Eileen Hill, Standards Team Leader, OSIP, U.S. International Trade Administration
Yan Losier, Manager, Telecom Equipment Regulatory Requirements, Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
William Hurst, Technical Research Branch Chief, Office of Engineering and Technology, Federal Communications Commission
Ashley Miller, The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

3:15 pm          Break

3:30 pm
Case Study: U.S. Coast Guard-Transport Canada Coordination Example: Personal Flotation Devices

Roger K. Butturini, Technical Advisor, U.S. Coast Guard

3:45 pm
Panel 5: What did we learn? Where do we go from here?

Moderated discussion with audience and panel. Outcomes and common themes from the four panels will be reviewed. Best practices and potential future areas of cooperation will be discussed. 

Moderator: Gordon Gillerman, Director, SCO , NIST
Elias Rafoul, Vice President of Accreditation Services, SCC
Jesus Lucatero Diaz, Deputy Director General of Operations, DGN
Mary Saunders, Vice-President of Government Relations, ANSI

4:15 pm          Adjourn

 

SPANISH AGENDA

Taller de Orientación y Mejores Prácticas sobre Evaluación de la Conformidad
Canadá - México – Estados Unidos
6 de agosto de 2018
Nashville, TN

10:00 a.m.
Bienvenida

Gordon Gillerman, Director, Oficina de Coordinación de Normas, NIST

10:15 a.m.     
Panel 1: Descripción General del Gobierno

Representantes de los gobiernos de Canadá, México y Estados Unidos brindarán una descripción general de sus enfoques para la evaluación de conformidad, así como los diferentes programas regulatorios y voluntarios que han establecido o han ayudado a diseñar.

ModeradorCapitán Scott Colburn, Director, Programa de Estándares CDRH, Administración de Drogas y Alimentos de EE
Elias Rafoul, Vicepresidente de Servicios de Acreditación, SCC
Jesús Lucatero Díaz, Director General Adjunto de Operaciones, Dirección General de Normas
Lisa Carnahan, Científico de la Computación, NIST

11:15 a.m.     
Panel 2:  Organismos de la Evaluación de la Conformidad (OEC) y Organismos de Certificación que Respaldan el Producto Regulado

Los organismos para la evaluación de la conformidad de los tres países discutirán el trabajo con los programas de evaluación de la conformidad gubernamentales.

Moderador: Karen Grunstra, Asuntos Gubernamentales Globales, UL 
Rick Morrison, Director de Excelencia Técnica, Asociación Canadiense de Normas
Cesar Silva, Desarrollo de Negocios y Operaciones Internacionales Director, NYCE
Trace McInturff, Director Senior, A2LA

12:15 p.m.     
Almuerzo - Atrio

1:15 p.m.       
Bienvenida de la Sociedad de profesionales de las normas (SES)

Ed Mikoski, Presidente, SES

1:30 p.m.       
Panel 3: Perspectiva de la industria sobre la Evaluación de la Conformidad (CA)

Un panel de la industria describirá sus puntos de vista sobre la interacción con los programas de evaluación de conformidad del gobierno y con los organismos de la evaluación de la conformidad (CABs en inglés) para que sus productos y servicios sean probados o certificados para el mercado de América del Norte.

Moderador: Jeffrey Weiss Esq., Venable LLC
Josh Rosenberg, Director de Política Global, Consejo de la Industria de Tecnología de la Información (ITI)
Ing. Rafael L Nava y Uribe, CONCAMIN: Miembro de la Comisión de Normas
Alan Kaufman, Vicepresidente Senior, Asociación del Juguete

2:30 p.m.       
Panel 4: Estudio de caso: Telecomunicaciones

Los socios comerciales trabajan juntos para ayudar a mejorar la transparencia de las regulaciones, leyes, políticas y procedimientos en los cuales la evaluación de conformidad es un componente importante. En este panel, las partes interesadas en el Acuerdo de Reconocimiento Mutuo en América del Norte discutirán sus roles dentro del marco de las Telecomunicaciones

Moderador: Eileen Hill, Líder del Equipo de Normas, OSIP, Administración Internacional de Comercio de Estados Unidos 
Yan Losier, Gerente, Requisitos Regulatorios de Equipos de Telecomunicaciones, Departamento de Innovación, Ciencia y Desarrollo Económico de Canadá
William Hurst, Jefe de la Rama de Investigación Técnica, Oficina de Ingeniería y Tecnología, Comisión Federal de Comunicaciones
Ashley Miller, Oficina del Representante de Comercio de los Estados Unidos 

3:15 pm         
Receso

3:30 p.m. 
Estudio de caso: "Ejemplo de coordinación de la Guardia Costera de EE. UU. De Estados Unidos: dispositivos de flotación personal
Roger K. Butturini, Asesor Técnico, Guardacostas de los EE.

3:45 p.m.       
Panel 5: ¿Qué aprendimos? ¿A dónde vamos desde aquí?

Discusión moderada con la audiencia y el panel. Se revisarán los resultados y temas comunes de los cuatro paneles. Se discutirán mejores prácticas y posibles áreas de cooperación

Moderador: Gordon Gillerman, Director, SCO, NIST
Elias Rafoul, Vicepresidente de Servicios de Acreditación, SCC
Jesús Lucatero Díaz, Director General Adjunto de Operaciones, Dirección General de Normas
Mary Saunders, Vicepresidenta de Relaciones Gubernamentales, ANSI

4:15 p.m.      Fin del evento

 

 

Created May 15, 2018, Updated December 9, 2019