MHIA Guides International Standards Development

By Dr. Michael Ogle Vice President, Educational & Technical Services
Material Handling Industry of America

One of Material Handling Industry of America’s (MHIA) little known activities on behalf of the industry is its leading role in the review and development of standards at the international level.

This article will provide you with an understanding of MHIA’s role in international standards development through committees that are part of the Organization for International Standardization (ISO). Now wait a minute…shouldn’t the acronym be OSI? Although many people think ISO stands for International Standards Organization, it doesn’t actually have a meaning as an acronym. ISO is from the Greek word “isos”, meaning “equal”, to emphasize the desire for international standards work to be fair and open as possible to all countries.

The Role of National and International Committees
MHIA is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to administer three national committees that review and provide voting recommendations on international standards. ANSI is the only official organization that can place U.S. votes at the international level, but they depend on national committees known as U.S. Technical Advisory Groups (USTAGs) to develop, review, and provide the voting recommendations that ANSI passes on to ISO’s Technical Committees (TCs).

ANSI does not develop, write or review the technical content of standards. ANSI leaves that work up to organizations that they accredit to perform the process. The three international Technical Committees for which MHIA administers the USTAGs are:

USTAG to ISO/TC 51 Pallets for Unit Load Method of Materials Handling

USTAG to ISO/TC 104 Freight Containers

USTAG to ISO/TC 122 Packaging

TC 51 - Pallets for Unit Load Method of Materials Handling
In 2005, ASME transferred administration to MHI for the USTAG to TC 51. Given the role of pallets in material handling, this was a great addition to MHIA’s international standards efforts. There are 18 active pallet standards at the international level focusing on a wide variety of issues such as terminology, construction and testing of components, performance, and repairs.

In November 2008, the U.S. and MHIA served as hosts for TC51’s international meetings held at San Jose State University. MHIA also serves as administrator for the MH1 (that is a “one”, not an “I”) committee that is responsible for U.S. pallet standards. MHIA hosts the MH1 annual meeting, typically held in Washington, DC in May.

TC 104 - Freight Containers
Since 1999, MHI has served as secretariat for the accredited USTAG to TC104 on Freight Containers. Freight containers are the multimodal workhorses of the flow of goods internationally that you see on trucks, trains, and ships. TC 104 currently has 50 active standards on topics such as terminology, mechanical components, special purpose containers, testing, security, and automatic identification. There are no standards produced at the national level for this group because of the international nature of the products.
The scope of the committee’s work is: “Standardization of freight containers, having an external volume of one cubic meter (35.3 cubic feet) and greater, as regards terminology, classification, dimensions, specifications, test methods and marking.”

This group tends to do all of its business electronically and rarely holds physical meetings other than its members attending the international meetings. MHIA and the U.S. hosted the international TC104 group meetings in 2004 in St. Petersburg, FL.

TC 122 - Packaging
In the 1980’s, MHI became secretariat for the accredited USTAG to TC 122 on Packaging. Packaging in this case tends to focus more on smaller loads or containers of products for transit (pallets, drums, large sacks, etc.) rather than consumer packaging like a can of corn, a box of drill bits, a bag of beans or a bottle of your favorite beverage.

The scope of the committee’s work is: “Standardization in the field of packaging with regard to terminology and definitions, packaging dimensions, performance requirements and tests.”

TC 122 currently has 36 published standards on topics such as terminology, dimensions, unit load materials and transit testing (for sacks, drums, etc.), labeling, and automatic identification. There is significant work underway at the international level on sustainability issues through a new subcommittee within TC 122 that is focused on “Packaging and Environment”. This timely topic is of great interest to consumer goods companies and they are strongly represented in and leading the committee’s activities.

MHI also serves as the secretariat for national standards development work through a committee called MH10: Unit-Loads and Transport-Packages. Many standards on labeling and automatic identification from this group have gone on to become international standards (in whole or in part). MHIA hosts an annual meeting for the MH10 membership and the USTAG to TC 122, typically held in New York in May. MHIA and the U.S. hosted the international TC 122 group meetings in both 1999 (New Orleans) and 2003 (Tampa).

Finding Standards and Getting Involved
You can find most national and international standards within ANSI’s search tool at www.nssn.org. The site allows you to enter partial document numbers, keywords, title words, etc. as search options. It is a valuable tool for anyone involved in standards development or looking for standards applicable to their work.

If you are interested in serving on any national or international standards committee work, please contact me, Mike Ogle, at 800-345-1815/704-676-1190. We depend on industry experts like you to develop and review proposed standards.

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