American Society of Safety Engineers Position Statement on the Role of Consensus Standards and Governmental Regulations in Occupational Safety and Health

The use of national consensus standards will be of increased importance to this country as the U.S. economy moves toward more of a global perspective. National consensus standards reflect the opinions of professionals who work at all levels of the public and private sectors in technology development, manufacturing, training, financial analysis, personnel, academia as well as insight from the final end user. This balanced insight enables standards to be crafted in a way, which not only benefits and protects users of the standard, but also furthers the interests of the businesses that have been created to meet user demand. ASSE supports the increased use of consensus standards in the formulation of legislation and regulation for occupation safety and health. Governmental agencies, such as OSHA, CPSC, NHTSA, etc., should be encouraged to use these consensus standards, as they provide an efficient/effective alternative to traditional public sector rulemaking. Policy Implementation ASSE advocates initiatives to encourage the use of national consensus standards as an effective/efficient option for meeting the demand of increased regulation/legislation in occupational safety and health since: • National consensus standards have fewer procedural burdens; • The consensus method provides for a balance between competing interests; • The voluntary nature of consensus standards enables users to adapt provisions to meet unusual circumstances; • Much lower standards development cost are obtained. Preface The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) acknowledges a responsibility to take an active role in the evolution of national policy with respect to safety and health standards and regulations. At all times, and especially in times of political reform, there is a need for government to receive the counsel of the safety and health community with respect to standards development and promulgation. As we review more than two decades of social legislation and its enforcement under EPA, OSHA, CPSC, etc., Congress and the professional safety and health community are again raising questions as to what the role of occupational safety and health standards and regulation should be. Some legislators have proposed a more comprehensive program of standards and enforcement. Others have maintained that the proper place for standards development and enforcement is within the national consensus standards-setting framework. Others have supported a performance-oriented approach to safety and health standards. While this paper primarily focuses on occupational safety and health standards and regulation, the position set forth here can be applied generically to other regulatory areas. Essentially, the use of …