4.1.3 Maintenance of accreditation
In order to maintain accreditation by ANSI, an ASD shall continue to maintain procedures meeting the requirements of due process and criteria for approval and withdrawal of American National Standards contained herein and continue to maintain its status as an incorporated, registered or otherwise recognized legal entity.
The ANSI Audit Director, under the supervision of the ExSC, shall arrange for audits of accredited standards developers at selected intervals or, at the request of the ExSC, due to special circumstances (BSR request,
appeals action, etc.) to confirm adherence to the criteria for accreditation and to confirm that the procedures and practices of the accredited standards developer continue to be consistent with those which formed the basis for accreditation. The ANSI Audit Director shall report the audit findings to the ExSC who in turn shall take appropriate action in accordance with the ANSI Auditing Policy and Procedures.
If an accredited standards developer does not maintain one or more approved American National Standards, then the developer shall submit their accredited procedures for review and approval by the ExSC on a five-year cycle as well as a justification as to why they have not submitted any standards to ANSI for approval and why their accreditation remains relevant. The ExSC may suspend or withdraw the accreditation if the justification is not provided or is otherwise unsatisfactory.
ANSI-Accredited Standards Developers granted authority to designate their standards as American National Standards without BSR approval shall submit to a regular audit in accordance with the ANSI Auditing Policy and Procedures. When ANSI issues revised or additional criteria for accreditation, the accredited standards developer shall comply with them within a reasonable time period designated by the ExSC in order to maintain accreditation.
Whenever any revision is made to a standards developer’s procedures on record at ANSI, the ExSC shall be notified and provided with a detailed description of the changes. If the changes are considered by the ExSC to be non-substantive, the standards developer will be notified and, upon such notification, may begin to operate under the revised procedures. If the changes are considered by the ExSC to be substantive, notice of these changes shall appear in Standards Action with a call for comment. Copies of the revised procedures shall be made available by the applicant to any party, upon request. If a developer submits their procedures in an electronic format and authorizes ANSI to post them on ANSI Online for purposes of public review, then the associated call for comment period in ANSI’s Standards Action shall be 30 days and shall be announced as such.
If the standards developer decides to implement revised procedures prior to the final approval of the ExSC, they may do so provided that a) records concerning the implementation are maintained and available for use by the ANSI Audit Program; b) the developer certifies that the changes are in compliance with the ANSI Essential Requirements; and c) the developer accepts responsibility for all actions taken with regard to a candidate American National Standard, including resubmittal, if the ExSC does not approve a particular procedural provision.
Following the comment period, the ExSC shall consider the comments received, the latest status reports, the latest audit of the accredited standards developer, and any available additional information to determine whether to continue the accreditation. Notice of continuance shall be sent to the accredited standards developer and shall appear in Standards Action.
When the ExSC requests an accredited standards developer to revise its approved procedures to bring them into compliance with the ANSI Essential Requirements, the ExSC shall decide on a case-by-case basis whether reaccreditation, including public review, is also required.
