Global Cooperation/Standards Expert Exchange Program (SEEP)
SEEPs
Established in 2005, the Standards Expert Exchange Program (SEEP) is a key benefit offered to MOU signatories. Each year, through the SEEP, ASTM offers to host three standards experts for a one-month period at ASTM headquarters. Nations are chosen on factors such as: number of ASTM members from the nation, quantity and topics of the standards cited, inquiries received, and signed or pending Free Trade Agreements. During their stay, the expert learns about ASTM International and its operations, ASTM technical committees and ASTM’s virtual tools. The experts also travel to a Committee Week and visit other standards-related public and private organizations located in Washington, D.C. Each expert is asked to identify a key sector with which we can conduct a virtual meeting with the expert’s participation from headquarters and they are asked to provide staff with a presentation on the structure and function of their respective national standards body.
SEEPs hosted to date:
2005 (2) - China
2006 (3) - Indonesia, Vietnam, Zambia
2007 (2) - Colombia and Saudi Arabia
2008 (2) - Peru and Korea
2009 (4) - China, Ghana, Israel, Jamaica
Standards Expert Exchange Program (SEEP), 2005 - 2008
2005
Standards Admin. of China
At the time of her visit, He Ting had been with SAC for two years and worked within the machinery and materials division on industry and transportation. Her responsibilities at SAC included working with the steel, nonferrous metals and other materials committees. She is a graduate of Tsinghua University where she majored in materials science and engineering.
2006
Badan Standardisasi Nasional
Ari Wibowo spent a month in the fall of 2006 at ASTM International headquarters as part of the SEEP. His intent was to learn about ASTM’s history and organizational structure as well as the process by which BSN could adopt ASTM standards as national standards.
2006
Directorate for Standards and Quality
Nguyen Minh Bang, who was deputy director of the standards department at STAMEQ at the time of his visit, came to ASTM headquarters for one month in 2006 to learn about standards development.
2006
Zambia Bureau of Standards
ASTM welcomed Margaret Lungu - a standards development manager at ZABS at the time of her visit - for a month-long standards expert internship in 2006.
2007
Standardization Organization for the Gulf Cooperation Council
At the time of his visit to ASTM International, Mohammed A. Al-Dablan was a construction and buildings materials standards researcher at the Standardization Organization for the Gulf Cooperation Council, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Al-Dablan earned a B.S. in civil engineering with a sub-major in structural and geotechnical engineering from King Saud University, Riyadh.
2007
Instituto Colombiano de Normas Técnicas y Certificación
Daniel Trillos was a standardization professional at ICONTEC (Instituto Colombiano de Normas Técnicas y Certificación), the national standards body of Colombia at the time of his visit to ASTM. Trillos holds a B.S. in civil engineering from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Colombia, and an M.S. in environmental management from the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
2008
Korean Agency for Technology and Standards
At the time of his visit to ASTM, Jun-ho Kim was responsible for planning national standardization and supporting standards developing organizations at the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards. Previously, he was a researcher of renewable energy, rotating machinery and nuclear energy standardization. Jun-ho earned a B.S. in electrical engineering and an M.S. in power electronics from the Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea.
2008
Instituto Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia y de la Protección de la Propiedad Intelectual
At the time of her visit to ASTM International, Patricia Castro Espinoza worked as an analyst for the Instituto Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia y de la Protección de la Propiedad Intelectual (INDECOPI), where she was in charge of management and coordination of national technical committees, and was also involved in several regional, national and international standards issues. Espinoza has a degree from the National Agrarian University, La Molina Lima, Peru.
Other International Visitors/Interns
2003
Japanese Standards Assoc.
ASTM hosted Kenichi Shimosakai of the standards department at the Japanese Standards Association (JSA) for a 90-day internship position that enabled him and JSA to learn more about ASTM’s standards development processes, information technology, intellectual property policies, and cooperative programs with other standards developing organizations. The internship lasted from November 2003 to February 2004.
2004
Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision
ASTM International welcomed Zhang Li Hong, who held the position of vice director of the standardization division at the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision at the time of her visit, for a two-month internship at ASTM headquarters that began in June 2004. Zhang’s internship was developed as part of the cooperation agreement signed in 2003 between ASTM and the Shanghai Institute of Standardization, which reports to SMBQTS.
2005
China National Institute of Standardization
Guo Dehua, a graduate of Tianjin University who majored in precision instruments, has worked at the China National Institute of Standardization for more than 11 years. At the time of her visit with ASTM, Guo Dehua worked in the library of standards at CNIS and did research work in standards information management. She was also responsible for overseeing the cooperation agreement signed in 2003 between CNIS and ASTM International.
2006
Xiaohe Branch of the Guiyang Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision
Huang Xiaopu visited ASTM from March 30-Sept. 25, 2006. Mrs. Huang has worked in standardization management at the Xiaohe branch of the Guiyang Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision since 1999. In September 2005, Mrs. Huang received a scholarship from the China Scholarship Council to visit ASTM International.
2006
Shanghai Institute of Standardization
Zhang Minglan of the Shanghai Institute of Standardization, visited ASTM International for one month in spring of 2006. Ms. Zhang, who has worked at SIS since 1998, was vice director of the Center of Standardization Research, which consists of nearly 20 researchers, at the time of her visit. Ms. Zhang’s main responsibilities included administration of the center, harmonization within and across the center, and organization of standardization research projects.
2006
Shanghai Institute of Standardization
Ma Na, who has been at SIS since 2003, was a researcher in the SIS Center of Standardization Research at the time of her ASTM visit. In the past, Ms. Ma has taken a lead role in drafting three standards on project management and two on environmental assessment at SIS. She is also a member of ASTM International Committee D34 on Waste Management.
Japanese Standards Assoc.
Tomoko Nagata, an official from the Japanese Standards Association, spent two weeks visiting ASTM International ieadquarters in the fall of 2006). At the time of her visit, Ms. Nagata worked in division I of the standards development department at JSA. While here, Ms. Nagata learned more about ASTM’s role in international standardization.
2007
Shandong Provincial Institute of Standardization in China
Shujuan “Carrie” Xie, a standards expert from the Shandong Provincial Institute of Standardization in China, spent six weeks at ASTM International headquarters in November 2007 as part of her yearlong visit to study standards and conformity assessment in the United States. Carrie was the recipient of a scholarship from the China Scholarship Council which she chose to use to support her time in the U.S. as a guest researcher.
International Standardization Activities Support Center
Japanese Standards Association
2009 SEEPs
ASTM International will host four international standards experts at headquarters from Monday, 5 October to Friday, 30 October. Each expert will receive detailed training about ASTM, attend the October Committee Week, visit agencies in Washington, D.C., participate in virtual meetings with experts in their home nation and make a presentation about standardization in their respective nation to ASTM staff. The 2009 participants are:
Standards Institution of Israel
Naphtali Pollak, Ph.D., Senior Project Manager
Responsibilities and area of expertise in SII:
Coordinate and direct standardization committees in the fields of food, passive medical equipment, geosynthetic products and laundry procedures
Locate, classify and evaluate technical material from various sources
Prepare first draft standards
Food labeling
Ghana Standards Board
Adelaide Teimle Leigh
Responsibilities and area of expertise in GSB:
Performs tests and prepares reports on building and construction products such as carbon steel bars/plates/pipes, roofing sheets, etc.
Participates in technical committee meetings for standard development
Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China
Pan Beichen
Responsibilities and area of expertise in SAC:
Standardization for construction materials such as walls, roofing, paving building materials, fiber reinforced plastic, etc.
Bureau of Standards Jamaica
Ajani Blake
Responsibilities and area of expertise in BSJ:
Facilitator of six technical committees currently developing national/regional (CARICOM) standards:
Sauces and Spices
Cement
Food Safety
Honey
ISO Mirror TC 93
Information and Communications Technology
Auditor for the BSJ’s conformity assessment programs (ISO 17025 Laboratory Accreditation, Liquid Petroleum Gas Authorization & Quality Systems)
Member body administrator for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in Jamaica
Divisional representative for the Implementation of ISO 9001 and 14001
Garners stakeholder participation in international standardization