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STEP 1.  Project Initiation

1A. FILING A PINS (PROJECT INITIATION NOTIFICATION SYSTEM

The ACCT Standards Development process is initiated with the filing of a Project Initiation Notification System (PINS) for publication in Standards Action, ANSI’s weekly periodical that essentially serves as a billboard where ANSI posts announcements that keep the standards process transparent and that allow stakeholders to participate. Through the PINS filing, ACCT announces its intent to propose a new American National Standard (ANS) or to revise, reaffirm, or withdraw an existing ANS. The announcement of ACCT's engagement in a new standards activity will be published through ACCT and other relevant trade channels to reach materially affected persons.

The filing of the PINS is initiated by the ACCT Board of Directors, acting on behalf of the ASD, in alignment with ACCT Strategic Planning and Association policy. For revisions or new projects, the PINS filing announces the scope of work and identifies those stakeholders who are likely to be impacted. Once posted in Standards Action, materially affected persons have 30 days to submit comments about the PINS.
 

1B. PINS DELIBERATION

The ASD issues written responses to any comments received claiming duplication or conflicts during the 30-day PINS comment period and initiates stakeholder deliberation within 90 days, as needed. Once deliberation is complete, the ASD submits a PINS Deliberation Report to the commenter(s) and ANSI.
 

1C. CONVENING A CONSENSUS BODY (CB)

The ACCT Consensus Body plays an integral role in ACCT’s ANSI Standards Development process and embodies the ANSI ethos of balance and fair representation of stakeholder interests. Membership on the Consensus Body is open to all interested parties having a direct and material interest in the activities of the Consensus Body. The Consensus Body must be sufficiently diverse to ensure reasonable balance without dominance by any single interest group.

The Consensus Body is primarily responsible for (a) voting on approval of American National Standards within its scope, and (b) complying with policy and procedures for official interpretations of the ANSI/ACCT Standards.

Either before initiating a PINS or during the early stages of Project Initiation, ACCT will convene a Consensus Body with reasonably balanced representation of stakeholder interests. ACCT’s Accredited Procedures (AP) call for members representing five (5) interest categories – (1) Producer, (2) Servicer, (3) User – Commercial, (4) User – Educational, and (5) General Interest – although additional interest categories may be added during a PINS submission if it is determined that the scope of the project would benefit from specific expertise or impact an under-represented stakeholder group.
 

HOW ACCT MEMBERS & STAKEHOLDERS CAN PARTICIPATE

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

 

ACCT submits a Project Initiation Notification System (PINS) form to ANSI and begins forming a Consensus Body (CB).
PINS stands for "Project Initiation Notification System."  It is a formal notice that a new standard or revision is starting. It includes scope, need, and stakeholder information..
The Board of Directors (BOD), as the governing body of ACCT, by a simple majority vote. 
The group that approves the content of a standard and whose vote demonstrates evidence of consensus.
Submit an application identifying your qualifications and interest category.  The application is available on the Consensus Body (CB) page of the ACCT website.
The interest categories listed within ACCT's Accredited Procedures are Producer, Servicer, User - Commercial, User - Educational, and General Interest.  ACCT has the ability to add or change categories based on standards development projects.
Yes. ACCT recommends a size of 9-15 members to keep it manageable and effective.