Physical Security: A Detailed Overview of ANSI Standards & ISO

This essay provides an overview of physical security standards and regulations, primarily focusing on the role of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). It explains how ANSI, as the member body of ISO in the United States, formulates, amends, and regulates standards. The essay discusses the ANSI-American Society for Quality National Accreditation Board (ANAB) and its role in certifying standards bodies within the US, emphasizing compliance with ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 families of standards. It further elaborates on the specific benchmarks set by these standards, including quality management systems, environmental protection, and continuous improvement. The document concludes by highlighting the importance of these standards in ensuring quality and environmental responsibility.

Running head: PHYSICAL SECURITY
PHYSICAL SECURITY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Question 1
A standards organization/standard setting organization defines and regulates the
requirements to be met by a particular product, service or other employment conditions. This
basically refers to the technical standards required to be met by the product, service or
employment condition. Since February 1947, the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) has been functioning as the world’s largest organization for defining and regulating
standards (Nielsen, 2013). The ISO acts as a guiding body for all member nations and aids in
recommending ideal standards that should be observed. In the United States the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) acts as the member body of ISO and aims at formulating
regulations for standardization. Thus, the ANSI acts as the body which certifies the credibility of
standardized organizations within the jurisdiction of the United States. Once credited by the
ANSI the organization may act as a viable standards organization. The ANSI undertakes these
certification activities through the ANSI-American Society for Quality National Accreditation
Board (ANAB).
Question 2
As discussed above the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) acts as the largest
body for standardization in the United States. It primarily deals with formulation, amendment,
regulation and promulgation of standards to be observed and maintained within the United
States. It also acts as a body which regulates the certification of standards bodies within the
United States, this is undertaken through its wing the ANSI-American Society for Quality
National Accreditation Board (ANAB) (Renckens, 2015). Here the certification process mainly

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looks at compliance with ISO 9000 family of standards and ISO 14000 family of standard
(Heras‐Saizarbitoria & Boiral, 2013).
The ANSI certifies a body that meets the requirements prescribed by the ISO (ISO 9000
and ISO 1400) to formulate national standards and also certifies groups as U.S. Technical
Advisory Groups (U.S. TAGs) to provide advice to the ISO or other organizations certified by
the ANSI.
Question 3
ANSI formulates standards through its nine standardization panels which concurrently
work to harmonize the technical standards within the areas that they regulate. The ANAB is
tasked with the certification process and that mandates certain general standards that have to be
met by organizations that are to be certified as standards organizations. These mainly relate to
ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 as discussed above. The benchmarks set by these standards are
discussed in the following paragraphs.
ISO 9000 deals with quality management systems and prescribes management standards
which must be met. The main standards to be met as prescribed by these are management
systems must be tailored to meet the needs of the organization, the accountability of the top
management, intelligible risk assessment, a core text that defines the functioning and interaction
of the management.
ISO 14000 defines standards relating to environmental needs that must be met by the
organization (Sayre, 2014). These mainly state that the organization must ensure that its
activities do not cause any adverse effects on the environment. These are mainly minimization of

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adverse effects to air, land or water, compliance with environment protections legislations
enacted within the jurisdiction of the United States and a duty to ensure continuous improvement
on the other requirements.

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Reference list
Heras‐Saizarbitoria, I., & Boiral, O. (2013). ISO 9001 and ISO 14001: towards a research agenda
on management system standards. International Journal of Management Reviews, 15(1),
47-65.
Nielsen, H. S. (2013). Recent developments in International Organization for Standardization
geometrical product specification standards and strategic plans for future
work. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of
Engineering Manufacture, 227(5), 643-649.
Renckens, S. (2015). The Basel Convention, US politics, and the emergence of non-state e-waste
recycling certification. International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and
Economics, 15(2), 141-158.
Sayre, D. A. (2014). INSDE ISO 14000: The Competitive Advantage of Environmental
Management. CRC Press.