What does the U.S. TAG to ISO/TC 176 do?
Each country that has membership in ISO or IEC is represented by a national organization called a "member body." Each member body has a mechanism for identifying issues, developing national consensus regarding the work items of the ISO Technical Committee (TC), and actively involving itself in the creation of international standards.
In the United States, work on the ISO/TC 176 standard on quality management is handled by the ANSI-Accredited U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to ISO/TC 176 (hereafter referred to as TAG 176). TAGs follow all ANSI procedures.
For each country, the primary purpose of the TAG (or national committee) is to develop and transmit to ISO, via their country’s national standards organization, that country’s position on activities and ballots of TC 176. TAG delegates are actively involved in the international negotiation and preparation of international standards.
TAG 176 develops the U.S. positions on international standardization activities of ISO/TC 176 on quality management and quality assurance. Delegates selected by the TAG actively participate in all activities of ISO/TC 176, including the development of ISO standards in quality terminology, quality systems, and quality technology. Participation in TAG 176 provides an opportunity for representatives of all affected U.S. constituencies (industry, commerce, education, etc.) to influence the development of international quality standards.
If you’re interested in participating, or have additional questions, please e-mail the ASQ Standards Team at standards@asq.org.
