Qatar General Organization for Standards and Metrology Adopts ASTM International Standards

A recent annual report submitted by the Standards and Metrology Department - Ministry of Environment, State of Qatar, indicates that the department’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with ASTM International in 2007 continues to be a success. 

The Standards and Metrology Department, under the Qatar General Organization for Standards and Metrology (QS), prepares Qatar national standards and adopts international standards to be used as national standards for health, safety and the environment. 

According to the report, the Qatar General Organization for Standards and Metrology adopted seven ASTM International standards as national Qatari standards and consulted an additional 23 ASTM standards in the preparation of Qatar national standards over the past year. Several representatives from Qatar participate on one or more of ASTM’s 141 technical committees.

Eng. Nawaf Al-Mana, director of standards and metrology at QS, is pleased with the benefits of the MOU agreement. “Our MOU with ASTM International has opened the way for technical experts from Qatar to participate freely as full voting members in ASTM standards development committees in addition to facilitating the work of our national committees in specific fields, and we are now able to adopt and use ASTM standards as reference documents in the development of Qatari standards,” he says. 

ASTM International technical assistance training programs have also been presented in Qatar as a part of the MOU agreement. In late 2008, ASTM International presented coordinated and training programs on standards for cement and concrete in Doha, Qatar, and hope to hold more programs in the upcoming year.

Initiated in 2001, ASTM International's MOU program promotes communication between ASTM International and national standards bodies worldwide, fostering awareness of the standardization systems of all parties involved. The purpose of the program is to increase greater worldwide participation in the ASTM standards development process and facilitate the development of national standards that will aid health, safety, and environmental and economic conditions. More information on the MOU program can be found on the ASTM International Web site (www.astm.org/GLOBAL).

 

 

Release #8401/Nov2009

Category
November 9, 2009