Standardization News

Staff members from the national standards bodies of Bolivia, Pakistan and Singapore will participate in the 2014 ASTM Standards Expert Program from Oct. 27 to Nov. 20.

During their visit, the experts will learn about the ASTM standards development process, observe an ASTM committee week and travel to Washington, D.C., to visit agencies and share information about their work and their home organization.

The participants also will prepare a short research paper on an area of common interest to ASTM and their home nations.

Omar Balboa, Bolivia

Omar Balboa is a technician and engineer for international standardization at the Bolivian Institute of Standardization and Quality.

An industrial engineer by profession, Balboa serves as the technical secretary at IBNORCA. He contributes to the development of Bolivian national standards, particularly in the areas of amusement rides, public playgrounds and lighting equipment. Many IBNORCA standards on based on ASTM International standards.

Khawja G. Mohiuddin, Pakistan

Khawja G. Mohiuddin is the deputy director of international affairs and training at the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority, in the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of Pakistan.

In his role, Mohiuddin oversees international and regional matters of PSQCA and works to increase the capacity of stakeholders, as well as PSQCA officers, in standardization and related areas. Mohiuddin has coordinated projects involving quality infrastructure and product conformity assessment. In addition, he serves as secretary of the PSQCA technical committee on healthcare and the committee on sustainability criteria for bioenergy.

Bernice Tay, Singapore

Bernice Tay is senior manager, standards division, quality excellence group in the Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board, Singapore.

Tay's group works on dovetailing standards, accreditation testing and certification and business excellence into an integrated framework. The goal is to help build organizations that deliver quality in Singapore.

Tay serves as a liaison officer for the Chemical Standards Committee, one of 12 committees under an industry-led standards council. Her team works to deepen cooperation and collaboration with key regional groups and standardization bodies throughout the world. In addition, Tay provides secretariat support for the Pacific Area Standards Congress as SPRING-Singapore is serving as the PASC Secretary from 2014 to 2016.

ASTM MOU Program

The standards bodies of Bolivia, Pakistan and Singapore are among the more than 90 national and regional bodies that cooperate with ASTM through the Memorandum of Understanding Program, which was initiated in 2001. More information on the MOU program can be found on the ASTM website.