Karl Aittaniemi accepted to ANSI’s Board of Standards Review

Karl Aittaniemi, P.E., director of standards for codes and standards development at the International Code Council, was accepted in June by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to serve on its Board of Standards Review for a three-year term.

Aittaniemi’s role on the Board of Standards Review is to render impartial judgment in the approval or withdrawal of American National Standards, based on consideration of the evidence of consensus that is provided by the ANSI-accredited standards developer. Aittaniemi sits with 11 other members on the board from other distinguished standards organizations such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers; the National Institute of Standards and Technology; UL LLC (formerly Underwriters Laboratories Inc.); and CSA Group.

“Participation on the Board of Standards Review enables those involved in the American National Standards process to become familiar with the range of approaches used by ANSI-accredited standards developers to achieve consensus while complying with ANSI’s procedural requirements,” explained Anne Caldas, ANSI director of procedures and standards administration. “It is also a great service to the ANSI Federation and to standardization in this country.”

Aittaniemi supervises the technical staff responsible for the Code Council’s standards development out of its Central Regional Office in Country Club Hills, Ill. He has an extensive professional background in fire protection product evaluation and has managed fire protection investigation projects in accordance with nationally and internationally recognized model codes and standards. He has experience as a forensic engineer and is a licensed professional engineer in several states.

ANSI is a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting the U.S. voluntary standards and conformity assessment system and strengthening its impact, both domestically and internationally. ANSI is comprised of government agencies, organizations, companies, academic and international bodies, and individuals and it represents and serves the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 million professionals worldwide. The Code Council has been a long-time member and a great supporter of ANSI’s mission.