UL Launches Standards Development System to Improve Efficiency, Cost

November 9, 2004

NORTHBROOK, Ill.—Underwriters Laboratories Inc. launched its Collaborative Standards Development System, an Internet-based system designed to facilitate future UL standards development and collaboration. UL CSDS streamlines the UL standards development and revision process for its approximately 30,000 global participants, including customers and manufacturers, other purchasers of UL standards, consumers, members of standards technical panels, regulators and UL employees.

"UL CSDS cuts the process time for UL Standards development and revisions from 18 months to approximately 38 weeks," said Dennis Duda, manager, UL global standards. "This new program will enable participants to move forward in a much more timely and cost-effective way."

According to UL, benefits of CSDS include:

• Increased collaboration through online sharing.
• A single, easy-to-use online location for standards activities.
• 24x7 access to standards development tools.
• Flexible standards-revision request schedules.
• Immediate access to comments posted online by participants.
• An expedited process without reliance on postal service.
• The ability to stay up-to-date on activities, meetings and messages.

UL standards projects already underway will continue using the current system for the standards development and revision process. All UL Standards projects commencing after Oct. 29, 2004 will use UL CSDS.

To ease participants through the transition from paper and email-based processes to the new system, UL CSDS offers several support features.

For example, the "Help" link in the CSDS application provides FAQs and a context-sensitive help function with a detailed index describing the various UL CSDS functions. The "Training Material" link offers audio/video tutorials and Quick Reference Guides with a high-level overview of the key features and operations of UL CSDS. Users may also contact a UL CSDS support person.

More information about UL CSDS may be found at the UL Standards Web site at http//:www.ulstandardsinfonet.ul.com/stp/stpmembership.html.