Press Releases
ABYC & NMEA Form Alliance to
Develop, Recognize and Promote Mutually Supporting Standards
October 21, 2004, Edgewater, MD: The American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) of Edgewater, MD and the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) of Severna Park, MD today announced an agreement to mutually recognize each organization's scope of responsibility for standards development, implementation and application within the marine industry.
Under the terms of the agreement:
- NMEA will append and reference ABYC Standards E-2 (Cathodic Protection), E-10 (Storage Batteries) and E-11 (AC & DC Electrical Systems on Boats) in the NMEA 2004 Installation Standards Guidelines;
- ABYC will reference NMEA's 2004 Installation Standards Guidelines as applicable;
- ABYC and NMEA will ensure that their respective standards writing policies, procedures and development practices are aligned;
- ABYC and NMEA will actively participate as members on each organization's relevant standards writing committees and agree to work towards complying with the ANSI standards writing criteria;
- ABYC and NMEA agree to pursue opportunities to work cooperatively in providing industry training, education and professional development programs for the marine industry;
- ABYC and NMEA will provide the other with one reciprocal organization membership; and
- ABYC and NMEA agree to cooperate in other areas to be determined for the mutual benefit of each organization's membership and industry at large.
Skip Burdon, ABYC President & CEO said, "In short, ABYC is responsible for electrical system standards and NMEA is responsible for electronic component installation standards — equipment that interfaces with or is connected to the electrical system." "A synergistic relationship clearly exists between ABYC and NMEA, and working cooperatively together can only benefit both the industry and the boating public," stated Burdon.
Steve Spitzer, NMEA Technical Director said, "NMEA's Installation Standard Guidelines is designed to complement the applicable ABYC standards, thus making knowledge and understanding of the ABYC Standards and Technical Information Reports — especially E-10 and E-11, a prerequisite." "Ultimately, our goal is the same…and that is to ensure that safer boats are produced and maintained, which will reduce the level of risk, increase the level of enjoyment for the boating public, and ultimately increase the long-term sustainability and financial health of our industry."
About NMEA
Celebrating 47 years of service (1957-2004) to the marine electronics industry, the National Marine Electronics Association was created to promote the technical marine dealers through education, communication, training, certification and industry standards. Part of NMEA's mission is to also strengthen the industry's reputation in the marketplace through industry standards and recognition of excellence, promote good business management and fair business practices among its members, encourage the industry to hire highly skilled and qualified technical service personnel, and educate the boating public through publications and seminars to promote the safe and proper use of marine electronic equipment. For more information on NMEA, you can visit www.nmea.org.
About ABYC
ABYC has been developing, writing and updating the safety standards for boat building and repair in the United States for 50 years. ABYC is actively involved with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as well as certification programs for marine technicians. These standards are available on CD-ROM and in printed form. Membership and general information can be requested by calling (410) 956-1050 or by visiting the ABYC website at www.abyinc.org.
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