CINA ultimately seeks to help increase safety, reliability, and prevention within the gas distribution industry. While standards may exist for a number of gas distribution products, Local Distribution Companies (LDCs) often have requirements that exceed those included in the standard, requiring manufacturers to perform additional testing on a utility-by-utility basis. To this end, CINA facilitates a process for the development of new standards, reflecting the LDC needs, to enhance safety in the technical quality of products and eliminate the need for repetitive utility-by-utility testing. By achieving consensus between a balanced group of stakeholders (operators, manufacturers, and regulators) and focusing on the intended application, CINA standards incorporate a broader range of technical and quality requirements and provide a greater degree of standardization within the gas distribution industry.
Existing standards are often used as a basis for a CINA standard, with application-specific requirements added through the consensus process. When there is an existing standard for a given product, the CINA Standards Development Process seeks input from a balanced group of stakeholders to determine the suitability of the standard for the application. Should further requirements be required, a draft standard is circulated, giving the consensus body an opportunity to comment on technical and manufacturing quality requirements. Once consensus is reached, an Interim Standard is published and certification is immediately available. If there is no existing standard for a given product, industry technical experts create the foundation for the Interim Standard and then the consensus process is followed. Products complying with a specific performance standard, either pre-existing or developed by CINA, and meeting the requirements of the CINA Certification Program Manual are viewed as technically acceptable by participating LDCs.
To participate in the Standards Development Process, contact us at standards@cinacert.com.