The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private, non-profit organization that administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. They assist participants in the voluntary system to reach agreement on standards needs and priorities; arranging for competent organizations to undertake standards development work; providing fair and effective procedures for standards development; and resolving conflicts and preventing duplication of efforts. Their standards are used widely throughout industry and cover a tremendous variety of items, from architectural products to consumer goods to nuclear safety standards. Customer Service is located in New York at the above contact. The Headquarters is located in Washington at 1819 L Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036, phone 202 293 8020, fax 202 293 9287. An ANSI standard begins with the prefix ANSI. This group is followed by an alphanumeric code which begins with an upper case letter that is followed by 1 to 3 digits. These groups are then followed by additional digits that are separated by decimal points. ANSI standards can also have a standards developer's acronym in the title. ANSI is the official U.S. representative to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). ANSI is also the U.S. member of the Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC) and the Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT).