ACCT is moving toward approval for an American National Standard, but the process is not yet complete. Officials from the Association for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT) have submitted the candidate American National Standard to American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) Board of Standards Review (BSR).
However, officials at the Professional Ropes Course Association (PRCA), which has developed an American National Standard of its own, say they plan to file an appeal—as they have at other steps in the process. Mike Barker, a vice president of PRCA, says ACCT’s standard undermines several safety regulations in the PRCA standard, such as restraint requirements. Barker says that the ACCT document doesn’t meet ANSI fall protection requirements, and it allows vendors to override manufacturer specifications.
While there have been talks of co-joining the efforts of the two organizations, ACCT and PRCA remain divided on the issue.
In its latest newsletter, ACCT noted that since the completion of the ballot work by its Consensus Group and Standards Writing Committees, it has been receiving appeals from PRCA. But officials said they have properly vetted those appeals.
“We have hosted two appeal sessions with contracted appeal panelists who are experts in the ANSI system and are from outside the challenge course industry. The ACCT believes that we provided more than the required amount of opportunity for the PRCA to have their issues heard through our ACCT appeal process,” Micah Henderson, chair of ACCT, stated in the newsletter.
Barker maintains the PRCA still has two pending appeals before ACCT that the organization has not brought to proper conclusion. “And we’re going to appeal to ANSI on that, that they aren’t following procedures,” Barker said.
Meanwhile, Henderson said ACCT is “prepared to answer additional questions from ANSI throughout their review process, and looks forward to the ACCT Standard becoming a national standard as soon as possible.”
The ANSI review board will now review ACCT’s files. Possible actions, according to ACCT, include approving ACCT’s standard as is or requesting additional information.
