The ANSI/B155.1 standard is the domestic packaging industry’s guide to producing consistently safe and efficient machinery, and this year the standard will see big changes for the first time in five years. PMMI’s annual Safety Conference, which will be held July 14-15 in Chicago, IL, will hold sessions on sessions will focus on a variety of topics, including sustainability, food safety and the new ANSI standard.

“The ANSI/B155.1 is a critical tool for the packaging industry, and this version serves as a major update,” said Fred Hayes, director of technical services, PMMI. “Which is why we’ll be taking time at PMMI’s 2011 Safety Conference to address what’s new and how it’ll affect end users as well as OEMs of packaging machinery.”


Among other changes, the latest version of the ANSI B155.1 addresses control reliability and provides more guidance regarding the use of ISO standards.

“There are a lot of different guides to building safe packaging machinery in the global arena,” Mr. Hayes added. “Many of the latest revisions to the ANSI standards focused on updating the document to be more in line with a global standards approach. We want to make sure that a machine built to ANSI standards is ready for the world marketplace.”

The safety conference also will focus on sustainability, which has become a constant driver in the packaging machinery marketplace, as end users strive to cut costs by cutting energy and material usage, and use greener technologies to satisfy their own customers.

PMMI’s Safety Conference will feature an overview of the work of ISO TC 122 SC4 focused on formalizing environmental responsibility in the use and recovery of packaging materials as well as a look at the future of sustainability-focused standards and regulations.

PMMI’s Safety Conference also will address Global Food Safety Initiative (GSFI) and how it has already affected food plant operations. Moreover, speakers will discuss new Food & Drug Administration laws on the subject and what role the GSFI may have as the FDA writes the standards to implement the new food safety law.

For more about PMMI’s Safety Conference, contact Maria Ferrante, vice president of education & workforce development, at (703) 243-8555.