Bringing Industry Together: Inside the AMPP Standards Program

In a world where infrastructure integrity and materials performance are critical to safety, sustainability, and cost-efficiency, standards play a vital role in guiding best practices. The Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP) offers a comprehensive standards program that brings together experts from around the world to create trusted, globally relevant technical documents.

What Is the AMPP Standards Program?

The AMPP Standards Program develops and maintains consensus standards focused on corrosion control, protective coatings, cathodic protection, materials selection, and related technologies across a broad spectrum of industries—including oil and gas, marine, transportation, water and wastewater, infrastructure, power generation, and defense.

These standards are created through a rigorous process that ensure transparency, balance, and consensus among all stakeholders. From technical reports and test methods to standard practices and guidance documents, AMPP standards serve as vital tools for asset owners, contractors, engineers, regulators, and manufacturers alike.

A Cross-Industry, Global Approach

Unlike many standards organizations that focus on a single sector, AMPP’s strength lies in its cross-industry and cross-discipline approach. By uniting subject matter experts from academia, government, industry, and the private sector, the AMPP standards program encourages innovation and knowledge sharing across traditional industry boundaries.

The standards development process benefits from international input as well. Standards committees include members from dozens of countries, ensuring the resulting documents reflect both regional needs and global applicability.

The Consensus Process

Each AMPP standard begins with a Project Request Form (PRF) and the identification of a Document Project Manager (DPM) to lead the effort. From there, a volunteer task group is assembled to draft the document or revisions, representing a balance of interested stakeholders. Draft documents undergo committee ballots, with all feedback considered and addressed following AMPP’s program requirements. 

AMPP’s standards program is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), confirming that its standards are developed through an approved process. This ensures the resulting documents are not only technically sound but also widely recognized and supported across the industries they serve. 

Standards That Support Industry

AMPP standards are referenced worldwide in specifications, regulatory frameworks, procurement documents, and training programs. Whether you are coating a steel bridge, protecting a pipeline with cathodic protection, or evaluating a material for offshore deployment, there’s a strong chance AMPP standards are guiding the process.

Additionally, AMPP’s standards are often used in tandem with the organization’s training and certification programs, creating a seamless link between technical requirements and workforce qualification.

Get Involved

Visit https://www.ampp.org/standards/  to learn more about the AMPP Standards Program, explore active projects, and find out how you can participate.