ASTM International Overview

John Pace

Vice President, Publications and Marketing 

Overview of ASTM International

• Organized in 1898 - American Society for Testing & Materials• One of the worlds largest standards developing organizations• Publish standards, specifications, test methods, books etc..• Internationally recognized• Not for profit• HQ – Philadelphia, USA

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ASTM International

• 30,000 Scientists and Engineers • 120 Countries• 144+ Main Technical Committees • 100 Industry Sectors• 12,800+ Up to Date Standards and Test Methods• 165 Employees Worldwide

Part I - Differences in Standardization Systems

U.S. vs Rest of World

U.S. Standardization

• Not better than rest of world • Not worse or more confusing than rest of the

world• Just DIFFERENT !!

U.S. Standardization

• Multiple Path Process• Many initiatives• U.S. SDOs more than 100 years old• Many U.S. SDOs had “international” status and

recognition long before birth of ISO and IEC• The present European strategy really didn’t

gain traction until EC ’92

U.S. Standardization

• IEEE – founded 1884• ASTM – founded 1898• ASME – founded 1880• NFPA – founded 1896• ANSI – founded 1918

ISO founded in 1947…CEN in 1961….BSI 1901….DIN 1917

U.S. Standardization - ANSI

• American National Standards Institute– Serves as U.S. member body to ISO– Serves as U.S. national committee member to IEC– Produces ANS versions of ISO and IEC

• But must deal with U.S. TAGs• No mandatory adoptions

….ANSI is not a standards developer !

U.S. Standardization - NIST

• NIST – National Institute of Standards and Technology• U.S. Government organization for

oversight/policy/guidance• Liaison between private sector SDOs and government

public sector• NIST is not a consensus standards developer

U.S. Standardization

• In U.S., there are various roles and missions of “SDOs” – Professional Engineering Societies (ASME, SAE)– Trade Institutes (API, ACI)– Certification Bodies (UL)– Professional Associations (EIA, NFPA)– Pure Standards Developing Organizations (ASTM)

• Most operate independently from ANSI

ASTM and Other SDOs

• ASTM Standards Referenced in numerous other SDO offerings

• AWS – D1.1 Welding Handbook– 56 ASTMs Refrenced

• ACI 318 Concrete Manual– 47 ASTMs Referenced

• ASME Boiler/Vessel Code– Section II predominantly ASTM

• ASTM key producer of Fire Standards

U.S. Standardization

• The U.S. does not fall under the rules of guidelines of a regional body like CEN

• Thus there are no mandatory requirements to adopt• Likewise, U.S. bodies cannot adopt ISOs/IECs without

working thru ANSI

Standardization – Russia, Europe, and Rest of the World

• More organized under national body scheme because of ISO

• To Americans, confusing too!

Standardization – Russia, Europe, and Rest of the World

• Germany – DIN (ISO)• UK – BSI (ISO and IEC)• Japan – JISC (JSA is publishing arm)• Russia – Federal Agency of Technical Regulating and

Metrology (but produces GOST standards and sold by Interstandard)

Standardization – Europe & CEN

• Very structured• Optional adoption of ISOs and IECs• Mandatory adoption of ENs• There is no published EN…it is published as a national

adoption of an EN, i.e. DIN/EN, BSI/EN

Key Issues of Standardization Today

- Free- Reference in Laws and Regulations- WTO and Branding- Equivalencies- Translations

One True Standard for World Use

• In some cases a dream• In some cases impractical• In some cases impossible• Copyright Issues and Business Models of Organization

work against this “DREAM”

Part II - ASTM Cooperation with National Standards Bodies

Cooperation with ISO

Partnership with Rosstandard in Russia

ASTM and “International”

• US/International split right at 48/52 – more business from outside US

• More than 80 MOU Agreements with National Standards Bodies• New Taxonomy

– Portuguese– Spanish– Russian– Soon to add more

ASTM and “International”

• Business agreements with over 100 national bodies• Translation agreements• Adoptions• Technical Training Assistance and Standards Expert

Training Programs

ASTM and ISO

• Joint Standards• PSDO Agreement• Case by case on other Adoptions

What is ASTM’s relationship with Russian Federal Agency of

Technical Regulating & Metrology

• MOU for Cooperation since 2006• Adoption and Official Translations • Normative Referencing• Sales (thru Interstandard)• Support of Labs via PTP and Training via VNICSMV

What is ASTM’s relationship with Russian Federal Agency of

Technical Regulating & Metrology

• More than 1200 GOST R Standards either based upon ASTM or referencing ASTMs

• Now more than 1000 ASTMs officially translated into Russian Language

• Russian Language Videos

Part III - ASTM Structure and Organization

What is an ASTM Standard

• Developed through a consensus process• Meets the requirements of ASTM procedures/regulations• Approximately 48% are test methods which are supported by scientific

and statistical studies• Ultimately to:

– Improve product quality– Enhance safety– Facilitate market access & trade– Build consumer confidence

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ASTM Technical Committees• Construction/Building

Materials & Products • Road and Paving Materials• Consumer Products• Steel• Petroleum• Plastics and Paint• Textiles• Environmental • Medical Devices• Many, many more

ASTM Development Approach

• Individual Volunteer Members• Consensus process• One vote per company• Every vote equal• Negative votes are addressed• Updating according to needs of members and their

companies/industries

Principles that Guide ASTM International’s Standards

Development Process

• Transparency and Openness• Balance, Consensus and Due Process• Effectiveness and Relevance• Coherence – Non duplication• Aid to Developing Countries

…..compliance with WTO and TBT guidelines

TBT Agreement

The WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade tries to ensure that regulations, standards, testing and certification procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade and commerce.

The WTO promotes the use of International Standards, but does not define by organization name.

ASTM International’s Global Importance

• ASTM is a TRUE International Organization – Various “world class” standards and test methods are relevant and used everywhere

• Member/Industry driven, not influenced by trade institutes or politics

• International membership/participation in committees• ASTM Standards and Test Methods work alongside and are

often referenced by other collections such as API and ISO (sometimes the result may even be an adoption or a jointly produced standard)

Trends in Information Business

• E-book transition (hardcover library collections replaced by “clouds”)• XML replacing SGML and “others”; ASTM completed XML conversion in

2012• Mobile Device format – ASTM standardizing on HTML 5• Advanced linking – Semantic Tagging (ASTM has prototypes)• Translations (importance) in supporting international penetration in certain

countries; ASTM has more than 3000 translations in a number of different languages

Questions ??