Standardization News

How standards impact testing equipment manufactured by global SME Elcometer.

Most of the equipment in Elcometer's product line complies with standards, so ASTM test methods, guides and practices are important to both our customers and the usability of our products. Customers need to be confident that they can use Elcometer inspection and test equipment in accordance with the relevant standard, as defined by the specification to which they are operating.

ASTM standards play a pre-eminent role in all aspects important to the coatings and materials industries. These include classification, sampling, preparation, components, application, analysis, quality assurance and end-user performance requirements.

Although many of Elcometer's products relate to the inspection and testing of surface coatings and related coating application processes, other products within the Elcometer range include inspection equipment for the nondestructive testing of materials using ultrasonics (marketed under the ElcometerNDT brand); the orientation, location, depth and diameter of concrete reinforcement bars; and other forms of industrial metal detection.

Elcometer has its global headquarters in Manchester in the United Kingdom; manufacturing facilities in Manchester and Santa Cruz, California; and sales and service centers in seven countries around the world. Elcometer Inc., Elcometer's North American headquarters, is located in Rochester Hills, Michigan, which, together with its satellite office in Houston, Texas, handles the distribution of all of the Elcometer product range throughout the United States and Canada.

Ever since the first Elcometer gauge was manufactured in 1947, our philosophy has been to provide industry-leading, innovative, high quality products, supported by a best-in-class customer experience at a competitive price. By concentrating on these core values, Elcometer has grown into a global distribution network with representation in over 70 countries.

Elcometer has a significant interest in the standards developed by Committee D01 on Paint and Related Coatings, Materials and Applications, but we also reference the standards of Committee E07 on Nondestructive Testing, Committee E12 on Color and Appearance, and Committee C09 on Concrete and Concrete Aggregates. The Elcometer website lists 115 ASTM standards that are relevant to products in the Elcometer catalog for inspection equipment.

Many of Elcometer's products are designed and manufactured so that they meet the requirements of certain ASTM test methods. For example, our coating thickness gauges can be used in accordance with ASTM D7091, Practice for Nondestructive Measurement of Dry Film Thickness of Nonmagnetic Coatings Applied to Ferrous Metals and Nonmagnetic, Nonconductive Coatings Applied to Non-Ferrous Metals.

A few Elcometer products are designed to comply with a particular ASTM standard where the document actually defines the product in detail, for example D1200, Test Method for Viscosity by Ford Viscosity Cup, which describes the dimensions of the Ford viscosity cup as well as the method of use. In this case the Elcometer Ford viscosity cups can be certified as being compliant with the D1200 standard if this is required by the user.

Much of the product supplied by Elcometer is exported to countries around the world. In addition to nine offices, we have a network of more than 130 third-party distributors and dealers in more than 75 countries. We know from experience that more than 90 percent of industrial countries around the world make reference to ASTM standards, particularly for the inspection and testing of paints.

One of the benefits of our active membership in Subcommittee D01.06 on International Coordination and the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO/TC 35/SC9/SC10 (the paints and varnishes committee of the International Organization for Standardization) is the direct and cordial cooperation we gain with paint experts in countries around the world. Their knowledge of the modern science and technology of paint leads to useful international standards and coordination with national and regional standards developing organizations. Participating in this subcommittee provides a simple and effective way to track ISO paint-related standards as they come up for review and ballot.

John Fletcher is Elcometer's technical support manager. He is responsible for Elcometer's compliance with ISO 9001, Quality Management Systems, and ISO 14001, Environmental Management Systems. He is now first vice chairman of D01, having completed six years as chairman of that committee.

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