Standardization News

Global Cooperation and Satellite Offices

Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) partnerships have increased, with the Institut Algérien de Normalisation (IANOR) and Standards New Zealand (SNZ) being the most recently signed agreements. (Since this report to the board, an MoU has been signed with the Libyan National Centre for Standardization and Metrology, bringing the total number of MoUs signed to 117.) To date, there have been 8,483 citations of ASTM International standards by both MoU and non-MoU nations with international participation in almost all ASTM technical committees. 

2020 marks the 15th year of the Standards Expert Program (SEP), an in-residence program designed to enhance the procedural and technical capacity of MoU partners. ASTM fully sponsors this program to enable the selected candidates to meet with headquarters staff, visit standards-related public and private organizations located in and around Washington, D.C., and attend technical committee meetings at a committee week. In light of COVID-19, the first portion of the program on procedural and technical capacity trainings, typically held on-site at ASTM headquarters, is underway virtually. The second portion of the program, committee week participation and attendance, has been postponed until spring 2021.

Europe

This summer, ASTM continued to pursue outreach activities with European national standards bodies. In July and August, ASTM senior staff met virtually with Ruggero Lensi, director general of UNI in Milan, Italy, and with Jacob Mehus, director general of Standards Norway.

In September, ASTM senior staff met with European Committee for Standardization (CEN) Director General Elena Santiago Cid and her team and conducted a first-year assessment of the MoU agreement between ASTM and CEN.

Also in September, Sara Gobbi, director of European affairs, and Philip Kenul, chair of the committee on unmanned aircraft systems (F38), virtually attended the 13th meeting of the European Unmanned Aircraft Systems Standardization Coordination Group. 

Brussels

The Brussels office officially reopened in September in compliance with current local health and safety rules. Since re-opening, Sara Gobbi has hosted two in-person meetings, with the aerospace standard-setting body ASD-Stan and with the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA).

Gobbi and Louis Fredricks, also of the Brussels office, represented ASTM in several European virtual events and webinars, including a virtual workshop on the current challenges with the European standardization system hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economics and Energy; a webinar hosted by CEN/CENELEC on the European Standards Organizations’ innovation strategy; and stakeholder sessions hosted by the European Commission on the revision of the EU Construction Products Regulation.

2021 Board Members (above) Top row: Alan P. Kaufman, Michael J. Brisson, Klas M. Boivie, John R. Logar; Second row: John T. Germaine, David W. Parsonage, William A. Ells, Carol Pollack-Nelson, Cesar A. Constantino; Third row: Bill Griese, Taco van der Maten, Katharine E. Morgan, Andrew G. Kireta Jr., Gregory J. Bowles; Fourth row: Amer bin Ahmed, Rina Singh, Dalia Yarom, Francine Bovard, Dale F. Bohn; Fifth row: Terry O. Woods, Scott Fenwick, Casandra W. Robinson, Bonnie McWade-Furtado, R. Christopher Mathis

North America

Canada

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, recent Health Canada guidance on acceptable products used to diagnose, treat, mitigate, or prevent COVID-19 has included references to ASTM International standards for face masks, medical gowns, and packaging of test swabs.

ASTM continues to participate in the Standards Council of Canada’s Standards Development Organizations Advisory Committee working groups.

Asia

India

An official signing event for the Letter of Cooperation (LoC) between ASTM International and the India Rubber Manufacturers Research Association (IRMRA) was rescheduled.

Middle East

United Arab Emirates

The ASTM International United Arab Emirates (UAE) Chapter continues to bring together key leaders and engineers in the UAE focused on the built environment. The chapter provides a forum for technical experts and others to network and to participate in standards-related activities.

On Sept. 8, seven student teams from two UAE universities made virtual presentations for a group of chapter members, serving as judges, as part of this year’s Student Poster Contest.

The next chapter meeting is planned to be held virtually in conjunction with the Fire Contractors International Association on Nov. 23-24.

Africa

Global cooperation staff worked with continental MoU partner the African Organisation for Standardisation to publish an ASTM article on activities in Africa since the MoU signing in 2015.

Rwanda

Global cooperation hosted a meeting with the Rwanda Standards Board to plan a webinar on Manufactured Masonry Units (with the C15 committee). The event is targeted for October.

Caribbean

Jamaica

On July 15, Robert Morgan, technical committee operations director, spoke virtually to over 200 participants during the Bureau of Standards Jamaica’s successful launch of seven new standards for the cannabis industry.

South America

Colombia

Maria Isabel Barrios, ASTM Latin America representative, joined Marty Rowland, a member of the asset management committee (E53), to make an institutional introduction at a virtual conference held by the Colombian Association of Engineers (ACIEM) in August. On Sept. 22, Barrios made a virtual presentation about ASTM International at the Reunión del Concreto Virtual.

Peru

A virtual October workshop is planned with the association of cement producers in Peru (ASOCEM) on a new Peruvian cement regulation and ASTM cement standards. In addition, plans for a new ASTM student chapter are moving forward with the University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC)
in Lima.

Washington, DC, Office

The Washington, D.C., office is engaged in activities involving U.S. federal legislation and regulations, international trade, and corporate outreach to companies and trade associations.

U.S. Government Agencies 

In August, staff from the Washington, D.C., office and technical committee operations met with both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standards executive and with U.S. Department of Agriculture representatives. ASTM was further invited to provide comments to inform a fact-finding investigation by the U.S. International Trade Commission on industrial and supply chain conditions affecting COVID-19 industry sectors and products.  

Outreach to Trade Associations

In June, Jeff Grove, vice president, global policy, cooperation, and communications, and Craig Updyke, director, global policy and international trade, met with counterparts at the American Chemistry Council (ACC) to discuss developments in international trade policy. A second meeting was held in August at which Teresa Cendrowska, vice president, global cooperation, and James Olshefsky, director, external relations, met with their ACC counterparts to discuss their organizations’ respective international cooperation and capacity-building initiatives.

Public Policy and Stakeholder Outreach

ASTM International staff continue to work with standards executives from several federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Corporate Outreach

The Washington office presented a session on Public Policy and Stakeholder Outreach during the Virtual Officers’ Training Workshop in September. In addition, the Washington office and technical committee operations are planning to resume “D.C. Bootcamp” orientation meetings virtually in 2021.

IT Operations

ASTM 2.0 web development continued throughout 2020 despite the pandemic. Initial elements of ASTM 2.0 were successfully deployed into production on Oct. 22, 2020. The site will see continued feature development and mission-based enhancements as the development of the new site moves forward.

Membership

ASTM International membership increased 14% year to date. Organizational membership also increased significantly, increasing 25% year to date.

Membership growth has been driven by emerging sectors such as cannabis and additive manufacturing, among others.

Certification and Safety Equipment Institute

The board of the Safety Equipment Institute met virtually on Sept. 22. New program development was discussed, in particular the ASTM Cannabis Certification Program, which will demonstrate to the industry that a cannabis cultivator is committed to best practices. The Qualification Program for Additive Manufacturing (AM) Service Bureaus was also discussed. The goal of this work is to refine a qualification program based on ASTM standards for the AM industry.

Laboratory Services

A new proficiency testing program for cannabis was launched in 2020, and an additional program to test purified terephthalic acid is being targeted for 2021.

The training and e-learning programs have undergone numerous updates, including transitioning from in-person to virtual instruction, the creation of an Instructor EduCamp to provide soft skills for customer engagement, the creation of 28 new e-learning courses, the launch of sponsored courses, the launch of the Approved Training Provider Program, and the selection of new software platforms for certificate/certification programs.

Cement and Concrete Reference Laboratory (CCRL)

CCRL has resumed inspection operations remotely in a reduced capacity. The possibility of continuing to conduct portions of inspections remotely post-COVID-19 is being explored, in order to reduce the time needed at clients' facilities.

Business Development

The business development and innovation strategy team has formed a cross-divisional team responsible for projects touching the rapidly expanding aviation and commercial space sector. The team has created a first draft of a strategic plan.

Communications

The department has issued 179 press releases in 2020 thus far, mostly targeted at industry/trade press. This total includes significant new, proposed, and revised standards as well as major organizational announcements such as new MoU partners, centers of excellence news, and the student chapter launch.

With a continued strategic social media effort and weekly dissemination vehicle in the SmartBrief newsletter, traffic to  Standardization News digital content (on SN Online) has grown 51% over 2019 year to date. In particular, the “Standards for Medical Face Masks and Protective Clothing” article has received 30,000 page views to date.

The print edition continues its renewed focus and following the 2020 SN editorial calendar, has published themed issues on Industry 4.0/Internet of Things, standards for drones/unmanned aircraft systems, children’s apparel and costumes, and this issue highlighting cannabis.

Sales and Marketing

Sales have remained positive in 2020. Royalties, integrated services, and third party content will be key components of future strategy, as will search engine optimization for ASTM’s and partners’ products. ■