Standardization News

Attendees at the meeting of ASTM Committee D35 on Geosynthetics, held at the Bombay Textile Research Association headquarters in Mumbai, India, on Dec. 2 and 3.

India was the destination for ASTM staff and members toward the end of 2015.

Stephen Mawn, ASTM manager of Committee E06 on Performance of Buildings, and Muthiah Kasi, chairman of Subcommittee E06.81 on Building Economics, participated in three events in India Nov. 21-23. On Nov. 21, both presented information about ASTM, its structure, process and key engineering standards to the plenary session of the Indian Value Engineering Society meeting in Bangalore. Two days later, Mawn and Kasi conducted an academic outreach event to professors and students at the civil engineering department of the Indian Institute of Technology – Powai, in Mumbai. Later that day, they presented information on ASTM and conducted a more focused discussion for construction managers, engineers and project managers about standards under the jurisdiction of E06.81.

India was also the location of meetings held by Committee D35 on Geosynthetics on Dec. 2-3. The meetings were held at the headquarters of the Bombay Textile Research Association in Mumbai. Speakers at the event included A.N. Desai, Ph.D., BTRA; Sam Allen, Tri Environmental; Michael Bernardi, Strata India; Professor K. Rajogopal; and Professor Sireesh Saride.

ASTM member Sam Allen notes that the opening seminar at the D35 meeting included well-received presentations on mechanical properties, geomembranes and standards related to geosynthetic reinforcement products. In addition, Allen says there was specific interest in relatively new leak detection standards and the associated technology.

Allen says there was active participation in the general D35 meetings and high interest in a presentation explaining ASTM's consensus standards developing process.