Imagine crossing the country and changing trains at every state line due to the different railroad track gauges. You might also imagine owning a car where replacement parts like oil filters and tires can only be found at the dealer 50 miles away.
Is it possible for a consumer to buy an electric appliance without any visible evidence such as the Underwriters Laboratories stamp proving the product has been properly tested for safety and quality.
Consumers and businesses alike can have confidence that their products and processes are compatible and fit together according to established standards. Standard are guidelines and rules that create a standard for safety and quality.
Our society places a premium upon the safety of its citizens and the consumption of manufactured products. Without standards and the enforcement of them, our society would not be possible. standards system.
“You can’t touch anything that does not have a standard connected to it,”Mark Sheehan (Managing Director of Development Standards and Certification at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers) recently spoke on The Takeaway, a popular National Public Radio program.
ASME is a world-famous organization for standard development. ASME created a committee to create manufacturing standards for boilers shortly after the turn century in 1916. This was in response to the alarming failure rate of boilers in homes, factories and onboard ships. Safety was the main purpose of the committee. However, the committee also sought to reduce the number of regulations that cross over states and cities and create a single standard across the country. It was soon developed into the Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code. This code has 31 volumes and 17,000 page of specifications and guidelines that can be referred to worldwide.
ASME is just one of the hundreds of U.S. standards developers. Aside from professional societies, there are many other organizations that create standards such as trade associations and testing or certifying organisations like UL. Different industries have standards developers. They cover every aspect of commerce and trade. Sheehan said that “There are literally tens of thousands of individuals around the world devoted to product standardization.”
Sheehan stated on The Takeaway that safety is promoted by standards “the heating boiler in the basement contains an ASME certification stamp”– and parts interchangeability “the toilet purchased at the local home improvement store has uniform drill holes to fit the footings on your bathroom floor.”
Visit this site for more information www.asme.org.
