In the early 1970s, the U.S. Federal government mandated that federal agencies such as the Department of Defense should use non-government standards rather than write their own. Several ASTM committees formed subcommittees to aid in this effort, including A01 on Steel, Stainless Steel and Related Alloys, which formed A01.94 on Government Specifications. In 1996 the subcommittee name was changed to U.S. Government Requirements for Steel Mill and Foundry Products.

Gary M. Kralik, chairman of the subcommittee, says the scope of A01.94 is to facilitate the use of ASTM standards rather than government-produced documents. The entire scope can be viewed on the Committee A01 Web page. While the primary function of the subcommittee had been to assist in modifying ASTM standards to make them more acceptable to government users, most recently its primary role has been to maintain A 700, Standard Practices for Packaging, Marking, and Loading Methods for Steel Products for Shipment. A01.94 had also tracked standards that were modified and then adopted for federal or DOD use, especially those replacing federal or military documents. Once most of the government documents that could be replaced had been replaced, the subcommittee became less active.

Therefore, Kralik is inviting any committee, subcommittee or individual dealing with standards issues with the Department of Defense to contact him with any problems that occur during the process. //

Contact
Technical information:
Gary M. Kralik
Phone: 760/577-7267
ASTM staff:
George Luciw
Phone: 610/832-9710
Upcoming Meeting:
May 16-19, May Committee Week, Reno, Nev.