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Many Standardization Events Highlight Trip to China

ASTM Staff Meets with Chinese Groups

Teresa Cendrowska, ASTM International vice president, global cooperation, made an extensive trip to China from April 12 to 26. The photos on these pages highlight several of the events that
Cendrowska participated in during her trip.

ASTM staff meets with the Standardization Administration of the People’s Republic of China. Recognizing the partnership that has existed between the two organizations since a memorandum of understanding was signed in August 2004, ASTM staff recently met with SAC staff to discuss future opportunities for collaboration and how to continue building on the partnership. Pictured, left to right, Hu Yanan (Nancy), office manager, ASTM China office, Liu Fei, ASTM chief representative in China, and Teresa Cendrowska, and Shi Baoquan, Li Yubing, Fan Chunmei and He Ting of SAC.

 

ASTM staff presented information on ASTM International, its cooperative agreements in China, the role and impact of ASTM standards in the U.S., Chinese and global economies, and the benefits of standards to commerce and industry, at the invitation of the Beijing Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision. The event occurred at the Beijing Information Center of Quality and Technical Supervision located at the Zhongguancun Science Park, home to several new enterprises conducting research on a variety of materials and products. Here Liu Fei presents information on ASTM’s history.

 

 

Staff from ASTM International and ASME Asia Pacific LLC met with representatives of the Shanghai Power Equipment Research Institute to share information about their respective organizations and to determine how to more effectively engage in information exchange on standards development related to nuclear energy and materials applications in the nuclear sector. Enhanced communication between technical experts, use of standards in codes and an understanding of the ASTM consensus process were key topics of discussion.

 

Liu Fei and Teresa Cendrowska, along with Leona Fu of the ASME Asia Pacific LLC office, met with representatives of the Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute (SNERDI). The participants provided orientations to their organizations, discussed the use of standards in codes, and considered how to more effectively work together. Participation in relevant ASTM technical committees was identified as an ideal way to continue technical information exchange on such topics as materials and coatings used in nuclear applications. Pictured left to right: Liu Fei; Professor Senior Engineer Ding Yaping, SNERDI; Leona Fu; Teresa Cendrowska; Chairman Cai Jianping, SNERDI; Professor Senior Engineer Yao Wei Da, SNERDI; Deputy Directory ChEN Yu, SNERDI; and Senior Engineer Li Hui, SNERDI.

 

“Standards Implementation in Product Testing, Accreditation and Market Access” was the title of a seminar sponsored by the China National Institute of Standardization with support from ASTM International, which has had a memorandum of cooperation with CNIS since December 2003. The full-day event was attended by more than 120 participants who learned about such topics as: new development trends in standardization in China and the U.S., the use of standards by laboratories in the testing of products and obtaining or confirming accreditation, accessing markets with standards, testing and accreditation, ASTM’s Interlaboratory Crosscheck Program and Proficiency Testing Program, and CNIS’ Standards Resources System. Pictured from left to right: Teresa Cendrowska; Wang Ping, vice chief engineer and director, international department, CNIS; John Mulder, project manager, Intertek ETL SEMKO; Drew Azzara, vice president, international services, International Code Council; Liu Fei; Marty Farrell, ASTM International; and Song Yinping, director, senior engineer, CNIS.

 

Staff from ASTM International and the Shanghai Institute of Standardization met and discussed the memorandum of cooperation that has existed between the two parties since early 2004. Standardization awareness and use in various industries, Chinese expert participation in technical committees and ongoing standardization activities in both organizations were considered. Pictured left to right: Ye Xiao Xin, curator, SIS standards library; Wang Xiao Cheng, SIS director; Teresa Cendrowska; Tao Cheng, SIS assistant director; Su Hang, SIS; and Liu Fei.

ASTM International staff participates in a tree planting event sponsored by the Foreign Enterprise Service Co. Ltd., in a suburb of Beijing, China. The event was held to promote awareness of environmental sustainability and in support of a green Olympics. Participating, from left to right, are Liu Fei, Teresa Cendrowska, and Hu Yanan.

MOU Program: Kazakhstan

ASTM International has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Kazakhstan Institute for Standardization and Certification, the national standards body of Kazakhstan. The MOU was signed by James A. Thomas, president, ASTM International, and Askarov Abay, director general, KAZINST.

Important industries in Kazakhstan include oil, coal, iron ore, manganese and other minerals; tractors and agricultural machinery; electric motors and construction materials. Oil and oil products, ferrous metals and chemicals comprise the principal export commodities of Kazakhstan, while machinery and equipment, metal products and foodstuffs are among the most imported items into the country.

The purpose of the MOU program is to promote communication between ASTM International and national standards bodies; promote knowledge of each other’s standard development activities; facilitate greater worldwide participation in the ASTM standards development process; and facilitate the development of national standards that will aid health, safety, environmental and economic institutions.

As a result of the MOU signing, four KAZINST employees recently received virtual training on how to participate in the ASTM International process and how to search for technical information on the ASTM Web site. Participating MOU members of ASTM committees are exposed to the robust resources and member benefits that have helped make ASTM International a worldwide leader in standards development for over a century.

ASTM International is a leader in conducting technical committee business online, recognizing that not everyone is able to travel for face-to-face meetings. Because this is particularly true of ballots, which are posted on the ASTM Web site in a password protected “MyASTM” members area, ASTM’s Global Cooperation division regularly offers virtual training to new MOU members on how to navigate the “MyASTM” pages and vote.

 

Members Bring Technical Assistance to Taiwan, Israel

Salvatore Rand, Ph.D. a past chair of ASTM Committee D02 on Petroleum Products and Lubricants, recently taught a course in Taiwan as part of ASTM International’s professional and technical assistance program. Rand presented “Gasoline: Specifications, Testing and Technology” at the headquarters of the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection in Taipei from April 14-16. The 32 attendees were professionals from BSMI, universities, research institutes, automotive manufacturers and refineries. Each participant was given a series of manuals to complement the material presented in the course.

According to Rand, in addition to the formal presentation, there were many questions and comments among the attendees, which resulted in the cross-fertilization of ideas and information relating to the various business entities involved in the course. A portion of the course was devoted to the workings and relationships of ASTM International, and as a result a significant number of the attendees applied for a one-year free membership in ASTM International. Following the course, Rand and other attendees were given a tour of the fuels testing facilities at the CPC refinery in Chia-Yi.

Jayakumar Gopalakrishnan, a member of ASTM Committee D13 on Textiles, journeyed from India to Israel in May to teach a technical assistance course on the flammability of textiles at the Standards Institute of Israel. During the course, which ran from May 14-15, Gopalakrishnan focused on the use of Committee D13 standards and regulatory compliance to 16 CFR Part 1610, Standard for the Flammability of Clothing Textiles; 16 CFR 1615, Standard for the Flammability of Children’s Sleepwear: Sizes 0 Through 6X and 16 CFR 1616, and Standard for the Flammability of Children’s Sleepwear: Sizes 7 Through 14.

For more information on the technical assistance program, contact Jessica Hychalk, manager, global cooperation, ASTM International (phone: 610-832-9693.

 

MOU Program: South African Development Community Cooperation in Standards

ASTM International and the Southern African Development Community Cooperation in Standards (SADCSTAN) signed a memorandum of understanding May 8 at the 11th Meeting of the SADCSTAN Committee, held in Cape Town, South Africa. While the MOU offers the same benefits as provided to individual national standards bodies that have signed with ASTM, a unique aspect is that this MOU is applied to the 15 member nations of the Southern African Development Community: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Discussions on establishing the memorandum of understanding were first held during the ASTM International Open House for Sub-Saharan Africa conducted at ASTM headquarters in May 2007. As Maureen Mutasa, chair, SADCSTAN, and director general, Standards Association of Zimbabwe, noted in her introductory remarks at the signing ceremony, “The need to enter into an agreement with ASTM International was prompted by the SADCSTAN harmonization projects on fuel and biodiesel approved at the 10th SADCSTAN annual meeting held in Madagascar in 2007. These harmonization projects are being based on ASTM standards.”

This is the 59th MOU signed by ASTM.

For more information about ASTM’s MOU training, please contact James Olshefsky, director of external relations (phone: 610-832-9714) or click here.

ASTM International Visits Vietnamese Delegation from STAMEQ in Washington, D.C.

ASTM International staff met with staff members from STAMEQ, the national standards body of Vietnam, during their visit to Washington, D.C., on May 14. The STAMEQ delegation’s visit was made possible through Support for Trade Acceleration (the STAR program), a project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. ASTM was invited to present information about standards and trade through the U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council.

ASTM staff members James Olshefsky and Kevin Cummins presented information about the U.S. standards system, ASTM standards in building codes and ASTM’s electronic tools. During a discussion of ASTM standards for the nuclear sector, Olshefsky and Cummins were joined by Anthony Quinn of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers to discuss important aspects of ASME’s nuclear code and its reference to ASTM International standards. The meeting was timely in that the Vietnamese government was expected to finalize a new law on atomic energy by the end of May 2008, with implementation to begin in January 2009.

In addition to this information, Olshefsky and Cummins reviewed opportunities that had been provided through STAMEQ’s involvement in ASTM International’s memorandum of understanding program. Since January 2004, an MOU between STAMEQ and ASTM International has resulted in the use of 175 ASTM standards as the basis for new Vietnamese national standards. The MOU also allowed ASTM to provide technical assistance training to representatives of the petroleum sector in Vietnam in 2007. The year before, ASTM hosted a standards expert from STAMEQ for a one-month visit to ASTM International headquarters.

ASTM International regularly visits with international delegations to offer assistance and promote the use and application of ASTM standards worldwide. For more information on ASTM’s global cooperation activities, contact James Olshefsky, ASTM International (phone: 610-832-9714) or click here. For more information about ASTM activities in Washington, D.C., contact Kevin Cummins, ASTM International (phone: 202-223-8484).

 

ASTM Contributes to Risk Mitigation Training Program

ASTM International recently collaborated with the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Building and Fire Research Laboratory and the Science and Technology Directorate of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in a training seminar. “Risk Mitigation of Natural and Man-Made Hazards to Constructed Facilities” was presented at the Shady Grove campus of the University of Maryland on April 3-4. Robert Chapman, NIST, led a team of instructors in presenting a three-step protocol for evaluating hazard vulnerabilities, identifying potential mitigation strategies and selecting the most cost-effective combination of strategies to protect facilities. Seminar attendees were members of the Interagency Security Committee, government personnel who have the responsibility in their organizations for identifying and addressing hazard risks to their facilities.

Attendees received a variety of materials, including the recently published compilation of ASTM Standards on Building Economics, 6th Edition.

ASTM International handled the administration and facilities arrangements for the workshop, while BFRL’s Office of Applied Economics developed the course outline and content, produced the CET software and Risk Mitigation Toolkit, and presented the lectures and exercises that illustrate how to use the standards and software together in selecting cost-effective strategies for reducing the combined costs of disaster protection and expected damages. The Department of Homeland Security partially funded BFRL’s activities in planning and preparing materials for the course.