Engineers Respond on NIST, Safety, and Paint

HEADLINE: NIBS and NIST
from Michael J. King, Director of Engineering Specifications
Responding to: Weights & Measures: Who's Responsible For Uniform Standards?

Just read your article. It is good to know the history of NIST in this area.

I am also aware of a long-standing effort at the National Institute of Building Sciences NIBS for conversion to SI Metric. NIBS has a group called the Construction Metrication Council (www.nibs.org/cmchome.html). NIBS is a nonprofit organization that with the following charge:

The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) was authorized by the U.S. Congress in the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, Public Law 93-383. In establishing NIBS, Congress recognized the need for an organization that could serve as an interface between government and the private sector. The Institute's public interest mission is to: improve the building regulatory environment; facilitate the introduction of new and existing products and technology into the building process; and disseminate nationally recognized technical and regulatory information.

My question is: How are NIBS and NIST working together to create national standards for metric units? Will there be a document that consolidates all the rules for conversion, rounding, and assignment of correct corresponding units between conventional I-P units and SI Metric Units?

HEADLINE: Product Safety Concurring Response
from Bill Blake, Reliability & System Safety Engineering
Responding to: Safety Standards Should Come With Resources For Enforcement

As a Product Safety Engineer I understand you're your point all too well - being a weapon system design company we have many safety requirements we need to address. Getting safety designed in is clearly my goal but there are many road blocks or hurdles that make that difficult and unfortunately too often we are only allowed to evaluate the design after the design is frozen and then getting the needed changes is difficult, that is unless there is a safety failure. If a failure occurs it seems the pendulum swings the other way and any resource required is provided. I expect you and I share similar frustrations.

HEADLINE: What Paint Standard?
from John Hellier, President
Responding to: Drawing Standards Are Great, Paint Standards Are Not

My question is: What would be wrong if we used the standard that is used in the rest of the world? We have no end of problems matching paint since apparently no one in the paint business here has ever heard of a standard.

HEADLINE: There are Lots of Paint Standards says ASTM
from Robert L. Meltzer, ASTM, Vice President, Publications & Marketing
Responding to: Drawing Standards Are Great, Paint Standards Are Not

As Global and IHS currently distribute over 800 ASTM standards for paint, you may wish to get some clarification from the author on what specific paint standards are lacking. If he can provide such a list, ASTM will respond.

To Find Paint Standards:

1. Go to Global Engineering Documents
2. Enter the word "paint" into the Keyword search field and click on the Search button.
3. Enter additional words to refine your search, i.e. pigment.
4. To search for ASTM paint standards, enter ASTM in the Document Number search field and paint in the Keyword field.

Discussion Question: How did you get started?

For a future discussion, tell us what led you to enter your profession, and what do you think about the future:

1. When did you realize that you were headed for a career in your chosen field and how did you know?

2. Who were your childhood heroes and why?

3. Within the context of your career, are your childhood dreams still alive? What are they?

4. Where will your field be in 10 years?

We will print a representative sampling of the answers we receive, and, unless notified otherwise, we will provide attribution. Please let us know if you do not wish to be identified and/or to have your employer's name listed if you're among the people whom we quote.

Thanks,
Jaren Green, Editor
jaren.green@ihs.com
Global Engineering Documents, A Division of IHS Engineering

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