ASTM International articles

In a sense, metrology makes the world go around.

It can quantify how long it takes the Earth to rotate, and the science of weights and measurements underpins everything from telling time to ensuring the fairness of international trade agreements.

Metrologists must be extremely precise in their measurements, according to Alan Steele, Canada’s chief metrologist and the general manager of Measurement Science and Standards at the National Research Council of Canada.

Manufacturers working to adopt sustainable practices will find support from a new ASTM International guide. This standard (E2986, Guide for Evaluation of Environmental Aspects of Sustainability of Manufacturing Processes) will serve as a key reference tool in helping business and industries find consistent ways to collect data and evaluate metrics regarding sustainability, ultimately helping them reduce their environmental footprint.

Amy Costello, sustainability man

This article draws on and adds to previous articles in this series. Taken together, these articles describe how standards professionals can enhance their role and value in corporate planning and better address CEO needs. But what knowledge, skills and attributes/abilities, or KSAs, are required? How can you acquire or refine these, build your capacity to support standards work across your organization and even help prepare your own successor?

Knowledge can include the understanding an

Water is essential for life, and “access to safe water is a fundamental human and, therefore, a basic human right.” With this statement and his address on World Water Day in 2001, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan put a spotlight on what continues to be a global problem: clean water.

This year completes the UN “Water for Life” international decade for action, but water is staying at the top of its agenda.

In Afr

A mindmap can help standards professionals communicate the complex connections of standards development, business benefits and the details of both: here’s what to consider.

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of standards to competitiveness. A lack of standardization can keep products and services from working effectively with other products and services or with available infrastructure. This can, in turn, discourage

An independent U.S. government agency uses everything at its disposal, including ASTM standards, to determine the causes of transportation and pipeline accidents.

An airplane battery catches on fire.

A gas pipeline explodes.

A bridge collapses.

When incidents like these happen, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board¹ mobilizes.</

By providing input into roadmapping and scenario planning, you can make your technical committee work relevant to your company’s strategic plan.

The first article in this series (“The Elevator Speech”) showed how to introduce the value of standards to an organization and its executives by positioning your work in the context of co

Buildings today can meet societal and personal needs like never before, and standards are part of the picture. Robert A. Ivy, CEO of the American Institute of Architects, explains.

How do you think building safety will be redefined in this century?

Along with the sorts of natural and man-made hazards that have always been at issue, such as fires and earthquakes, buildings must now be prepared for other 21st century stresses, such as the

You know your participation in standards development is critical to your company, but does your company recognize this? Do you have the support and resources you need? Here’s how to develop a quick summary of what you do and what you need that top-level executives will hear and understand.

For years, standards professionals and organizations have extolled the benefits of standards and the value of active participation in standards setting. But when it comes to C-suite executives

Public safety and the cost of doing business are deeply impacted when infrastructure is neglected. Here’s a look at the high cost of low maintenance and what can be done about it.

A Bridge Too Far

There are over 607,000 bridges in the United States. According to the 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure,1 published by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the average age of the American bridge is 42 years, and in 2012 on