User Participation in the Development of Standards Summary of a Symposium (1995) / Chapter Skim
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Keynote: How Important are Standards and Is it in our Best Interests to Foster Them?
Keynote: How Important are Standards and Is it in our Best Interests to Foster Them?
Pages 3-8
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From page 3... ...
As an aside, many of you may know that it was Lincoln who chartered the National Academy of Sciences, in 1864, just the year after his famous Gettysburg address "of the people, by the people, and for the people." So standards are important. Coming closer to home, the federal government has recognized both the importance of the voluntary standards and the opportunity that the federal agencies have to make more use of them.
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From page 4... ...
However, a few agencies gave it some thought, and some even started to participate on He committees of the voluntary standards organizations. At least one agency reviewed its design criteria and removed essentially all He provisions that were covered in the national model codes and He industry consensus standards; it also directed its A/Es to use He industry standards and to select and use He national model code that the A/E considered most appropriate for the particular project to be designed.
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From page 5... ...
And unfortunately, a direct point-by-point comparison of the three model codes is difficult, even with today's computers. The obvious challenge here is two-fold, and parallel: First, find a way to achieve basic code uniformity among the "big three" national model code organizations; and secondly, find an interim way to modify agency criteria to adopt and specify one of these nationally recognized model building codes as the baseline of agency criteria.
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From page 6... ...
For example, NAVFAC has a 5-foot bookshelf of Design Manuals, the familiar "DM's." Such agency or owner design criteria frequently include many items not covered by codes and may include requirements that exceed the levels adopted in building codes. Several of the agencies comprising the Federal Facilities Council have estimated that 70-80 percent of all their design criteria are either not covered by codes or they knowingly exceed the codes.
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From page 7... ...
There should be a concerted effort among the agencies for each to adopt the use of a nationally recognized model building code for each project, and the construction-related standards, as He baseline of the agency's design criteria; this includes a good and meaningful scrub of the existing criteria documents to keep only those criteria that are not included in the codes and standards, or where the agency's requirements must be higher or more stringent than the appropriate codes and standards provide.
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From page 8... ...
There is plenty of authority and urging in OMB Circular A-119 to have federal employees fully participate in the various committees and organizations that develop and maintain the several standards and codes.
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