Standards
The standards produced by ASTM International fall into six categories:
- the Standard Specification, that defines the requirements to be satisfied by subject of the standard.
- the Standard Test Method, that defines the way a test is performed and the precision of the result. The result of the test may be used to assess compliance with a Standard Specification.
- the Standard Practice, that defines a sequence of operations that, unlike a Standard Test Method, does not produce a result.
- the Standard Guide, that provides an organized collection of information or series of options that does not recommend a specific course of action.
- the Standard Classification, that provides an arrangement or division of materials, products, systems, or services into groups based on similar characteristics such as origin, composition, properties, or use.
- the Terminology Standard, that provides agreed definitions of terms used in the other standards.
The quality of the standards is such that they are frequently used worldwide.
The Annual Book of ASTM Standards covers 15 sections of interest plus a master index:
- Iron and Steel Products
- Nonferrous Metal Products
- Metals Test Methods and Analytical Procedures
- Construction
- Petroleum Products, Lubricants, and Fossil Fuels
- Paints, Related Coatings, and Aromatics
- Textiles
- Plastics
- Rubber
- Electrical Insulation and Electronics
- Water and Environmental Technology
- Nuclear, Solar, and Geothermal Energy
- Medical Devices and Services
- General Methods and Instrumentation
- General Products, Chemical Specialties, and End Use Products
- Index to all sections and volumes
ASTM Standards can be purchased as a digital library subscription or individually from ASTM and other qualified standards providers. When maintaining a large standards library, often digital subscriptions are used to simplify staying current on standards and to remain in compliance with all copyright laws. A technical library at a university may also have copies of standards to review.
Read more about this topic: ASTM International
Famous quotes containing the word standards:
“It gives me the greatest pleasure to say, as I do from the bottom of my heart, that never in the history of the country, in any crisis and under any conditions, have our Jewish fellow citizens failed to live up to the highest standards of citizenship and patriotism.”
—William Howard Taft (18571930)
“As long as our people quote English standards they dwarf their own proportions.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (18031882)
“To arrive at a just estimate of a renowned mans character one must judge it by the standards of his time, not ours.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (18351910)