Page 13 - Volume 8, Issue 1 Winter 2013

Fig. 1. Committee/subcommittee organization.
• active and passive control methods for vibration and shock, e.g., balancing of machines, isolation, and damping;
• evaluation of the effects of vibration and shock on humans, machines, vehicles (air, sea, land, and rail), stationary structures and sensitive equipment;
• vibration and shock measuring instrumentation, e.g., transducers, vibration generators, signal con- ditioners, signal analysis instrumentation, and sig- nal acquisition systems;
• measurement methods, instrumentation, data acquisition, processing, presentation, analysis, diagnostics and prognostics, using all measure- ment variables required for the condition monitor- ing of machines;
• training and certification of personnel in relevant areas.
The scope of ISO TC 108/SC 5 is:
Standardization of the procedures, processes and equip- ment requirements uniquely related to the technical activi- ty of condition monitoring and diagnostics of machines in which selected physical parameters associated with an oper- ating machine are periodically or continuously sensed, measured and recorded for the interim purpose of reduc- ing, analyzing, comparing and displaying the data and information so obtained and for the ultimate purpose of using this interim result to support decisions related to the operation and maintenance of the machine.
The scope of ISO TC 43/SC 3 is:
Standardization in the field of underwater acoustics, (including both natural and anthropogenic sound), including methods of measurement and assessment of the generation and propagation of underwater sound and its reflection and scattering in the underwater environment including the seabed and sea surface, and also including all aspects of the effects of underwater sound on marine life and environment.
The ISO secretariats
The standards program operates 3 secretariats on behalf of ANSI for ISO. These secretariats are ISO/TC 108, Mechanical vibration, shock and condition monitoring, TC 108/SC 5, Condition monitoring and diagnostics of machines, and the newly formed TC 43/SC 3, Underwater acoustics. In ISO, the Secretariat nominates the committee or subcommittee chair (George Frisk will be nominated to be the first chair for TC 43/SC 3). This new ISO subcom- mittee will provide the vehicle for much greater participa- tion in standards by several of the ASA TCs that heretofore have not been greatly involved in standards. These TCs clearly include underwater acoustics, animal bioacoustics, and acoustical oceanography.
Operation of the S committees
Figure 1 illustrates the component parts to the structure of an S committee or subcommittee. The committee includes
a chair, a vice chair, voting member organizations, and indi- vidual experts. Note that the memberships of these commit- tees are organizations with a direct and material interest in the subject matter of that committee. Organizations include large manufacturers such as John Deere and GM, industry groups such as the Air-conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), professional societies such as the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), government laboratories and regulatory bodies, universities, consultants, and consumer advocates, etc. These are the organizations that vote. They accomplish their partic- ipation by appointing a representative and an alternate to the committee or subcommittee, and these appointed represen- tatives cast their vote and otherwise participate on behalf of the organizations that they represent. Individual experts and others are able to comment on documents, but, ultimately, it is the vote of the membership that determines the outcome of a ballot.
The committee is assisted in its operation by various groups. Primary are the working groups which perform the basic work in drafting and revising standards. Working groups are made up of a chair, sometimes a vice chair or co- chair, and a group of technical experts. The working group drafts the standard, but they do not vote on the result. All voting is done by the committee.
Figure 2 illustrates the ANSI standards development process that is used in our S committees. Some of the important points to note are the ballots and the process that surrounds them. The first ballot is for approval of a proposed new work effort. If successful, the new work effort is allocated to an existing WG or to a new WG. The WG develops a draft document, and when the working group chair feels that the document is sufficiently com- plete, it is transmitted to the committee chair for ballot. If the S committee chair and vice chair concur, the draft stan- dard goes to the membership of the committee for ballot. If during the ballot, there are negative positions by members, experts or others participating in the review, it is the job of the working group chair, sometimes assisted by the work- ing group membership and others, to attempt to resolve the negative positions.
Changes to a draft standard based on valid comments can range from virtually none to very extensive. This great range of changes leads to 3 possible outcomes from ballot. It can be that there are no substantive negative positions. In
12 Acoustics Today, January 2012