Page 15 - Volume 8, Issue 1 Winter 2013

this case the standard is approved as-is with possible edito- rial corrections. It can be that there are several technical changes that are agreed upon in order to reverse negative positions. In this case, a 30-day review of the suggested changes is conducted. During this 30-day review any mem- ber can reverse the positive position based on the changes made. This can lead to more changes and another 30-day review. Sometimes the technical changes are so great that the draft standard is a substantially new document, and a new ballot is conducted.
At about the same time that the ballot is taking place within the S committee, the draft standard is put forward by ANSI for public review and comment. Rarely are such com- ments received but a response must be made and accommo- dations as deemed necessary.
The goal is to develop a consensus. A consensus is much more than a plurality. In the case of the standards developed by the ASA, our procedures mandate 80% or greater concur- rence, but we strive for, and often achieve, 100% in favor of the standard.
To keep standards up to date and relevant there is also a five-year review and reaffirmation process. Basically, the committee membership is called upon to review the docu- ment and to vote as to whether the document should be re- affirmed as is, revised, or rescinded.
The primary documents developed by an S committee are American National Standards. In recent years, there are increasing numbers of nationally adopted international stan- dards (NAIS). When a technical area is too new or contro- versial for standardization, or a standard is otherwise impractical, there is the option of developing a technical report using the consensus process just discussed in this sec-
tion. To date, the development of technical reports is very rare, occurring perhaps once per decade.
ASACOS
The Acoustical Society of America Committee on Standards (ASACOS) provides the governance to the stan- dards program. Day-to-day decisions and general policy are developed by the executive committee which includes stan- dards director, the chair and vice chair of ASACOS, and the standards manager. Financial and technical policy are devel- oped, by consensus, by the ASACOS steering committee, which includes the members of the executive committee plus chairs and vice chairs of the S committees and subcommittee. The full ASACOS committee includes the members of the steering committee plus a representative from each technical committee of ASA. This committee reviews the budget, approves the nomination report, provides further technical and policy direction, and provides communications in both directions between the standards program and the respective technical committees.
Summary
In summary, the standards program in ASA has an 82- year history. It was instituted along with the Journal and tech- nical meetings soon after the ASA was founded in 1929. With the recent additions of S3/SC 1 and TC 43/SC 3, the stan- dards program now spans almost a full breadth of ASA. The accredited procedures of ANSI that are used by the S com- mittees provide for rigorous, transparent process for the development of standards. Finally, it should be clear that standards are one of the primary ways that the ASA promotes the practical application of acoustics.AT
Paul Schomer and his grandson.
Paul D. Schomer, Standards Director for the ASA, has over 40 years of experience, publications, and patents in the areas of environmental noise and its assessment, human and communi- ty response to noise, instrumentation and methodology for the measurement and monitoring of noise, sound propagation, and acoustical measurements of building parameters.
14 Acoustics Today, January 2012