PART 10-PROCEDURES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF VOLUNTARY PRODUCT STANDARDS

Sec.

10.0 General.

10.1

10.2

10.3

10.4

10.5

10.6

10.7

10.8

10.9

Procedure for acceptance of recommended standard.

Standing Committee for published

product standard.

Publication of standard.

Reference to a standard.

Revision or amendment of a standard. 10.10 Withdrawal of a published standard. 10.11 Effect of procedures.

AUTHORITY: The provisions of this Part 10 issued under the Act of March 3, 1901, ch. 872, sec. 2, 31 Stat. 1449; as amended by the Act of July 22, 1950, ch. 486, sec. 1, 64 Stat. 371 (15 U.S.C. 272); Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946, Part VI.

SOURCE: The provisions of this Part 10 appear at 30 F.R. 15288, Dec. 10, 1965.

(a) Introduction. (1) The participation by the Federal Government in the development of voluntary standards for products, processes, and materials is recognized as a service to the public. Activity in this area is defined in Part VI of the Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1946 and Department Order No. 90, revised January 30, 1964. Such standards may cover terms, classes, sizes (including body sizes for wearing apparel), dimensions, capacities, quality levels, performance criteria, testing equipment, and test procedures.

(2) The Department of Commerce recognizes the importance, the advantages, and the benefits of standardization activities. Economic growth is promoted through the reduction of production costs and of inventory and distribution costs and the simplification of installation and

use.

(b) Requirements for Department of Commerce participation. The Department of Commerce (hereinafter referred to as "The Department") will participate in the development of a voluntary standard when the standard is deemed appropriate, in that it—

(1) Is not contrary to the public interest,

(2) Has national effect or implication, (3) Has apparent industry-wide interest or endorsement, and

(4) Is not such that it can be processed according to needs or desires of the industry by a nationally recognized private standardizing body.

(c) Role of the Department. The Department, in responding to a specific request from industry, assists in the establishment of a voluntary standard through the following:

(1) Acts as an unbiased coordinator in the development of the standard.

(2) Provides editorial assistance in the preparation of the standard.

(3) Supplies such assistance and review as is required to assure the technical soundness of the standard.

(4) Sees that the standard is representative of the views of producers, distributors, users, and consumers.

(5) Seeks satisfactory adjustment of valid points of disagreement.

(6) Publishes the standard.

(7) Establishes a hallmark which may be used on or for products that meet the requirements set forth in the standard.

(d) Role of industry. One or more segments of an industry contribute to the development of a voluntary standard as follows:

(1) Initiate and participate in the development of a standard.

(2) Provide technical counsel on a standard.

(3) Promote the use of, and support for, the standard.

§ 10.1

Initiating development of new standard.

(a) Any group of manufacturers, distributors, consumers, users, or testing laboratories, or any State or Federal agency concerned with a particular product, may request the Department to participate in the development and publication of a voluntary standard for that product under the procedures set forth in this part. Any request shall be in writing, and shall be signed by a representative of the group or agency, and forwarded to the Department. The request shall contain the following information:

(1) The purpose and scope of a suggested standard.

(2) A succinct statement of the need for the suggested standard and why it is desirable that the standard be developed through the Department of Commerce procedures.

(3) A statement of reasons why the suggested standard would be in the public interest.

(4) Available technical data essential to the suggested standard and its further development, such as physical, mechanical, chemical or performance requirements, and production figures for the common stock varieties.

(5) Any other information which may be necessary as a basis for discussion by others.

(6) The names and addresses of the members of the group making the request if it is not a nationally recognized group.

The initial request may be accompanied by a copy of a draft of the suggested standard.

(b) If a request meeting the foregoing criteria is received by the Department and the Department determines that it would not be contrary to the public interest to develop a standard for the product, the Department may initiate the development of the standard by requesting that a draft of the suggested standard be prepared by an appropriate technical committee, if one has not been submitted by the proponent group.

§ 10.2 Development of proposed standard.

(a) The proposed standard as submitted to the Department shall—

(1) Be based on adequate technical information,

(2) Include performance criteria and test procedures which are adequate and can be readily understood and applied to products to determine conformance or nonconformance with the standard by any competent testing laboratory,

(3) Be not contrary to the public interest,

(4) Be generally acceptable by the producers, distributors, consumers, and users of the product,

(5) Be technically sound, and, (6) Be in the proper form. A proposed standard that fulfills these requirements may be submitted to the Department for further development.

(b) A proposed standard that meets the criteria set forth in paragraph (a) of this section, will be subjected to an impartial technical review by an appropriate individual or agency (Government or nongovernment, but not associated with the proponent group).

(c) A proposed standard may be made available for public comment and may be circulated by the Department to appropriate producers, distributors, users, consumers, and other interested groups for consideration and comments.

(d) The proponent group, or technical committee when appropriate, will consider all comments and suggestions received by the Department as a result of any circulation, and will recommend adjustments in the proposal that are technically sound and that will secure the greatest acceptance of the standard by the industry.

§ 10.3

Establishment of the Standard Review Committee.

(a) The Department will establish a Standard Review Committee within a reasonable time after receiving a proposed standard as revised in light of comment. The Committee will be made up of qualified representatives of producers, distributors, and consumers or users of the product for which a standard is sought and any other appropriate gen'eral interest groups. The Committee may remain in existence for a period necessary for the final development of the standard, or for 2 years, whichever is less. Alternates to committee members may be appointed by the Department if deemed necessary by the Committee and the Department.

(b) The Department shall be responsible for the organization of the Committee and the procedures under which it functions.

§ 10.4 Development of a recommended

standard.

(a) The Standard Review Committee, with the guidance and assistance of the Department and, if appropriate, the technical reviewer designated under § 10.2(b), shall review an adjusted proposed standard promptly, and, when the Committee finds that the proposal meets the requirements set forth in § 10.2(a), it may recommend the proposal for acceptance under § 10.5.