N.Z. STANDARDS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 40, 17 February 1937, Page 18

N.Z. STANDARDS

MINISTER'S SURVEY

MANY ACTIVITIES

A survey of the activities of the New Zealand Standards Institute was made by the Minister of Industries and Commerce (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan) m a statement issued to the Press last night. "Since the Government took over Ihe activities of the New Zealand Standtids Institute and established it as., a branch of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research a great deal of very valuable work has beeiU completed and much more is: in progress." said Mr. Sullivan. "The wide ramifications of standards and the great benefits which their adoption' will confer upon the public will become increasingly apparent as the work of the institute is extended and developed. The previous organisation was dissolved in August, 1936, and the new organisation has been in operation only a few months. Since that time, however, a great deal had been achieved." This is indicated in the following bulletin which is the first of a series that will be issued under the authority of the Minister showing what is being done: — The New Zealand Standards Institution dissolved on August 18, 1936, and thereupon its functions were transferred to the newly constituted Standards Institute, under the aegis of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research • OVERSEA CONTACTS. Contact was established with the following oversea organisations: British Standards , Institution, Standards Association of Australia, American Standards Association, American Society for Testing Materials, Standards Organisation of the U.S.S.R., South African; Standards Institution, and the Canadian Engineering Standards Association, advising them of the change that had taken place and soliciting their continued co-operation on ' the .same basis of reciprocity as hitherto.) The spirit of these communcations I was reciprocated by the bodies con-1, cerned and regular contact has since been maintained, with the "result that wfe have received valuable material, suggestions and co-operation from these sister organisations. A plan of organisation was formulated' closely resembling that of the New" Zealand Standards Institution, now dissolved. The Minister appointed'2o members, representative of Government departments, local .bodies and outside organisations to constitute the advisory council, with Mr. A. E. Galbraith, F.R.S.E., M.lnst.C.E., as ' chairman.! .The first' meeting of this body took place on September 1, 1936, when a-number of committees was appointed,- Some further cqmmittees were appointed by the advisory council at its; second meeting on November 25, 1936, and to date 33 committees, incliidihg .10 • subcommittees, have been instituted, together with some 40 projects "which they have under review or!in course of development. Since, the first. meeting of the advisory council 28 committee meetings have-taken place, at which useful inaugural work has been acomplished, and the thanks of the advisory council is;extended to all those who have so fully collaborated in this important work. 'BRITISH SPECIFICATIONS. .One hundred and seventy-six draft specifications, received principally from the British Standards Institution, but including several - from the Standards Association of Australia, have been reviewed by the committees, and at their instigation over 900 copies of these have been, or are in course, of being, widely circulated to all affected interests. The comments received are correlated and submitted to the respective committees for final consideration, upon which they base their recommendations to the advisory' council in fayour of the adoption, amendment, or rejection of the drafts so far as this Dominion is concerned. The decision of the advisory council in regard to the suitability of the various draft specifications is conveyed to the overseas -bodies from which they have origin,ated, together with a summary of the upon which such decision is 'fbased. At a meeting of the advisory on November 25, 1936, recommendations for the adoption of the following specifications were approved:— -B.S. No. 7073, straight pipettes; 7074 I-bolt head flasks; 7075, conical flasks; t8259, determination of viscosity in ab-.-solute units; 9870 - density bottles; 4946. Tbrewers' flasks; '7922, Kjeldahl flasks; 'also 171 aircraft-specifications. These fwill become New Zealand standards 'with the"confirmation of this approval 'at the next-meeting of the.council, subject "to /the endorsement of the Minister fof Scientific, and Industrial' Research. SERVICJE OPEN TO ALL. .. '.' The basis -of the organisation that thas been developed is sufficient to en•■able the New Zealand Standards" Institute to render a very useful service w "Government Departments; local bodies; industrial, trade, and. other - organisations, and it invites.all concerned to ■make the fullest use of this service. ' » - A complete card index has' been m"stituted, fully indexing and crossindexing the standard specifications 'originating from the following overseas .'-bodies:—British Standards Institution, '"American Standards Association, Ame.rican Society for 'Testing Materials, ■Standards Association of Australia, ; South African Standards Institution, -and the Canadian Engineering Stand"ards Association, and also relevant re- ' ports which supplement the mformaUion contained in the respective standspecifications. This recording system will facilitate the supply of rele•vant information in response to inquiries which will be welcomed. . The continued co-operation and collaboration of all affected interests will tie very much appreciated-and'will afsist to make available to this Dominion the great advantages which accrue trom the development and use of standard specifications, which is being.j=o freely availed of in other important countries of the world. WORK OF COMMITTEES. •' Particulars of the committees instituted and the work on which they are engaged arc as follows:— • Building Divisional Committee.—Examination of 21 draft specifications and the development of the timber section of the building code, which is much needed to establish a basis for uniform building practice. This committee has three sub-committees engaged in promulgating standards .for plumbing supplies timber and paints ■and coatings. The advantage of eliminating unnecessary variation in sizes and cuts of timber and establishing some measure of uniformity m QuaWy will be readily appreciated, and. similarly with paints. It is very desirable that people should be in a position .to distinguish that high-quality paint which will afford protection over, a Saxlmum period from the inferior pjdnt which will afford protection for, in some cases, not more than half that period. Further than this, it is necessary to offer encouragement to the manufacturers and distributors of the hieher-quality1 materials. ... The Civil Engineering Divisional Committee is engaged on the examination of 37 draft specifications, while it has three sub-committees developing standards in relation to fencing wire, the steel industry, and standard conditions of contract for civil engineering works. It is, stated that the life of fencing wire Vhfch is offered for sale varies at least from twenty to forty years without the difference in price being anything like Proportionate, and tviaf- there is no means of determining lb gde?"e the quality of the wire they purchase from time to time. The eltalrlation of the superfluous sizes in steel sections may very well make all the difference to the P™3P«to tortte successful development of the steel m dustry in the Dominion. DAIRY MACHINERY. The work of the Dairy Machinery and Requisites Committee gives some indication of the supreme importance of standardisation. A standard for. milk- coolers, for instance, would- de-

terminc their efficiency upon which the good condition of the milk or cream is dependent, and without which highest quality butter or cheese could not be manufactured. The same importance attaches to dairy machinery and requisites generally, and yet without the existence of a standard there can be no means of determining the efficiency of this equipment nor a basis for comparison of relative efficiency. Yet the quality of the products of this vitally important industry relies upon a proper knowledge of these considerations, and inattention to them may seriously jeopardise our markets. These few instances evidence me fundamental importance of the work of the Standards Institute, and probably account for the emphasis that has been placed on the necessity for this work at successive Imperial Conferences. Other committees Pe«°rming equally valuable work in their respective spheres are as follows:—The mechanical engineering divisional committee, the electrical engineering divisional committee, the chemical committee, sub-committees giving attention to milk and cream cans, milk and cream coolers, rennet,- annatto, and colour the woolpacks committee, the publicity committee, the consumer standards committee (with a sub-committee giving attention to footwear), the testing facilities committee, the paper and stationery committee, the primary, products committee, the town-piannmg committee the building code committee, the public authorities and local bodies committee, to. appoint disr h y SSMnVSSSfc contact with the Standards Institute m its national capacity, to m sions relevant,to the interests of the districts concerned, and to assist generally in developing a "standards cpnfcfousness in the various communities These districts advisory committees will be constituted at the earliest opportunity. -