For over 100 years, industries worldwide have depended on ASME for the promulgation of technically sound and state of art codes and standards. Participation by volunteer members in the standards development process, with the support of their employers, is the foundation of ASME Codes & Standards.

In addition to making valuable contributions to industry, Codes & Standards participation also benefits the participants, their employers, and the general public.

Benefits to Participants - Participants can have a significant influence on the direction and quality of Codes & Standards. Representation by many different organizations from around the world in the standards development process ensures that all interests are fully considered. Contributing to Codes & Standards committees is personally and professionally rewarding; these personal rewards include those derived from the following opportunities:

• Interacting with and learn from the foremost technical experts in a given field.
• Creating a personal network of contacts for valuable technical advice.
• Becoming aware of revisions to standards prior to publication
• Becoming aware of technical issues in the industry, and learning how others are dealing with them. Participants are able to avoid similar problems within their own organizations or prepare solutions in advance.
• Becoming intimately knowledgeable with the codes and standards used in a particular industry. Participants are able to be more thorough and confident in their application of code rules, leading to increased efficiency and the ability to get work done expeditiously.
• Realizing the satisfaction of having one’s work incorporated into a globally recognized standard.
• Gaining experience in the arts of consensus building and teamwork.
• Learning how to run meetings that are productive and focused.
• Developing technical leadership skills by heading up a task group, subcommittee, or standards committee.
• Enhancing communication skills and the ability to persuade others in a technical forum.
• Broadening their understanding of other segments of their industry, both in the U.S. and globally.
• Receiving complimentary access to the ASME Codes & Standards related to committee work.
• Becoming familiar with the ASME Electronic Tools, including the C&S Connect portal for access to document and revision status, balloting, and more.
• Satisfying requirements for “continuing education” or “professional development hours” in some parts of the world. Within the U.S., this may include the specific State requirements for Professional Engineering registration.
  

Benefits to Supporting Organizations
Organizations realize direct and indirect benefits when they support the membership of their employees active in ASME Codes & Standards. These benefits include:

• Ensuring that the organization’s interests, practices, and experience are thoroughly considered in developing and updating requirements in Codes & Standards.
• Reducing the risk that a code or standard will contain requirements that are incompatible with your products or services. This could help avoid costly design, fabrication, pattern, and tooling modifications, while gaining the ability to implement early compliance with critical requirements.
• Improving the business, technical, leadership and communication skills of the participants, which in turn increases their performance and contribution as employees.
• Ensuring that your organization is aware of revisions to standards and an understanding of the technical basis.
• Attaining early and ongoing awareness of technical issues in the industry and how others are dealing with them, permitting organizations to avoid these issues or prepare solutions in advance.
• Improving their employee’s understanding of applicable Codes & Standards, allowing organizations to be more thorough and confident in their application of rules and leading to increased efficiency and reduced cost.
• Enhancing knowledge of ASME services.
• Gaining opportunities for shared participation in research and development.
• Realizing new benchmarking opportunities.
• Interacting with other technical experts from around the world.
• Providing input for related International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards development in certain industries.
  

Benefits to the Public

• Enhancing public health, safety and welfare.
• Reducing barriers to trade, reducing the cost of goods and services worldwide.

Here are some specific examples of how individuals, companies, and industries have benefited from ASME Codes & Standards committee participation.

Specific Case Illustrations

• Changes in a standard have resulted in products that are less expensive and higher quality.
• “Special” requirements in company specifications have been reduced, resulting in improved service life and reduced cost all without reducing safety or reliability.
• Employing performance-based approaches within Codes & Standards have resulted in less costly changes to an organization’s manufacturing process and to the cost of using the product.
• A pending change to a standard was incorporated into a new product line that resulted in virtually no extra cost to the organization.
• Design changes incorporated into new products, based on pending changes to a standard, have resulted in earlier product releases.
• Early knowledge of a new Code Case has saved organizations money on various projects.
• Solutions to many proprietary conflicts with Codes & Standards have been found through committee discussion.