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Engineering Codes, Standards,

and Regulations

Hodge Jenkins, Ph.D., P.E.

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Richard O. Mines, Jr., Ph.D., P.E.,

F. ASCE, F. EWRI, F. ASEE

Professor of Environmental Engineering and

Director of MSE & MS Programs

Mercer University

Standard A standard is "[t]he definition of terms;

classification of components; delineation of

procedures; specification of dimensions,

materials, performance, designs, or operations;

measurement of quality and quantity in

describing materials, processes, products,

systems, services, or practices; test methods

and sampling procedures; or descriptions of fit

and measurements of size or strength.“

http://www.csemag.com/single-article/code-or-

standard/6b11e1ef3b1bc0ebcacc1915fd1a33a5.html

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Code and Specifications

• Code is a standard that has been enacted

into law by a local, state, or national authority

having jurisdiction so that the engineer and

contractor is legally obligated to comply with

the code.

• Specifications are quantitative,

measurable criteria that the product is

designed to satisfy; may refer to a

procedure, process, material, product, or

service primarily used in manufacturing and

procurement.

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Technical Regulation

• A technical regulation is a Government

document that lays down product

characteristics or their related processes and

production methods, including the applicable

administrative provisions, with which compliance

is mandatory.

• A mandatory government requirement that

defines the characteristics and/or performance

requirements of a product, service, or product. http://www.intracen.org/Part-3-Difference-between-standards-and-technical-

regulations/

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Why Standards and Codes?

• Standardization:

– Parts from various vendors must fit together

– Common set of design specifications

– Consistent quality

• e.g., Pipe wall thickness, schedule 40

• Wire sizes, nail sizes, bolt sizes

• Safety and Legal Enforcement of Safety

– Building safety, fire prevention and protection

– Individual and public safety

• e.g., Safe drinking water, clean air, solid waste disposal

• Specifications

– May require a design or device follow a code or standard 5

Standards Needed for Function • Functional Based

– 110V/60Hz or 220V/50Hz

– Piping (Schedule 40, 50, …)

• Professional Society Based

– ANSI (American National Standards Institute)

– ASCE (Measurement of O2 Transfer in Clean

Water).

– ASME (Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code)

– Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers:

communication standards

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Standardization of Parts • All mass produced products must meet several

standards.

• IEEE has several standards for electronics.

• International Organization for

Standardization (ISO): published over 21000

International Standards that can be purchased from

the ISO store or from our members.

• U.S. ANSI (American National Standards

Institute) pipe standards:

– Diameters, thickness, materials, flange bolt

patterns 7

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Standards become the Law

• Legal Requirements in U.S. and Globally

– UL listed (Safety organization: formerly called

Underwriters Laboratories , CSA: Compliance,

Safety, and Accountability

– ANSI, Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) ,

IOS, DIN (German Institute for Standardization)

• Environmental Protection Agency, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

– Code of Federal Regulations

• Building Codes, National Electric Codes, etc. 9

Some Background of Standards

• U.S. federal government is the largest

single creator & user of standards> 45,000

• About 210 organizations are designated

“Standard Development Organizations

(SDO’s)”

• Approximately 90% of most standards

come from 20 of these SDO’s.

• ASTM, ASME, IEEE, ASCE, U.S. Military

Standard (Mil Specs) are some examples.

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Partial List of Who Makes

Standards & Codes • AA Aluminum Association

• AASHTO American Association of State Highway and

Transportation Officials

• ACI American Concrete Institute

• AISC American Institute of Steel Construction

• BOCA Building Officials and Code Administrators

• FAA Federal Aviation Administration

• ISO International Organization for Standardization

• MIL SPEC United States Military

• OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration

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Taking Standards Global!

• ANSI and U.S. National Committee (USNC) are

the U.S. clearing house for Standards and a

founding member of ISO.

• Internally, there are Standards Organizations in

every major Industrial Nation and several

umbrella groups:

– International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

– International Electrochemical Commission (IEC)

– International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

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How Standards Are Used

• A “Communication” tool that allows all users to speak the

same language about products and processes.

• A “LEGAL” or at least enforceable means to evaluate

acceptability & sale-ability of products and/or services.

• They can be taught and applied globally!

• Ultimately, designed to protect the public from

questionable design, products, and practices.

• They teach us as engineers, how we can best meet

environmental, health, safety, an societal responsibilities.

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Common Everyday Standards

• Fasteners (#10-24 UNC bolt, M8 bolt) www.acfcom.com

• Plumbing sizes (Schedule 30, 40…) Schedule 40 Aluminum

Pipes: 4" NOM. (4.5" OD x 0.237" Wall x 4.026" ID) Wall thickness

• Lumber sizes (24 is not the actual dimensions)

• Electrical wire sizes (12, 14, 16 Gauge)

• Electrical service (110VAC, 60 HZ or 220VAC, 50 Hz)

• Air pollution controls: Vehicle inspections (Catalytic

converters)

• Building codes

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1 11 3

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ISO Standards

15 http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards.htm

American Society for Testing

and Materials

16 https://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/101059

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ASTM Standards

17 https://www.nde-ed.org/GeneralResources/Standards/ASTMStandards.htm

ASTM International

• American Society for Testing and

Materials

• Over 12,000 ASTM standards operate

globally.

• https://www.astm.org/

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ASME Standards

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https://www.asme.org/about-

asme/standards

Examples of Use of Codes and Standards

for Students in Mechanical Engineering

and Other Fields

American Society for Quality (ASQ)

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https://asq.org/

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IEEE Standards • Power and energy

• Biomedical and healthcare

• Information Technology (IT)

• Telecommunications,

• Transportation,

• Nanotechnology,

• Information assurance,

• Many more

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_of_Electrical_and_Electronics_Engineers

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Georgia EPD

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https://epd.georgia.gov/existing-rules-and-

corresponding-laws

Environmental Standards

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Cradle to Grave

Thinking for an Engineer

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Drafting Standards

25 https://webstore.ansi.org/

ISO 1101 Geometric Dimension

and Tolerancing Standard

• http://www.mh.ttu.ee/priitp/Masinaelemend

id/Lisamaterjalid/ISO1101.pdf

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Source of Standards

27 https://global.ihs.com/?rid=IHS

Ethics for Engineers

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Health & Safety Standards

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Conclusions

• There are many codes and regulations that

must be considered when working in the

engineering profession.

• Keeping up to date on Standards is a part of

Life-Long-Learning. These will affect your

project or process.

• Each team MUST have a section in their

PDR Document (brief but thorough) on

applicable standards and specifications

for your project. 30