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NIST Extends FQA Implementation Date Until Oct. 25
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Fasteners
NIST Extends FQA Implementation Date Until Oct. 25
NIST announced on June 24, 1998, that the implementation date for the Fastener Quality Act of 1990--scheduled for July 26, 1998--is being extended because the agency projects that there will be an insufficient number of laboratories accredited in time to perform the volume of inspection and testing required by the act. A Federal Register notice detailing the extension was published on June 30, 1998.
NIST is extending the FQA implementation date by 90 days to allow most of the remainder of the nearly 580 laboratories who have applied for accreditation to complete the process. The new date is Oct. 25, 1998. Approximately 250 laboratories have been accredited to date.
For more information on the FQA and the implementation date extension, contact Subhas G. Malghan, (301) 975-5120, fax: (301) 975-5414. Additional information--including the current list of accredited testing laboratories--is available on the FQA web site at http://www.nist.gov/fqa.
Media Contact:
Michael E. Newman (301) 975-3025
Building Research
Round Is More Sound for UV Weathering of Materials
Once in a while it really does make sense to put a square peg in a round hole. A Chicago company, Atlas Electric Devices Co., recently signed an exclusive license to a NIST invention that tests a wide range of organic building and construction materials using a spherical chamber instead of the previously used cylindrical version.
Many companies use ultraviolet chambers to induce artificial weathering of building and construction materials in order to estimate durability over long periods of time. However, these test results can be inconsistent and difficult to replicate.
Researchers in NIST's Building and Fire Research Laboratory produced a novel way to get better results by using integrating sphere technology. The spherical chamber has a reflective inner surface that scatters UV light evenly, producing a uniform field of radiation. The sphere can be outfitted with apertures, which allows adjacent chambers to receive precisely the same amount and intensity of UV light. This lets researchers test several different samples of the same material under precisely the same UV light conditions while independently controlling other factors such as temperature, humidity and mechanical loading.
For technical information, contact Joannie W. Chin, B350 Building Research Bldg., NIST, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-0001, (301) 975-6815.
Media Contact:
Philip Bulman (301) 975-5661
Quality
Survey Says 'Globalization' Among Top CEO Challenges
While U.S. business leaders believe that becoming a global company is an important trend, they also believe most U.S. companies are only doing a fair job at it, according to a survey on leadership challenges for the 21st century. The private-sector Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award commissioned the survey of chief executive officers in a broad range of U.S. companies and other organizations.
Most of those surveyed said the Baldrige program was extremely or very valuable in stimulating improvements in quality (79 percent) and competitiveness (67 percent) in U.S. businesses. In addition to becoming a global company, five other trends affecting large U.S. companies were determined to be "major" by more than 70 percent of the respondents: improving knowledge management (88 percent); cost and cycle-time reduction (79 percent); improving supply chains globally (78 percent); manufacturing at multiple locations in many countries (76 percent); and managing the use of more part-time, temporary and contract workers (71 percent).
The results from the more than 300 CEOs who responded were tabulated and analyzed by Louis Harris and Associates Inc.
A copy of the survey results is available by faxing a request to the NIST Public and Business Affairs Division at (301) 926-1630, sending an e-mail message to media@nist.gov or connecting to the World Wide Web at http://www.quality.nist.gov/ ceo-rpt.htm.
Media Contact:
Jan Kosko (301) 975-2767
Manufacturing
NIST Director Praises Electronics Industry Technology Roadmap
NIST is committed "for the long haul" to helping the U.S. electronics sector advance its technological capabilities and strengthen its competitive performance, Raymond Kammer, the agency's director, told industry representatives attending the roadmap workshop of the National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative held recently in Chicago.
Kammer praised NEMI and its 15 "technology working groups" for efforts that will lead to a coordinated set of roadmaps encompassing the mammoth industry. By linking technology priorities in segments from starting materials to finished electronics systems, the 54-organization consortium is providing the "mortar that connects many of the industry's building block technologies," he said.
NEMI's technology planning already is having an impact on the content and direction of NIST's major programs, he said. Kammer pointed to the new focused program on microelectronics manufacturing infrastructure, launched this year by the agency's Advanced Technology Program. He also noted that the NIST Measurement and Standards Laboratories are now evaluating options for strengthening measurement support in optoelectronics, a rapidly developing area included in the NEMI roadmap.
Constructive interactions between NEMI members and government organizations notwithstanding, Kammer warned against complacency. He stressed the need for the partners to continue to cultivate research relationships and to maintain strong communication links.
Scheduled to be released in December 1998, the third iteration of the NEMI roadmap is now undergoing industry review. NEMI was launched in 1994 by government and industry partners to address weaknesses in the electronics manufacturing capabilities, especially among suppliers. The initiative is now led entirely by the private sector.
A copy of Kammer's remarks to the 1998 NEMI Roadmap Workshop held on June 23, 1998, is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.nist.gov/speeches/nemi-il.htm.
Media Contact:
Mark Bello (301) 975-3776
Microwaves
Traveling Kits Make Scattering Parameter Traceability Easier
To verify the accuracy of microwave scattering parameter data on vector network analyzers, companies often sent verification kits to NIST's Boulder, Colo., laboratory to obtain NIST-calibrated measurements. However, the customers then were faced with the task of comparing NIST's results to theirs in order to demonstrate traceability. Now, a new NIST microwave measurement service using "traveling verification kits" eliminates this step.
Instead of the previous procedure, customers measure one of NIST's kits in their environment and then send the measurement data back to NIST for analysis. A formal report from NIST compares their measurements to the agency's and details the uncertainty in the NIST assessment. Traveling verification kits are currently available in 3.5 millimeter (33 gigahertz), 2.92 millimeter (40 gigahertz) and 2.4 millimeter (50 gigahertz). A traveling kit in Type N (18 gigahertz) also will be added shortly.
Another benefit of the new measurement service is that the cost--at $2,000 per kit--is substantially less than for conventional measurements of customer-owned verification kits. For more information, contact John Juroshek, (303) 497-5362, fax: (303) 497-3970; or Denis LeGolvan, (303) 497-3210, fax: (303) 497-3970.
Media Contact:
Collier Smith (Boulder) (303) 497-3198
Fire Research
Fall Workshop Features State of the Art in Oil Spill Burning
Intentional burning is emerging as one of the best methods of reducing the damage caused by oil spills at sea. Burning removes petroleum residues quickly from the water surface, preventing the ecological destruction that would occur if these pollutants sink to the sea floor.
In 1985, NIST began studying the burning of crude oil spills in the marine environment in order to define the procedure's characteristics and document any effects on the surrounding water and air. Thirteen years later, NIST, under the sponsorship of the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service, will host a major workshop on state-of-the-art techniques for the burning of spilled oil. The workshop, to be held in New Orleans on Nov. 2-4, 1998, will emphasize environmental and human health concerns that arise from deliberate burning. The conference facility has limited space, so early registration is advised.
Register by Oct. 19, 1998, through Lori Phillips, B116 Administration Bldg., NIST, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-0001, (301) 975-4513, fax: (301) 948-2067. Electronic registration is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/confpage/981102a.htm. For technical information, contact Nora H. Jason, A252 Polymers Bldg., NIST, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-0001, (301) 975-6862, fax: (301) 975-4052.
Media Contact:
Philip Bulman (301) 975-5661
Optics
NIST Meeting First to Address Measuring Optical Radiation Hazards
Industrial physicists, health physicists, safety and lighting engineers are among those who may benefit from a first-of-its-kind International Symposium on Measurements of Optical Radiation Hazards. The meeting will be held Sept. 1-3, 1998, at NIST's headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md. It is co-sponsored by the International Commission on Illumination, the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection, the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, and NIST.
The objective of the symposium is to promote improved standardized radiometric measurements of optical radiation hazards from ultraviolet, visible and infrared radiation sources. Experts also will cover radiometric assessment of protective measures such as sunscreens, clothing and eye protection. Day one of the symposium will be devoted to reviewing the photobiological basis of human exposure guidelines. The second day will cover the rationale and remaining uncertainties in human exposure limits and guidelines. Finally, day three of the symposium will cover measurements and instrumentation.
Registration information is available from Lori Phillips, B116 Administration Bldg., NIST, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-0001, (301) 975-4513, fax: (301) 948-2067. Information on the symposium also can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/confpage/980901.htm.
Media Contact:
Linda Joy (301) 975-4403
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Editor: Michael Newman
HTML conversion: Crissy Wines
Last updated: July 16, 1998
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