New Britain herald., 1923-01-09
YEAR 1922 WAS ONE
 Of GREAT PROGRESS
More Activity Than Any Previous
 Period in U. s. History

standards committee. The committee Is a federation composed Of national technical societies. six departments Of ahe federal government, and the Drincipal trade associations in the country. Mir. Whitney Is its chair man, and It's iabers are all in the d. section of standardization. Notable progress was E.ade during the year In standsrdixation Of raw materials, or manufacturing processes. and Of fin- ished products by individual firms. by industrial and technical associations, and by bodies that are working on national and international lines.
 One of the most far-reachinE ac. complishments of the year. Mir, Whit ney declares. was the organization. on a working basis. of the federal speci- hcations board which develops and approves the specifications under which all government purchases are made. and the development Of plan Of cooperation between this board and the American engineering stand. ards committee: the carrying out Of this plan should go ia. toward elim- mating the difference between speclfi- cations for government purchases and specifications for ordinary commercial supplies and should thereby result in the saving of millions of dollars both for the government and for industry.
 The organization of Secretary Hoov- CTS division of simpiined practice and It's entrance into the industrial field has had a highly stimulating effect on the industrial standardization movement and has helped in particu- lar to press home to the business man that standardization is one of the main approaches to efficiency and the elimination of waste. The division of simplified practice has already brought about standardization of paw ing brick. of beds. mattresses and springs and of metal lath. It now has under way the standardization of lumber and other products. The dis tinction between the basis for this work and that of the American en- gineering standards committee lies in the fact that the division of sini- plifed practice devOtes itself partic- ularly to that part of the field in which decisions must be made on a non-technical basis.
 Great advances have been made by industry itself on the more technical side. More than 120 standardization undertakings now have an official status before the American engineer ing standards committee. 43 of them having been initiated within the last year; this is an increase of more than 50 per cent. Of the 2S industrial standards developed and approved by the American engineering standards committee since it's organization in 1918, IS were approved within the past year. The efforts to develop na- tional safety codes. which have been under way for number of years. be- gan for the first time to bear fruit. The following six safety codes, point ing the way to the elimination of the most serious classes of industrial acci- dents. were approved during the year:
 Safety code for the use. care and protection of abrasive wheels;
 Safety code for the protection of in- dustrial workers in foundries;
 Safety code for power presses, foot and hand presses;
 National electrical safety codes;
 Safety code for the protection of heads and eyes of industrial workers;
 Specifications for the testing and use of permissible explosives.
 Another outstanding accomplish nent in the industrial standardization work of this year was the develop ment of the "standardization-b by -con- ference" idea, in which all of the interests involved In the subject, in- cluding producers, consumers, and representatives of the public and gov ernment, participate in deciding: first. whether a standardization project is to be undertaken. and, second, what it's scope shall be and it's relation to other standardization work.
 The year 1922 saw also the devel- opment of an increased interest in in- dustrial standardization and an in- creased appreciation of its effect on production efficiency. distribution of costs, and consumer demand, on the part of such important commercial bodies as the International Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Con- merce of the United States, and the New York State Chamber of Con- merce. It is highly desirable, &C., cording to Mir. Whitney, that such cooperation should be maintained if American industry is to be given the commercial advantages which will correspond to those that are being de- veloped through standardization in Germany and England and other for eign countries.
 The last year saw important de- velopments in international standardi- zation. There are now national stan dardizaton bodies in IS foreign coun- tries and a report recently received by the American engineering stan dards committee indicates that plans are under way for the development of such work in each of the South American republics.
 One of the most encouraging de- velopments of the year has been the growth of interest in standardization and sinplifcation among the many trade associations of America. These associations. representing large groups of. producers and consumers. have ex- tremely favorable opportunities both for developing industrial standards and for putting them into effect.
 It is universally recognized that standardization is legitimate and constructive activity of trade associa- tions. he clarifcation of the legal as- poets of the question by the pubica- ton in the early part of the year of the correspondence between the at- torney-general and Secretary Hoover has done much to foster and extend standardization activity among trade associations.