The advisory building code committee has been most active and influential in this field. More than $3,000,000,000 worth of construction work is carried out each year under the conditions prescribed by local building codes, and each of the committee's reports gives concise recommendations suitable for inclusion in such codes.
Standardization of building codes took a prominent position in the public mind as a result of the activities of the United States Senate committee on reconstruction and production appointed in 1920. Salient facts brought out by this committee were that there was a wide diversity in building-code requirements; that this pro ceeded from unscientific methods in preparing codes, and that large savings appeared to be possible through more uniform re quirements. These were facts already well known to many archi tects and builders, but their significance was thrown into relief by the twin evils of inadequate housing and stagnant building.
Practical attack of the problem was commenced in 1921 through the appointment by Secretary Hoover of a committee of seven architects and engineers of high professional standing to undertake thorough and impartial studies. The country needed homes.
The local code requirements for such construction appeared to be in a chaotic state. No careful investigation had been made up to this time. Accordingly a subcommittee on plumbing was appointed by Secretary Hoover and this outlined a series of tests to be carried out at the bureau. These tests were continued over a period of more than two years and the principles deduced from them were incorporated in the subcommittee's report, Recom mended Minimum Requirements for Plumbing in Dwellings and Similar Buildings, published in 1924. The report contains a rec ommended code and a complete report of the experiments at the bureau of standards.
Among the municipalities, New York city has formulated and utilized the greatest number of purchase specifications, more than 1,600 specifications for 42 different classes of commodities having been prepared for this purpose. Practically all of the work of standardization is done in the department of purchase. Recom mendations for standards are forwarded to the board of estimate and apportionment, which consists of the mayor, the controller, the president of the board of aldermen, and the five borough presi dents. Standards adopted by this board are compulsory on all city departments.
In every one of the 48 States, standards for materials used in the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges have been established by the State highway commissioners. Much of the activity in this line of standardization can be attributed to the aid given to the States by the Federal Government for the building of the main highways of the country.
1924, to Jan. 6, 1925. The general purpose of the Lima conference was to prepare the ground for co-operation in standardization be tween the republics of the Western Hemisphere and to facilitate international commerce through standardization work. No at tempt was made to undertake any technical work at the first meet ing, but co-operative relations were established and means were provided for continuing study for future work. The conference was attended by representatives from 13 countries :—Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Para guay, Peru, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela. It was the general opinion that standardization can be used by the Latin Americans in three ways : first in expediting and making more efficient their own industrial development ; secondly in improving the effectiveness of their buying in foreign countries; and thirdly in the development of better methods for producing and marketing their own raw products. The formal resolutions of the conference, as an official body, recommended that there be a convention be tween the American States, providing for co-operation in standard ization matters ; the establishment in each country of one or more organizations dealing with standardization matters, either governmental or industrial or mixed, as each may deem best ; the use for the present of the Inter-American High Commission as the channel of communication ; and the gradual compilation of a technical vocabulary in Spanish, Portuguese, English and French.
The second Pan-American standardization conference was held at Washington, May 9 to 12, 1927. Seventeen of the American republics were represented at this meeting, the programme of which was confined to standards for use in the inter-American trade in coffee, cocoa, fruits, hides, certain oil-seeds and wool. The formal recommendations concerned the organization and de velopment of the standardization work in the several countries; the establishment of appropriate agencies to fight plagues and pests affecting animal and vegetable production; the early accep tance of wool type sample standards; and the immediate devel opment of uniform specifications for agricultural products and raw materials important in inter-American trade.
The following are among the recommendations in the report of the Hoover committee : Products should be standardized so far as is consistent with progressive development of manufacturing. Ma terials should be standardized to the fewest practicable kinds, sizes and grades. At least the details of equipment, including ma chines and tools, should be standardized so as to permit of the widest interchangeability and maximum usefulness consistent with improvements in design and invention. Performance stand ards should be developed as a valuable aid to planning and produc tion control. Under the week-work system such standards are the basis of a just measurement of the individual worker's perform ance and of the adjustment of his wage rate to his capacity. Un der the piece-rate system they are the basis of just rates. Without standardization of appliances, conditions, work content and method, no valid performance standard can be maintained. By constantly comparing actual performance with the standards and promptly investigating the causes of departure from standard, the manufacturer can quickly detect adverse conditions as they creep in, and can rectify them. (R. M. H.)