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    Safety Codes and Standards


    ASME's Breadth of Offerings
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    ASME offers the public and private sectors a comprehensive portfolio of safety‑related standards. These standards help enhance safety by providing guidance for the design, manufacture, installation, construction, operation, and maintenance of equipment. 
     


    The Industry Speaks about ASME Safety Codes and Standards

    In terms of importance of ASME Codes and Standards across the entire spectrum, it's important to recognize the Society publishes something over 500 standards. They affect equipment and comfort features of our lives every way and every day, from a heating system, a cooling system, an elevator, an escalator, elements of your automobiles, bolts, nuts, fasteners, plumbing, the list is endless. But these are safety aspects that contribute to the quality of life. In part, this is what engineers do. So while much of the populous may never realize that their life is touched and impacted by ASME Codes and Standards, rare is the day that it isn't.
    — James W. Coaker, Coaker & Co. PC

    Our intention is safety. We want make sure that everybody else in the industry does the same thing. And you can only do that by having a uniform standard, because otherwise everyone will have their own interpretations of how safety should be implemented. The standards create a baseline for safety in the broadest context and this contribution is immeasurably valuable ...Because of the consensus process we have over here—which has a tremendous amount of scrutiny and a tremendous amount of thought and effort involved in the upfront process of developing standards—the standards are of an extremely high quality.
    — Louis Bialy, Former Director, Worldwide Codes & Standards, Otis Elevator Co.

    I think the ASME Codes and Standards committees' most important work is to be able to provide consistency throughout the nation and through North America…An elevator is an elevator and if you build an elevator in California, you should be able to sell it in Ohio, and if you build it in Ohio, you should be able to sell it in Ontario. As such, I think the consistency across the board with the North American standards has allowed that to occur; provide a base level of safety, and allow each jurisdiction to be able to enforce it properly.
    — Norman B. Martin, Former Chief Elevator Inspector, State of Ohio


    Participating on ASME Codes and Standards Committees

    The success of ASME Codes & Standards is founded on enduring relationships with stakeholders in a broad range of industries. Our most valuable assets are our relationships with the volunteer members who serve on Codes & Standards committees. ASME Safety Codes and Standards are developed in a committee setting to ensure balanced participation and open access to public interest groups.

    Committee Composition

    ASME safety committee(s) and supporting technical subcommittee(s) consist of experts from various stake-holder groups, who provide their time and resources on a voluntary basis. The success of ASME codes and standards is based on technical and operational experience from stakeholders drawn from a broad range of industries. Volunteer members who participate on ASME committee(s) play a vital role in ensuring that the safety and design requirements contained in the standards remain relevant to the ever-changing work environment and equipment. They also gain unique opportunities to expand their professional networks and technical resources.

    Membership Participation

    There are no fees or geographical restrictions associated with membership on ASME Committee activities and ASME membership, while desirable, is not required.

    Applicants are selected based primarily on technical expertise, ability to participate in committee activities, business interest of the organization, and committee size limits. 

    ASME uses an internet-based, voting-and-tracking system, which allows committee members and other interest parties to participate in ongoing business from anywhere in the world. The committee meets on an on-going basis, as needed, to discuss changing industry needs and best operational practices.

    Before submitting your application, we recommend contacting the appropriate staff engineer, which can be found by clicking on the respective committee link listed below.   The application process varies by committee, but in all cases you must submit a Personnel Form (PF-1) and a signed  Participation Acknowledgment Form (PAF). Note: Upon completion of the PF-1 application, you will be asked to electronically sign the PAF.


    About ASME Safety Codes and Standards

    ASME plays an active role in protecting the public through the development of Safety Codes and Standards, which are managed by the Board on Safety Codes and Standards (BSCS). The BSCS is responsible for the management of all ASME activities related to codes, standards, and accreditation and certification programs directly applicable to safety codes, safety standards, and related accreditation and certification activities. The BSCS oversees the following committees. The links provided below for each committee contains additional details including staff contact information. 


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