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Why a Precaster’s Best Friend is the ASTM

Standard
Feb 9, 2011
2011 - January-February, Precast Inc. Magazine, Precast Magazines, Why a Precaster's Best
Friend is the ASTM Standard
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The long history of ASTM International proves that its standards are the basis for settling
disputes over product performance and testing.

By Claude Goguen, P.E.

Picture this: A sunny day along Maryland’s Atlantic coast grows warmer as an upset homeowner
nervously listens to a serious discussion among the local inspector, her defensive project
designer and a concerned precast producer. Standing around a recent excavation, their discussion
grows into a heated argument over the architect’s demand for an on-site watertightness test on
the precast concrete septic tank for the owner’s $2 million oceanfront home. The wealthy
homeowner has the ability to pay for the best septic treatment system money can buy, but she
can’t decide whom among the sparring trio to believe.

The stressed-out homeowner feels that the plumbing inspector, who says testing isn’t necessary,
should know the regulations involved, but her designer insists that he is looking out for her best
interests in demanding that the precaster run an on-site hydrostatic test to see if the tank leaks.
That sort of test would delay backfilling of the tank for another day. How does the precaster
resolve the situation to the satisfaction of all involved?
More to the point, how have designers, engineers, architects, consumers, producers, scientists
and regulators resolved critical product testing and performance issues for the last century in a
way that stands up to legal examination? The answer is: through a transparent, representative and
consensus-derived agreement. In other words, an ASTM standard. In the septic-tank testing
dispute just described, the precaster refers to ASTM Standard C1227 – 09, “Standard
Specification for Precast Concrete Septic Tanks” and saves the day, because his products already
comply with the vacuum-testing requirements in Section 9 of the standard. This section allows
for two methods of testing for leakage: vacuum testing and hydrostatic testing. The vacuum test
he performed satisfies the performance criteria; therefore, backfilling the tank can proceed.

Disagreement makes for good standards

Producers, designers and owners (or consumers) come from different perspectives regarding
products; their inherent needs are different, and so they are naturally going to disagree. In
developing an ASTM standard, contrasting product viewpoints are represented; in fact, in all
ASTM product committees, diversity in representation is mandatory. The frequently opposing
viewpoints on ASTM product committees are the necessary ingredient for creating a consensus
standard that will be found reliable and balanced in a given industry.

For example, the ASTM producer member comes to the table knowing that the standard needs to
allow room for a profit in manufacturing. The ASTM scientist or designer fields the arguments
for product strength and performance. The contractor or consumer insists on a product that is
both economical and provides good service for the money spent. Every ASTM standard, from
steel and concrete to plastic and glass, represents a balance of diverse ideas in a credible and
internationally respected approach.

Product arguments gave birth to ASTM

In the late 19th century, more than 300 years ago, heated arguments arose over steel used in
America’s railroad industry. Steel producers, locomotive builders and railroad managers were all
in an uproar over accidents caused by poor quality steel rails being supplied to the railroad
industry. Emerging technologies of the industrial revolution, like Bessemer steel, demanded new
manufacturing processes, new expertise. Old-time steel-making craft became obsolete overnight
as technology charged forward. Railroad executives were so frustrated with inferior rail steel that
they actually turned to more expensive British-made imports.

American steel manufacturers had to do something – and quickly – if they wanted to stay in
business. Naturally, steel manufacturers wanted to control their own product formulas and
processes. But after intense struggle and debate, the steel moguls realized that an industry
standard for material properties and testing that included the input from the irate railroad
engineers was desperately needed to establish acceptable product quality. More importantly than
developing a product standard, perhaps, is that steel moguls and railroad men finally realized that
a durable standard had to include input from all involved. The brainy material chemists and the
sweaty steel mill captains and the raging safety engineers all had to hash it out together for their
industry to progress as technology rumbled forward.

Just before the turn of the century, in 1898, ASTM (then known as the International Association
for Testing Materials) was born through the hard labor of many individuals and, usually, after
some disaster. ASTM is founded on the idea of developing material standards by a consensus of
all parties involved. ASTM’s consensus standard has proven itself for more than a century.
Whenever there is a disagreement about a product or material, whenever engineers analyze
structural failure, whenever there is a problem with product performance, whenever a judge
wants to determine who stands with established precedent, ASTM is the standard bearer, the
specification that resolves conflicts.

Concrete standards came early in ASTM’s history

Before 1900, a construction contractor could receive any combination of stone, cement and water
in concrete delivered to the job site. Portland cement had just been patented in the 1870s. Cement
technology and concrete production processes were new and unproven. Concrete strength was
not specified. Delivered cement and aggregate content were anyone’s guess. There was no
consensus on what constituted a good “standard” concrete mix. Concrete quality was “catch as
catch can.”

In 1902, ASTM Committee C-1 on Cement, Lime and Clay Products was created in the dust-up
of disputes between cement manufacturers, concrete producers and civil engineers over poor-
quality concrete delivered for road work. Committee C-1 was made up of cement producers,
concrete mixers, road engineers, material testing experts and others in the construction industry
who wanted to see a standard test developed for concrete compressive strength that everyone
could agree on.

When two world wars demanded quality steel and concrete for military projects, ASTM
standards provided performance and testing measures for American industry. Standards did more
than give the producer and consumer better products and safer designs: ASTM standards
developed hand-in-hand with emerging technologies actually fueled the engines of the industrial
revolution.

ASTM standards used in the field and in the courtroom

Today ASTM International stands as the trusted source of consensus-driven standards here and
around the world. An ASTM standard can be relied on in the field and in the courtroom precisely
because it is the positive result of the divergent opinions of volunteers involved with all aspects
of a given product, material or industry. A standard defines the consensus-preferred construction
method and performance benchmark for a given product.

When systems or structures fail, forensic analysts and legal experts rely on standards to define
the most reasonable basis for evaluating a product or component. ASTM standards are updated
as technology changes so designers and producers can trust the standard to provide the most
efficient and effective approach to their work.

When researchers, engineers, manufacturers and end users collaborate on material or product
standards, everyone wins. Everyone wins because all sides, all attributes and all weaknesses of a
given material or product have been examined and debated in the ASTM committee process. All
ASTM proposed standards are submitted to all committee members and voted upon by ballot.
When product quality suffers, your competition wins
Just as in the example of poor-quality rails being produced more than a century ago for U.S.
railroads, whenever product quality suffers, the market will turn to other alternatives – just as
American railroads looked to Britain for more expensive but higher-quality steel. In the early
1900s, the U.S. steel industry faced the challenges of emerging material technologies, debates
about inconsistent quality and fierce product competition similar to the tough market conditions
faced by today’s precast producers.

All precasters, from the largest manufacturers to the small “mom and pop” producer, need to
make a profit to survive. But ASTM’s long history proves that profit isn’t enough – that what
works well for the producer doesn’t always equate to good product service for the consumer.
ASTM’s strength is drawn from a history that tells us that product quality demanded by the user
must necessarily affect production processes in order for any industry to survive.
ASTM is good for business. ASTM is good for the precaster’s bottom line. ASTM is the
precaster’s most reliable friend.

Claude Goguen is NPCA’s director of Technical Services.

Sidebar: How to Use ASTM

To find the ASTM standards for the specific precast concrete products manufactured at your
facility, visit one of the following sites:

1. From The NPCA SHOP, obtain a CD containing all ASTM standards that are specific to
precast concrete products at www.precast.org/npca-online-store.
2. Visit ASTM directly at www.astm.org and search under a product category like precast
concrete septic tanks or precast concrete grease interceptors.

Here are a few selected ASTM Standards related to the precast concrete industry:

 ASTM C478, “Standard Specification for Precast Reinforced Concrete Manhole

Sections”
 ASTM C858, “Standard Specification for Underground Precast Concrete Utility
Structures”
 ASTM C891, “Standard Practice for Installation of Underground Precast Concrete
Structures”
 ASTM C913, “Standard Specification for Precast Concrete Water and Wastewater
Structures”
 ASTM C1227, “Standard Specification for Precast Concrete Septic Tanks,” covers
design, manufacture and performance requirements for sectional or monolithic precast
concrete septic tanks
 ASTM C1613, “Standard Specification for Precast Concrete Grease Interceptors”
The complete 2011 Selected ASTM Standards for Precast and Prestressed Concrete are available
from NPCA. Visit www.precast.org for more information, or call (800) 366-7731.