ASTM International history

One of the first standard specifications in the history of the organization, “Structural Steel for Bridges,” was approved by the committee and submitted to all members for a final ballot vote at the annual meeting in 1901.

At the fifth annual meeting of the American Section in 1902, they renamed the organization the American Society for Testing Materials and elected Dudley as its first president.

Careful reviews of procedures that guided ASTM’s early technical committees finally resulted in the adoption of the “Procedures Governing the Adoption of Standard Specifications” in 1908, a milestone in the organization’s history.

ASTM published each standard specification only once until 1910, when it introduced a yearbook which later became the world-renowned Annual Book of ASTM Standards.

To streamline the process, ASTM, other professional organizations, and the United States departments for commerce, war, and the navy established the American Engineering Standards Committee in 1918.

General Electric, for example, a pioneer in the use of ASTM standards in the electrical industry, required suppliers to adhere to ASTM’s new standard specifications for non-ferrous metals in the early 1920s.

Committee D-11 on Rubber Products, for example, developed standards for testing the effect of vibration of rubber products used in automobile production, such as bumpers, engine supports, and universal joints in 1928.

In 1932, scientists introduced the world’s first electron microscope, enabling researchers to study materials at a level of detail unimaginable only a few years before.

By 1940, more than 100 companies with historic ties to the organization, such as International Harvester, Westinghouse, and Firestone, had joined the ranks of sustaining members.

Major projects included a state-of-the-art aviation fuel plant built by the Sun Oil Company at Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, whose builders used 50 ASTM standards for steel (including the venerable A 7 standard for structural steel). Its first major contribution was the publication of the Society’s most extensive Book of Standards, the three-volume 1942 books that made more than 1,000 standard specifications available to industry and government.

Congress supported this practice with the passage of the Defense Standardization Act of 1952, which mandated the simplification of military specifications and standards, and strongly encouraged the Army, Navy, and Air Force to use established specifications developed by ASTM and other organizations.

ASTM adopted this method and published it as standard E 98-53 T in its 1955 Book of Standards as a recommended practice.

In 1961, sixty years after the American Section had turned itself into the American Society for Testing Materials, the organization renamed itself once again and became the American Society for Testing and Materials.

Seattle's Space Needle, built for 1962 World Fair, features steel legs built to ASTM standards.

The standard finally was discontinued after a long and useful life in 1967, when Committee A-1 reported that “almost no structural steel shapes have been purchased to A 7 for some time.”

The Board of Directors took two critical steps in this direction: First, it formulated a strategic plan titled “ASTM in the Seventies,” and second, it appointed Cavanaugh Managing Director in 1970.

Committee F-8 on Sports Equipment and Facilities, a pioneer in this field, issued its first standard test method for football helmets in 1971, followed by a steady stream of new initiatives involving footwear, ice hockey equipment, playing surfaces and facilities, and headgear.

Reacting to OSHA’s request that the nation’s engineering and scientific communities participate in the development of federal workplace standards, ASTM convened a conference of interested parties in October 1972.

ASTM also initiated new standards-related programs to provide additional products and services to its members and customers, beginning in 1985 with the development of ASTM’s Technical and Professional Training Courses.

To further accelerate the standards development process, ASTM formed the Institute for Standards Research (ISR) in 1988.

In 1993, ASTM expanded its services to include a new program on Proficiency Testing.

In 2001, ASTM officially changed its name to “ASTM International” to reflect: its longstanding commitment to global participation, its growth in non-United States membership, its increasing number of partners, and more.

In 2003, ASTM International began to offer student membership.

In 2004, ASTM International launched the Interlaboratory Study Program to enhance the already high quality of its test methods.

Notably, in 2006, the Digital Library launched, making available tens of thousands of technical papers amassed by ASTM International over the course of many decades.< /p>

In 2009, ASTM International began providing certification services for products and personnel.

A major new platform, Compass, launched in 2013 to host ASTM International’s standards, training, and other products, services, and tools for customers and members.