T&T: ABYC Standards???

[David Marchand]

Gil:

I am interested in your view that ABYC has recommendations and not 
standards.

You would be surprised at all of the so called "standards" that are really 
not. Think about the ASME standards for unfired pressure vessels. Surely 
that is a standard with the force of law. Unfortunately (or fortunately 
given your point of view) the ASME pressure vessel "recommendations" do not 
have the force of law in all states. In other words they are merely 
recommendations. Recommendations that you ignore at your peril certainly, 
but as matter of law in some states, you don't have to follow them.

Other "standards" NFPA for example generally does have the force of law in 
all states. So I would consider NFPA a standard following my naming 
convention.

So, ABYC isn't any different than these other standard (recommendation) 
setting bodies. All are populated by members from the industry they serve. 
And as someone else noted, when they get together, they generally ignore 
their corporate identity and follow their brain.

So, that is the point about standards versus recommendations. Standards 
generally have the force of law, recommendations do not. I rather like it 
that way for ABYC recommendations. I would hate to think what would happen 
if all of their recommendations suddenly became law.

David