Do You Have 20 Minutes to Shape the Industry?
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All TAPPI Standards have a Standard-Specific Interest Group (SSIG) made up of industry professionals who regularly review and vote on that Test Method. Each SSIG must have a minimum of 10 volunteers to conduct a valid review. Participation is easy. Volunteering 20 minutes or less can impact the industry and allow you to grow as an influencer by sharing your technical knowledge.
“I started in the industry 40 years ago supervising various types of testing labs,” said Jeff Lundeen, Ph.D., retired senior research director of R&D at Georgia-Pacific's Neenah, Wis. Technical Center in a recent STAR Newsletter interview. “As I began, Standards were an excellent way to bring me up to speed on how the industry tested. It’s a great way to quickly increase your knowledge and meet other experts in the field to bounce ideas off of. Overall, I became interested in Standards as a path to assisting my career and acquiring knowledge.”
Currently there are around 20 SSIGs that do not have enough volunteers to complete the review process and many more are at risk of being withdrawn and no longer used in the industry. Some Standards, like the two Chemical Properties’ Standards listed below, were supposed to be reviewed since 2019, but have not had the minimum number of reviewers to open the review.
- T 434 cm-10 Acid-soluble iron in paper
Scope: Acid-soluble iron is considered that portion of the iron present, which is potentially chemically reactive, as distinguished from the insoluble or “fixed” iron which might occur as a silicate or other complex compound in clay filler. - T 493 cm-10 Identification and determination of melamine resin in paper
Scope: 1.1 Based on the 1954 work of Hirt, King, and Schmitt, this method may be used for the detection and estimation of melamine resin in papers. It may be used in the presence of other additives, such as glue, glycerin, and rosin, but the presence of dyes or unbleached pulp may cause difficulties.
There’s no better way to gain a comprehensive understanding of a test method and have input on how it works than by being part of a SSIG. Get involved now.
