Do you use, or do you know of others who use, TAPPI Useful Methods? If the answer to this question is "yes," then we would appreciate your feedback on the following questions:
• What Useful Methods do you, or do your business contacts, use on a regular basis?
• For the UMs that you or your business contact use, are supplies or equipment needed to run the tests readily available from suppliers? Can you provide specific information?
• Do you know of any UMs for which there are no suppliers who can provide appropriate supplies to perform the test?
• Are you aware of any UMs that may have been deleted from the set in 1991 that are still referenced in any published material or any company specifications?
• Are you aware of any existing UMs that may need to be reviewed, and possibly deleted, due to outdated technology or use of hazardous materials?
If you can answer any of the above questions, we would like to hear from you. Please send your comments to standards@tappi.org no later than April 30, 2010, so that the UM Task Force can consider them at their meeting.
Recently, the Quality and Standards Management Committee (Q&SMC) received a request to look into developing a new classification of test method which we have been calling "plant floor methods." The idea would be to produce a series of test procedures that would not be as rigorously reviewed as the Standard Test Methods, but which would serve as quick tests that operators might use in a mill or plant situation. These methods would not be under the rules of review and development of the Standards. A Q&SMC task group was put together to look into this issue.
After some consideration, the task force decided that perhaps the best way to allow such "plant floor" methods to be published might be to resurrect the Useful Method (UM) category.
The task force has drafted a set of guidelines for UM review and development. The task force plans to meet in May to once again review the UM set, with perhaps more deletions or additions to take place before finalizing the guidelines. The purpose of this article is to informally solicit some information on the use of Useful Methods so that the UM Task Force can consider them at its next meeting.