Steady Progress

October brings us World Standards Day, celebrated in the United States on October 6 and by the International Standards Organization and others on or near October 14. World Standards Day (WSD) pays tribute to the collaborative efforts of thousands of experts worldwide who develop the voluntary technical agreements that are published as international standards. ASME develops more than 600 standards, recognized in more than 100 countries. More than 3,400 volunteers support ASME's Codes and Standards activities. I want to personally thank everyone involved in ASME Codes and Standards for their contributions to the safety and reliability of technology around the world.

Richard E. "Gene" Feigel

This year, World Standards Day focuses on issues confronting engineering communities to develop internationally harmonized standards, how standards encourage innovation, support competitiveness and address security, health and trade challenges. In recognition of ASME's 125th anniversary, our society hosted events in Washington, D.C., showcasing ASME Standards Technology LLC. This new limited liability company will help ASME keep codes and standards responsive to international markets through collaborative research projects, pre-standards offerings, and other services. In the future, ASME must be more involved in developing standards for new technologies (such as nanotechnology). We're well on are way to making this LLC an important contributor to maintaining ASME's preeminence in standards development.

Progress in other areas of ASME, involving considerable volunteer effort, includes the first meeting of vice presidents with district leadership at a Global Communities Operating Board meeting last month. Working on how to support sections and student sections was high on their list. This fall, student training (previously run as regional events) began using a new model, largely volunteer organized, with support from the Volunteer Orientation and Leadership Training (VOLT) Academy, which is a part of the Centers Sector. These meetings are introducing student leaders to the workings of ASME and are particularly useful this year in discussing how to work with ASME's new strategies.

ASME's new structure and strategies are readily accessible through a new Web page called "ASME Connections," where you can find an all new ASME at a Glance 2005 that links to the sectors' Web pages, the new organizational chart, the current strategic objectives, and a summary of what's changed at ASME.

Each of the five sectors is currently adapting its own sector objectives, aligning them with ASME's overall Balanced Scorecard objectives. Following this step, each sector's objectives will be communicated to their respective units (divisions, sections, institutes, centers, etc.) so that each unit can adapt them in their own planning. Sectors are also beginning their annual program prioritization, an important step in next year's budget planning. To keep current, many questions can be asked and answered online on the Knowledge and Communities' Community of Practice (CoP), accessible through ASME's home page (www.asme.org). These are open forums intended for just this kind of dialog.

Tapping into industry-focused objectives, ASME Solutions has been launched in an effort to customize products and services to meet the needs of industry. ASME's newly appointed Client Relation directors have identified companies to study this first year and are making industry contacts to provide feedback and explore opportunities with the various sectors and ASME Solutions teams.

As always this time of year, ASME volunteers and staff have been gearing up for the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, which will be in Orlando, Fla., Nov. 5–11, with some very interesting topics you would not have seen several years ago. Some of this reflects a natural progression, but it also indicates how engineers respond to present-day issues and events, including recent disasters, sustainable engineering, cross-border cultures, and whistle blowing. Volunteers have pulled together the most diverse technical program we've ever had, featuring more than 600 sessions in almost 50 fields. I hope to see you all there.

— Gene Feigel
ASME President, 2005–2006

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