[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 125 (Thursday, June 28, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30403-30405]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-13935]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Institute of Standards and Technology
National Conference on Weights and Measures 103rd Annual Meeting
AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The 103rd Annual Meeting of the National Conference on Weights
and Measures (NCWM) will be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from Sunday, July
15, 2018, through Thursday, July 19, 2018. This notice contains
information about significant items on the NCWM Committee agendas but
does not include all agenda items. As a result, the items are not
consecutively numbered.
DATES: The meeting will be held on Sunday, July 15, 2018, through
Wednesday, July 18, 2018, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time, and
on Thursday, July 19, 2018, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Central Time.
The meeting schedule is available at www.ncwm.net.
ADDRESSES: This meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Tulsa Hotel,
100 East 2nd Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Douglas Olson, NIST, Office of
Weights and Measures, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2600, Gaithersburg, MD
20899-2600. You may also contact Dr. Olson at (301) 975-2956 or by
email at [email protected]. The meeting is open to the public, but
a paid registration is required. Please see the NCWM website
(www.ncwm.net) to view the meeting agendas, registration forms, and
hotel reservation information.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Publication of this notice on the NCWM's
behalf is undertaken as a public service; NIST does not endorse,
approve, or recommend any of the proposals or other information
contained in this notice or in publications produced by the NCWM.
The NCWM is an organization of weights and measures officials of
the states, counties, and cities of the United States, and
representatives from the private sector and federal agencies. These
meetings bring together government officials and representatives of
business, industry, trade associations, and consumer organizations on
subjects related to the field of weights and measures technology,
administration, and enforcement. NIST participates to encourage
cooperation between federal agencies and the states in the development
of legal metrology requirements. NIST also promotes uniformity in state
laws, regulations, and testing procedures used in the regulatory
control of commercial weighing and measuring devices, packaged goods,
and for other trade and commerce issues.
The NCWM has established multiple committees, task groups, and
other working bodies to address legal metrology issues of interest to
regulatory officials, industry, consumers, and others. The following
are brief descriptions of some of the significant agenda items that
will be considered by some of the NCWM Committees at the NCWM Annual
Meeting. Comments will be taken on these and other issues during public
comment sessions. This meeting also includes work sessions in which the
Committees may also accept comments for clarification on issues, and
where they will finalize recommendations for possible adoption at this
meeting. The Committees may also withdraw or carry over items that need
additional development.
These notices are intended to make interested parties aware of
these development projects and to make them aware that reports on the
status of the project will be given at the Annual Meeting. The notices
are also presented to invite the participation of manufacturers,
experts, consumers, users, and others who may be interested in these
efforts.
The Specifications and Tolerances Committee (S&T Committee) will
consider proposed amendments to NIST Handbook 44, ``Specifications,
Tolerances, and other Technical Requirements for Weighing and Measuring
Devices.'' Those items address weighing and measuring devices used in
commercial applications, that is, devices used to buy from or sell to
the public or used for determining the quantity of products or services
sold among businesses. Issues on the agenda of the NCWM Laws and
Regulations Committee (L&R Committee) relate to proposals to amend NIST
Handbook 130, ``Uniform Laws and Regulations in the Areas of Legal
Metrology and Engine Fuel Quality'' and NIST Handbook 133, ``Checking
the Net Contents of Packaged Goods.''
NCWM S&T Committee
The following items are proposals to amend NIST Handbook 44:
SCL--Scales
Item SCL-6 S.1.2.2.3. Deactivation of a ``d'' Resolution
In 2017, the NCWM adopted a proposal requiring the value of the
scale division (d) and verification scale interval (e) to be equal on
Class I and Class II scales installed into commercial service as of
January 1, 2020, when used in a direct sale application (i.e., both
parties of a weighing transaction are present when the quantity is
determined). The S&T Committee will now consider a new proposal, if
adopted, would prohibit the deactivation of a ``d'' resolution on a
Class I or II scale equipped with a value of ``d'' that differs from
``e'' if by such action it causes the scale to round improperly.
Item SCL-7 S.1.8.5. Recorded Representations, Point of Sale Systems
The S&T Committee will consider a proposal requiring additional
sales information to be recorded by cash registers interfaced with a
weighing element for items weighed at a checkout stand. These systems
are currently required to record the net weight, unit price, total
price, and the product class, or in a system equipped with price look-
up capability, the product name or code number. The change proposed
would add ``tare weight'' to the list of sales information currently
required. This change has been proposed as a nonretroactive requirement
with an enforcement date of January 1, 2022, which means if the
proposal is adopted, the additional information (i.e., the tare weight)
would be required to appear on the sales receipt for items weighed at a
checkout stand (Point of Sale Systems) on equipment installed into
commercial service as of January 1, 2022. This proposed change would
not affect equipment already in service.
Item SCL-8 Sections Throughout the Code To Include Provisions for
Commercial Weigh-In-Motion Vehicle Scale Systems
The S&T Committee will consider a proposal drafted by the NCWM's
Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) Task Group (TG) to amend various sections of the
NIST Handbook 44, Scales Code to address WIM vehicle scale systems used
for commercial application to determine a vehicle's total weight. The
TG is made up of representatives of WIM equipment manufacturers, the
U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, NIST
Office of Weights and Measures, truck weight enforcement agencies,
state weights and measures agencies, and others.
The WIM TG was first formed in February 2016 to consider a proposal
to expand the NIST Handbook 44, Weigh-In-Motion Systems Used for
Vehicle Enforcement Screening--Tentative Code to also apply to legal-
for-trade (commercial) and law enforcement applications. Members of the
TG agreed during their first face-to-face meeting at the 2016 NCWM
Annual Meeting to eliminate from the proposal any mention of a law
enforcement application and focus solely on WIM vehicle scale systems
intended for use in commercial applications. Members of the TG later
agreed that commercial application WIM vehicle scale systems should be
addressed by the Scales Code of NIST Handbook 44, rather than the
Weigh-In-Motion Systems Used for Vehicle Enforcement Screening--
Tentative Code.
A focus of the TG since July 2016 has been to concentrate on the
development of test procedures that can be used to verify the accuracy
of a WIM vehicle scale system given a proposed maintenance and
acceptance tolerances of 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively, of
the test loads applied during testing and considering the many
different axle configurations of vehicles that will typically be
weighed by these systems. Although members of the TG have not been able
to reach agreement on appropriate test procedures, the TG recommended
and the Committee agreed, at the 2018 NCWM Interim
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Meeting, to elevate the status of this item to ``Voting'' for the
upcoming 2018 NCWM Annual Meeting.
Block 1 (B1) Items Manifold Flush Systems
B1: Gen-2 Withdrawn G-S.2. Facilitation of Fraud [General Code]
B1: VTM-1 V S.3. Diversion of Measured Liquid and UR.2.6. Clearing the
Discharge Hose [Vehicle Tank Meters]
The S&T Committee will consider a proposal that would permit the
installation and use of a ``manifold flush system,'' which is intended
to provide a safer means of flushing the different products from the
delivery systems of vehicles equipped with multiple product storage
compartments used commercially to deliver different products through a
single vehicle-tank meter and discharge hose. This ``flushing of
product'' is necessary when switching between the different products
stored on and delivered from the same truck to lessen the amount of
contamination of product delivered into a customer's storage vessel.
Flushing of product normally requires the delivery vehicle's
operator to climb on top of the delivery truck with discharge hose and
nozzle in hand to discharge product back into the appropriate storage
compartment (after opening its hatch), clearing the lines for the next
product to be delivered.
The manifold flush system makes possible flushing of the system at
ground level, but its installation currently violates existing NIST
Handbook 44 Vehicle Tank Meters (VTM) code paragraph S.3.1. Diversion
of Measured Liquid by providing a means in which measured liquids can
be easily diverted from the discharge line back into a product storage
compartment. This diversion of metered product back into storage is
considered by many to facilitate the perpetration of fraud.
The proposal exempts all metering systems with multiple
compartments delivering multiple products through a single discharge
hose from having to comply with VTM code paragraph S.3.1. and requires
a means for clearing the discharge hose be provided for metering
systems with multiple compartments delivering multiple products through
a single discharge hose. It also allows for the installation of a
manifold flush system and specifies various conditions that must be met
for this flushing system to be considered acceptable.
The proposal also requires device users, who have the need to flush
a discharge hose to keep a 12-month record of the different flushing
operations to include dates, times, original product, new product, and
gallons dispensed to avoid contamination.
Block 4 (B4), Items Terminology for Testing Standards and Block 5,
Items (B5) Define ``Field Reference Standard''
Block 4 (B4) Items and Block 5 (B5) Items include all the following
items:
B4: Item SCL-4 N.2. Verification (Testing) Standards [Scales Code]
B4: Item ABW-1 N.2. Verification (Testing) Standards [Automatic Bulk
Weighing Systems]
B4: Item AWS-1 N.1.3. Verification (Testing) Standards, N.3.1. Official
Tests; UR.4. Testing Standards [Automatic Weighing Systems]
B4: Item CLM-1 N.3.2. Transfer Standard Test; T.3. On Tests Using
Transfer Standards [Cryogenic Liquid-Measuring Devices]
B4: Item CDL-1 N.3.2. Transfer Standard Test; T.3. On Tests Using
Transfer Standards [Carbon Dioxide Liquid-Measuring Devices]
B4: Item HGM-1 N.4.1. Master Meter (Transfer) Standard Test; T.4.
Tolerance Application on Test Using Transfer Standard Test Method
[Hydrogen Gas-Metering Devices]
B4: Item GGM-1 Section 5.56.(a) [Grain-Moisture Meters ``a''] N.1.1.
Air Oven Reference Method Transfer Standards, N.1.3. Meter to Like-Type
Meer Method Transfer Standards, and Section 5.56.(b) [Grain-Moisture
Meters ``b''] N.1.1. Transfer Standards, T. Tolerances
B4: Item LVS-1 N.2. Testing Standards [Electronic Livestock, Meat, and
Poultry Evaluation Systems and/or Devices]
B4: Item OTH-2 Appendix A--Fundamental Considerations, 3.2. Tolerances
for Standards; 3.3. Accuracy of Standards
B4: Item OTH-3 Appendix D--Definitions: Fifth-wheel, official grain
samples, transfer standard; standard, field
B5: Item CLM-2 N.3.2. Transfer Standard Test; T.3. On Tests Using
Transfer Standards [Cryogenic Liquid-Measuring Devices]
B5: Item CDL-2 N.3.2. Transfer Standard Test; T.3. On Tests Using
Transfer Standards [Carbon Dioxide Liquid-Measuring Devices]
B5: Item HGM-2 N.4.1. Master Meter (Transfer) Standard Test; T.4.
Tolerance Application on Test Using Transfer Standard Test Method
[Hydrogen Gas Metering-Systems]
B5: Item OTH-4 Appendix D--Definitions: Field Reference, Standard
Meter; Transfer Standard
Block 4 and Block 5 items are considered related agenda items. The
items in these two blocks are currently assigned a developing status
and while the S&T Committee may not take comments on these items at the
2018 NCWM Annual Meeting, interested parties may wish to monitor the
future progress of their continued development. These two groups of
items are intended to: (1) Make clear the qualifying conditions in
which a standard intended for use in testing (i.e., evaluating the
performance of) a commercial weighing or measuring device or system can
be used to conduct an official test; and (2) harmonize the terminology
used to identify a suitable test standard in each of the Handbook 44
codes.
NCWM L&R Committee
The following items are proposals to amend NIST Handbook 130 or
NIST Handbook 133:
NIST Handbook 130--Section on Uniform Regulation for the Method of Sale
(MOS) of Commodities
Item MOS-10 2.XX. Pet Treats or Chews
The L&R Committee is recommending adoption of a uniform method of
sale for Pet Treats or Chews. If adopted, the proposal will require
sellers to follow labeling guidance under the Food and Drug
Administration and 21 CFR 501, which defines these types of products as
``shall be sold by weight.'' This will also allow consumers to make a
value comparison for similar like items.
NIST Handbook 133
Item NET-4 4.XX. Plywood and Wood-Based Structural Panels
There is no current test procedure in NIST Handbook 133, for
Plywood and Wood-based Structural Panels. This will provide a test
procedure for Plywood and Wood-Based Structural Panels. The L&R
Committee is recommending further comment and consideration to add a
testing procedure to NIST Handbook 133. This procedure follows good
measuring practices for products sold by linear measure.
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 272(b).
Kevin A. Kimball,
Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2018-13935 Filed 6-27-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P