17.8 Government and Federal Specifications and Standards
17.8 Government and Federal Specifications and Standards
David Colameco, M.Ed.
The United States Government has developed welding codes that are in use today such as codes for the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and military standards (MIL). Other government agencies that have welding rules and regulations would be the US Department of Energy, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and NASA for example. These organizations will rely on the organizations we previously discussed in the section above where possible. For fabrications that are specialized such as spacecraft for the government, those agencies will review preexisting codes and make substitutions to shore up existing requirements or create new codes and standards if the existing codes do not fully apply to the needs of that government organization.
Development of Government and Federal Specifications and Standards
Government and federal specifications are developed by the agencies themselves. Some agencies may contract the development of specifications and standards and then publish approved standards. Government and federal specifications and standards typically have contact information such as the military standard for HY-80 and HY-100 steel, MIL-S-21952D(SH) on the front page where “Beneficial comments (recommendations, additions, deletions) and any pertinent data which may be of use in improving this document should be addressed to“ followed by a mailing address.
This is a way for those agencies that are maintaining the specifications and standards to receive feedback from the users of the documents. It is unknown if these agencies hold regular meetings that fabricators can attend to provide input in person as other welding codes allow. Due to the size and breadth of the government this section is an overview.
Basics of Government and Federal Specifications and Standards
The US Government has different agencies that specialize in purchasing who set material standards. This specialization within the federal government is similar to the other welding codes that were previously discussed which reference other codes for material specifications, NDE, and even welding requirements. The US government references other government agencies that are subject matter experts. Government and federal specifications for welding likely reference welding codes such as AWS codes for structural fabrications, and also ASME for boilers, pressure vessels, and pressure piping for example. These government and federal specifications may only reference specific portions of other documents and make changes if different requirements are necessary.
Uses of Government and Federal welding codes in industry today
Some of the uses of government and federal codes are used in aerospace and defense. Logistics is the process of buying goods and services. The United States government has strict rules and regulations for its logistics. To help ensure that the government gets what it is looking for, and to prevent duplication