Who is ASME and what do they do?
Per ASME, “ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. In 2020, ASME formed the International Society of Interdisciplinary Engineers (ISIE) LLC, a new for-profit subsidiary to house business ventures that will bring new and innovative products, services, and technologies to the engineering community, and later established the holding company, Global Knowledge Solutions LLC. In 2021, ASME launched a second for-profit subsidiary, Metrix Connect LLC, an industry events and content platform to accelerate digital transformation in the engineering community and the exclusive agent for the Mechanical Engineering® brand of media products.”
ASME now has over 100,000 members world-wide and supports the engineering industry through quality educational programs, training and professional development, publishing research, and organizing conferences.
Why are standards important, and why is ASME so popular?
As you most likely know, a standard is an agreed-upon set of rules and instructions. Standards are commonly applied to manufacturing, designs, services, and product control. Equipment and processes that follow and meet certain standards offer increased safety, efficiency, consistency, and productivity.
For an end-user, standards communicate expectations that a product meets a user’s specific needs. Adopting universal standards help drive growth, reliability, and development. For example, ASME standards allow us to buy and verify materials produced by another manufacturer and use it with a high level of assurance in manufacturing to ASME standards.
If you work around or manufacture pressure vessels or tanks, then you’ve most likely seen abbreviations such as ASME, ANSI, API, ASTM, and PED. These abbreviations each represent a code and standard to which materials, manufacturing processes and product are manufactured to. The most prescriptive codes for pressure containing products in the United States and Europe are ASME and PED, respectively.
ASME is one of the oldest and most respected organizations of standards in the United States. So far, they have created and established over 600 different codes and standards encompassing a wide range of applications and areas, including pipelines, vessels, power generation systems and components, and much more. ASME standards are used in over 100 countries with roughly 7,500 companies currently being ASME certified.
The ASME certification process and stamp:
ASME certification stamps provide customers with the assurance that the stamp holder has been verified to meet the requirements of the stamps that the organization is certified to.
To obtain an ASME certification a company must complete a long process, usually taking several months that ends with a ASME Joint Review. This joint review process ensures that each ASME requirement for the stamps the organization is being certified to are completed and comply with applicable codes. An ASME Certification stamp is received once this process is satisfactorily completed in full. Only organizations that have earned an ASME stamp can manufacture products and certify that the products are manufactured to ASME standards.
What is the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code?
ASME is most commonly known for the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, abbreviated as BPVC. This is the largest standard established by the ASME and is a universally recognized set of safety standards which regulate the design, manufacturing, installation, inspection and maintenance of pressure vessels, tanks, boilers, and other related systems. The BPVC also includes requirements on rules for construction, alternative rules for construction, material properties, welding, brazing, fusing, consumable selection, nondestructive examination, dimensions, tolerances, recommended guidelines for care of boilers, and nuclear construction, to name a few.
At Spooltech we manufacture industry leading ASME certified pressure vessels, tanks, boilers, and other related components. To fully meet and exceed ASME standards, our team consist of engineers, project managers, and quality technicians who know ASME requirements inside and out. Our team is able to produce ASME certified equipment and drawings with precision accuracy and shorter lead times.
Have a new project or questions? Give our ASME professionals a call today or contact us online here.
