The Tiny House Industry Has Spoken
On November 8th, 2021, we had a very successful organizational meeting with ASTM and tiny house stakeholders to approve our proposal and the formation of a committee, specific for tiny houses. The vote was 52 to 7, in favor. This was almost a year-long effort and worth the long journey.
COTCO And COS
The Work of Two ASTM International Board Committees
The Committee on Technical Committee Operations and the Committee on Standards, standing committees of the ASTM International board of directors, have been likened to the legislative and judicial branches, respectively, of the U.S. government. Briefly and generally speaking, COTCO makes the rules; COS verifies that the rules have been followed.
The groups are critical to the strength of ASTM International standards because of their different but interconnected focus on the development process. Both are standing committees of ASTM International’s board, and each includes eight members plus a chairman; members serve a three-year term and the chairman serves a three-year term.
Through the Regulations Governing ASTM Technical Committees, the manual for how committees operate, COTCO provides parameters to ensure the development of consensus standards in accordance with rigorous democratic procedures. That’s how the committee’s role is described in the preface to the Regulations.
As stated in the committee’s scope, “COTCO develops and maintains the Regulations Governing ASTM Technical Committees and acts upon recommended changes.” (Its scope does not include actions on standards.) Lawrence Carbary, construction industry scientist at Dow Corning USA, Midland, Mich., and current COTCO chairman, puts it this way: “COTCO develops and recommends the means for achieving the most efficient operation of technical committees and is concerned with the scope, structure, operation, development and planning of these technical committees. This diverse group of experts helps ASTM maintain the principles and direction upon which the organization was founded.”
The Regulations cover the heart of the consensus standards development process: the assignment of voting privileges, ballot distribution, consideration of ballot returns, antitrust and patents in standards, and more. COTCO addresses any issues with or suggestions for revisions to the Regulations, and, as Carbary notes, acts as an adviser to the board and staff when needed.
Potential changes to the Regulations are sent to committee officers via circular letter and are subject to approval by the full ASTM International board of directors. One recent change, published in the April 2013 edition, is a new section that says trade associations for multiple organizations of exclusively the same classification are to be classified in accordance with those organizations’ principal business activities.
Who Is The Voice Of The Industry?
The Future Of The Tiny House Industry Is In Our Own Hands
Have you ever looked around at something in society and kicked yourself, because you let others make the rules, or you did not vote, or you did not want to make waves so you let others take the lead? We are in a unique position to take charge of our own destiny and weave the future for our own industry and if we do not do this, it will be done for us as it already is. We have the ear and the interest of ASTM International, one of the largest ANSI Accredited Standards Developers in the world. With 120 years of expertise, ASTM provides a platform for stakeholders to develop global voluntary consensus standards in the form of documents. See update for more information on how the tiny house standards could become mandated.
ASTM provides a platform that is open, everyone that has a vested interest in the industry is invited and every voice is important. The consumer or the DIYer is just as important as the million-dollar company.
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