Standards Australia During the time I have been the Project Manager for the Iron and Steel committees (MT-001), some of the most common questions that I have received are “I had no idea this Standard was being revised” or “Can I send you my comments for this Standard”, (three months after it had been published).
In today’s busy world these comments are understandable. So to help people with the task of knowing when Standards are being revised or how to send comments to the committee (in a timely manner), Standards Australia have provided a number of tools on their web site to make these tasks surprisingly easy.
On the Standards Australia web page the top left hand corner has all the links to finding the most critical aspects in Standardisation, which I have listed:
New Projects: If you would like to see the “New Projects List” (Revision of old Standards or proposed New Standards) for that month, double click on “New Projects” and look for the heading “Community, Materials and IT Standards”. This is where you will be given the: - Committee Number,
- Project Manager,
- Australian Standard Number,
- Type of Product, and the
- Objective of the Standard.
Public Comment Drafts: If you would like to review the Public Comment Drafts, that are considered a very important stage in the development of a Standard, double click on “Drafts for Public Comment” This will open up a new page that takes you to the SAI Global Webshop which will list all the Standards that are currently open for public comment. The Public Comment period is usually open for two to three months and the right hand column will indicate the closing date.
Obtaining a Public Comment Draft: To obtain a free draft, double click onto “Free Download” (for PDF electronic documents only) then you will be asked to register and, for first time users, there is a special icon at the bottom of the page. This will be followed by the registration page. It is important to tick both the boxes for “automatic registration user login” but more importantly to tick the box for “notify me of changes to this and similar documents”. This will result in e-mails being sent to you notifying you of any public comment documents, newly published Standards or amendments, which relate to the Standard number you have nominated. Once this is completed you may download the document you require.
How to send your comments to a committee: At the end of the second paragraph under the heading “Draft Standards Currently Open for Comment” double click on “Public Comment Form”. The instruction on how to prepare a Public Comment will appear with the second page being an expandable electronic comment form. Once the comments are completed, save, then attach them to an e-mail and send it to Greg Langtry.
If the comments are received on or before the closing date I can assure you they will be address by the committee.
How to join a committee: To join a subcommittee you need to have a relevant qualifications and/or experience in the area relating to the Standard and be prepared to attend committee meetings every three to four months (usually one day meetings), some of which may be held interstate. If you are still interested and meet this criteria then contact Greg Langtry by phone 02 82066446 or e-mail.
Greg Langtry
Project Manager for the MT-100 committees | 
