Professional Societies, Standards and Codes

In order to be effective, all professionals must keep current in their fields of endeavor. The design engineer can satisfy this in a number of ways by: being an active member of a professional society such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME); attending meetings, conferences, and seminars of societies, manufacturers, universities, etc.; taking specific graduate courses or programs at universities; regularly reading technical and professional journals; etc. An engineer’s education does not end at graduation.

Standards and Codes

A standard is a set of specifications for parts, materials, or processes intended to achieve uniformity, efficiency, and a specified quality. One of the important purposes of a standard is to limit the multitude of variations that can arise from the arbitrary creation of a part, material, or process.

A code is a set of specifications for the analysis, design, manufacture, and construction of something. The purpose of a code is to achieve a specified degree of safety, efficiency, and performance or quality.

All of the organizations and societies listed below have established specifications for standards and safety or design codes. The name of the organization provides a clue to the nature of the standard or code. The organizations of interest to mechanical engineers are:

• Aluminum Association (AA) 
• American Bearing Manufacturers Association (ABMA) 
• American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA) 
• American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) 
• American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) 
• American National Standards Institute (ANSI) 
• American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) 
• American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) 
• American Welding Society (AWS) 
• British Standards Institution (BSI) 
• Industrial Fasteners Institute (IFI) 
• Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) 
• Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) 
• International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) 
• International Federation of Robotics (IFR) 
• International Standards Organization (ISO) 
• National Association of Power Engineers (NAPE) 
• National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST)
• Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)