PLAYING THE VALVE
STANDARDS GAME
magine driving down the highway
Iand seeing two different speed
limit signs side by side. Which do you
adhere to, especially in light of the
fact that ignorance of the law is no
excuse! This analogy is similar to
what the PVF industry faces today:
Which standard do you pick when
multiple standards exist for the same
product or procedure?
Twenty-five years ago, the valve
world was regulated by the many
American-produced valve standards.
Although other national standards
organizations in countries such as
Great Britain, Germany and Japan
existed, their influence was nowhere
near that of the American Petroleum
Institute (API), American Society of
Mechanical Engineers (ASME),
Manufacturers Standardization
Society of the Valve & Fitting Industry (MSS), and other red, white and
blue standards development groups.
However, as the scope of domestic
U.S. manufacturing has narrowed,
the influence of non-U.S. standards
development organizations has
broadened, most notably in the form
of the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO). Today, somewhat of a clash exists between the
traditional U.S. standards and the
emerging strength of ISO’s valve
standards. The result is an uneasy
truce as the world’s process industries and valve manufacturers sort
out which valve standards they want
to follow.
ALTHOUGH EFFORTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO
COORDINATE U.S. STANDARDS WITH THOSE
OF FOREIGN STANDARDS-MAKING BODIES,
SURPRISINGLY FEW STANDARDS HAVE
CROSSED BORDERS INTACT. STILL, IT PAYS
TO KNOW WHAT CHOICES THERE ARE,
ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF THE FACT THAT
THE U.S. NO LONGER OVERWHELMINGLY
DOMINATES THE STANDARDS CREATION
SCENE. BY GREG JOHNSON
BACKGROUND OF U.S.
VALVE STANDARDS
United States valve standards have a
long history, dating back to the first
quarter of the 20th century. The first
standard to make reference to valves
was the Boiler and Pressure Vessel
Code, published by ASME in 1915.
Although it did not go into detail on
