COTCO Approves New ASTM Tiny House Committee

Breaking News For The Tiny House Industry

We received word from Lissy Velez, the program manager with the new business development team with ASTM International that COTCO has approved a new ASTM Tiny House Standards Committee.

We will have one more final approval from the ASTM International board. 

Janet Thome, the President of Tiny House Alliance USA has been leading this initiative.

Achieving this moment for the tiny house industry to receive this approval. We have one last step to be approved by the ASTM International board.

About COTCO And COS

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.

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ASTM International Technical Committees

Technical Committees develop and maintain ASTM standards. They are grouped by designation according to related activities within a particular scope of work (ex: A01 on Steel, Stainless Steel and Related Alloys). ASTM Committees are made up of over 32,000 volunteers from industry and include manufacturers and consumers, as well as other interest groups such as government or academia. Any interested individual can participate on a Technical Committee through ASTM membership.

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Attract and retain technical experts from around the world by creating an intellectually and professionally rewards collaborative environment that meets participant needs and expectations.

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About ASTM

Tiny House Draft Proposal

Why ASTM International?

Through The Guidance Of ASTM, Our Committee Must Follow The ANSI Essential Requirements for Due Process That Include Openness, Lack Of Dominance, Balance, Coordination, Harmonization, Considerations And Views, Consensus Vote, Appeals, Compliance, And Written Procedures

1) Tiny Houses Will Be Granted A New ASTM Committee To Develop And Maintain The Standards For Our Own Industry
2) The Committee Will Go On Indefinitely
3) We Elect Our Own Officers
4) We Write Our Own Bylaws
5) We Select The Subcommittees Which Divide The Standards Development
6) We Elect The Officers For The Subcommittees
7) We Select The Task Groups- They Are The Ones That Have The Expertise To Write The Standards
8) We Select The Standards That Need To Be Developed
9) One Subcommittee Does Not Hold Up Another Committee For Publication Of A Standard
10) An ASTM Standard Can Be Adopted By An Authority Having Jurisdiction Immediately After Publication -No Waiting For An I-Code Cycle Change Or For A State To Adopt A Certain Year Of The IRC building Code.
11) ASTM Standards Can Be Amended Immediately After Publication
12) 150 Countries Can Participate
13) Through The Guidance Of ASTM, Our Committee Must Follow The ANSI Essential Requirements for Due Process That Include Openness, Lack Of Dominance, Balance, Coordination, Harmonization, Considerations And Views, Consensus Vote, Appeals, Compliance, And Written Procedures
14) There Are No Costs That We Incur To Develop The Standards For Publication. Except To Join As A Member Of ASTM At A Cost Of $75.00 A Year.
15) Together We Will Create Conformity, Without Borders, Uniting For Our Common Goals, Developing A Common Language That Will Integrate The Authority Having Jurisdiction, The Consumer. And The Manufacturers And Builders, Addressing All Life, Health, Fire, And Road Safety, And To Forge The Path That Tiny Houses Are A Viable Housing Solution That Is The Answer To Affordable And Attainable Housing
16) All Our Welcome! No One Can Be Left Out
17) Through The ASTM Process, Standards Will Be Cleansed Of Personal Interests, No One Individual, Company, Organization, Country, Sector Of An Industry, Or Trade Association Can Be The ” Loudest Voice” In The Room Or Dominant The Standards Development. Everyone Matters And Has A Voice And A Vote
18) We Will Change The Face Of Affordable Housing And Will Broaden Homeownership Globally

More About ASTM

Tiny House Alliance USA Editor
Feb. 26th,  2022

The Future Of Tiny Is Now!
Janet Thome Founder And President
janet@tinyhouseallianceusa.org
509 345 2013