1、Designation: D4968 15D4968 16Standard Practice forAnnual Review of Test Methods and Specifications forPlastics1This standard is issued under the fixed designation D4968; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of l
2、ast revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. Asuperscript epsilon () indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1. Scope*1.1 This practice is intended to assist the subcommittees and sections of Committee D20 on Plastics with the process ofsta
3、ndards evaluation during the five-year review mandated by ASTM or when changes to test methods and specifications arerequired. It is intended to complement the Form and Style for ASTM Standards (“Blue Book”) not replace it.NOTE 1There is no known ISO equivalent to this standard.2. Referenced Documen
4、ts2.1 ASTM Standards:2D883 Terminology Relating to PlasticsD5740 Guide for Writing Material Standards in the Classification FormatE456 Terminology Relating to Quality and StatisticsE691 Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study to Determine the Precision of a Test MethodForm and Style for AST
5、M Standards (Blue Book)3. Terminology3.1 DefinitionsFor definitions of terms that appear in this practice relating to plastics, refer to Terminology D883.3.2 For definitions of terms that appear in this practice relating to quality and statistics, refer to Terminology E456.3.3 Guidelines for termino
6、logy in standards that are referenced in model codes issued by either the International Code Council(ICC) or the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) are based on guidance originally provided by one of the regional modelbuilding codes (BOCA) and are given in Appendix X1.3.3.1 In practice, the
7、 key issue is to avoid using the terms “may” and “should,” except within definitions, appendixes andnon-mandatory notes.4. Significance and Use4.1 It is the intention of this practice, in addition to the Form and Style for ASTM Standards, to assist persons revising testmethods and specifications in
8、Committee D20 to ensure that all required elements are included and that the revised document ispresented in the most user-friendly manner possible.4.2 This practice is intended for use by Committee D20 when test methods and specifications under its jurisdiction are revisedbecause of technical chang
9、es or upon five-year review.4.3 The flowcharts in Annex A1 show the review process and the precision and bias process in outline form.4.4 Specific instructions to be followed when revising Committee D20 documents are given in this practice.4.5 The model precision and bias (P and B) statements includ
10、ed in Annex A3 were developed to standardize the presentationof data.1 This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D20 on Plastics and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D20.90 on Executive.Current edition approved Dec. 1, 2015April 1, 2016. Published January 2016April 2016. Ori
11、ginally approved in 1989. Last previous edition approved in 20092015 asD4968 - 09.D4968 - 15. DOI: 10.1520/D4968-15.10.1520/D4968-16.2 For referencedASTM standards, visit theASTM website, www.astm.org, or contactASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM Standardsvolume inform
12、ation, refer to the standards Document Summary page on the ASTM website.This document is not an ASTM standard and is intended only to provide the user of an ASTM standard an indication of what changes have been made to the previous version. Becauseit may not be technically possible to adequately dep
13、ict all changes accurately, ASTM recommends that users consult prior editions as appropriate. In all cases only the current versionof the standard as published by ASTM is to be considered the official document.*A Summary of Changes section appears at the end of this standardCopyright ASTM Internatio
14、nal, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United States15. Evaluating the Need for Revisions5.1 Society regulations require that all D20 standards be reviewed in detail every five years. Ballots to revise individual sectionsof a document (which have the potential to
15、change the date of issue) do not absolve the responsible D20 subcommittee from therequirement to conduct the detailed review every five years. Begin the review for revision, reapproval, or withdrawal at least oneyear prior to the required revision year, that is, four years after the last full review
16、. The date of the last complete document reviewmust be listed in the Summary of Changes section at the end of the document.5.2 The goal of the review process is to determine if the document under review is to be balloted for:5.2.1 Reapproval without change,5.2.2 Reapproval with editorial changes,5.2
17、.3 Revision with technical changes, or5.2.4 Withdrawal.5.3 A flowchart for review of plastics standard test methods or specifications is found in Annex A1Annex A15.3.1 The flowchart in Annex A1 applies only to reviews of standards that have either been revised or have been reapprovedless than five y
18、ears before any new review.5.3.2 When a standard test method or a standard specification has neither been revised nor reapproved for at least five years anew ballot is required and the flowchart in Annex A1 does not apply.5.3.3 The following sections describe the details for each step of the flowcha
19、rt.5.3.4 With the permission of the Section or Subcommittee chairman, as appropriate, a task group is formed with a task groupchairman to head it.The task group shall be composed of either one person or a small group.The subcommittee chairman generatesa project number to help track the progress. The
20、 task group chairman registers the project with ASTM through the website andan ASTM Work Item number is generated. This WK number will appear on ballots.5.3.5 Is it Recommended that the Standard Be Withdrawn?If the examination of the standard indicates that it is obsolete orbasically flawed in light
21、 of more recent knowledge, ballot for withdrawal. Ballot for withdrawal is also in order if the standard hasbeen replaced by a more current standard.5.3.6 Are changes required?If the review of the standard using the instructions in this document and the current version ofthe ASTM Form and Style for
22、ASTM Standards (Blue Book) indicate that no changes are needed, it is recommended that thestandard be balloted for reapproval without change.5.3.7 Are Changes Editorial?If the subcommittee, section, or task group considers the intended changes to be editorial innature, the appropriate standards edit
23、or at ASTM Headquarters shall be consulted. If the changes meet the qualifications foreditorial revision, within a five-year period since last publication, the standard can be editorially changed without balloting. Sucha revised standard will be published with an indication that it has been reissued
24、 with editorial changes. However the document muststill be balloted for revision or reapproval at least every five years regardless of whether it has been reissued with editorial changes.5.3.8 Is Technical Revision Necessary?If it is decided that the changes needed in the standard modify the technic
25、al contentin any way, or if the review using this practice finds missing elements, technical changes shall be balloted. If major changes areneeded, a subcommittee ballot is recommended. Otherwise a concurrent subcommittee, Main Committee, and Society ballot isrecommended, providing this approach is
26、approved by the main committee chairman and the subcommittee chairman or by asimple majority vote of the membership of the main committee and subcommittees.5.3.9 Model Precision and Bias (P and B) Statement:5.3.9.1 It is a requirement of ASTM that all test methods have a precision and bias section.
27、For test methods that produce anumerical test result, an interlaboratory study (ILS, round robin) shall be conducted. Practice E691 describes the recommendedpractice for conducting an ILS to determine the precision of a test method, when six or more laboratories are involved.5.3.9.2 Practice E691 re
28、quires a minimum number of six laboratories generating usable data for a round robin for an acceptableround robin. As a result, Practice E691 is not applicable in all cases. Other statistical practices are appropriate for use if they yieldequivalent information. It is recommended that the statistica
29、l practice used be reviewed by Subcommittee D20.13 on Statistics.5.3.9.3 If an ILS (round robin) cannot be accomplished prior to initial balloting of a test method, single-laboratory data mustbe used in the P and B statement. Use the model statement in Annex A3 as a model for such statements and fol
30、low the guidancefrom the ASTM Form and Style for ASTM Standards. No test method shall remain a valid ASTM standard without at least asingle-laboratory P and B statement after a five year period from publication.5.3.9.4 ASTM International requires that an ILS study (round robin) be performed, if poss
31、ible, within five years of the testmethods initial publication. If an insufficient number of laboratories is available to complete a round robin by the five-year review,the model statement in Annex A3 is still acceptable, but a statement modeled after the “Type B” statement in Annex A3 shall beadded
32、.5.3.9.5 When acceptable ILS (round-robin) data has been developed, it shall be written using a statement modeled after the“Type C” statement in Annex A3 and it shall be balloted for approval as a technical change. Documentation for the round robinshall be assembled in a technical report and submitt
33、ed to the staff manager. A footnote documenting the report number shall beincluded in the standard.D4968 1626. Revising the Standard6.1 Keep the audience in mind.6.1.1 There are many different users ofASTM standards. When revising documents, write the standard to be of use to the properaudience. A s
34、tandard can be used by such diverse users as design engineers, product specifiers, quality control persons, testinglaboratory managers, and technicians who will perform tests and all of their requirements need to be taken into account.6.1.2 Keep in mind, however, that certain sections of the documen
35、ts are directed at specific audiences. For example, theprocedures section of a test method will primarily be used by the technician who does the test. It is recommended that this sectionbe written in an imperative mood giving direct instructions on how to do the test, just as it would be done if the
36、 standard werespeaking to the person. It is recommended not to add unnecessary explanations in the mandatory sections of the standard but togive clear and concise instructions. It is recommended that explanations that are not needed for conducting the test be, preferably,included in an appendix or i
37、n an explanatory note.6.1.3 Sections such as the scope are to give direction to the user on how and for what the standard is to be used. Setup andcalibration will be used by a test laboratory manager, and so forth. For each section, it is essential to consider the potential userand to write that sec
38、tion to give the most direct and usable information to that potential user in the most concise and understandablemanner possible.6.2 Whenever a new standard is developed, or revisions to an existing standard are prepared for ballot, a Work Item must beregistered with ASTM at the ASTM web-site (www.a
39、stm.org). When the Work Item is registered with ASTM an e-mail will besent to the technical contact with a link that permits the download of an electronic copy of the current standard. It is recommendedto use the “track changes” function in MS Word to show changes. Deleted text will be shown as stru
40、ck out. New text will be shownas underlined. Be aware that it is possible that the paragraph numbers and their references will change as a result of these edits.6.3 Whenever a document is revised and circulated for ballot, it must be accompanied by a cover letter that explains the purposeof the ball
41、ot.6.4 When circulating a standard for ballot, the standard shall have the following working caveat in bold print on the front pageof the revision draft:THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT AN ASTM STANDARD; IT IS UNDER CONSIDERATION WITHIN AN ASTMTECHNICAL COMMITTEE BUT HAS NOT RECEIVED ALL APPROVALS REQUIRED TO B
42、ECOME AN ASTMSTANDARD. IT SHALL NOT BE REPRODUCED OR CIRCULATED OR QUOTED, IN WHOLE OR IN PART,OUTSIDE OF ASTM COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES EXCEPT WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THECOMMITTEE HAVING JURISDICTION AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY. COPYRIGHT ASTM, 100 BarrHarbor Drive, WEST CONSHOHOCKEN,
43、PA, 19428-2959 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.6.5 Reference the Form and Style for ASTM Standards for detailed information regarding the form and style for the document.6.6 The standard shall be reviewed to ensure that all procedures, directions, instructions, etc. are written as mandatoryrequirements. Explana
44、tory material, intended either for emphasis or for offering informative suggestions not properly part of thestandard, shall be incorporated as notes or appendixes and is not required to be written in mandatory language.6.7 Documents that have been developed for, or have the potential of being refere
45、nced in, model codes such as those from theInternational Code Council (ICC) and from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) shall be written completely inmandatory language (except for terminology, notes and appendixes). Explanatory material shall only be used in appendixes, notesand footno
46、tes unless the footnote is integral to a table and the document shall contain the following statement:“The text of this standard references notes and footnotes that provide explanatory material. These notes and footnotes (excludingthose in tables and figures) shall not be considered as requirements
47、of the standard.”7. Reviewing Test Methods7.1 Use the following assessment sections as an aid in test method review. Strive to ensure that the Committee D20 test methodsare not more complex than necessary. One of the goals of a five-year review is to make test methods as user friendly as possible.Re
48、ad each section. If it is not clear and does not contain the points mentioned in this section, rewrite it!7.1.1 Note that, in order to provide uniformity in standardization, Practice D4968 makes mandatory the inclusion in standardtest methods under the jurisdiction of Committee D20 sections that are
49、 not necessarily required by the ASTM Form and Style ofASTM Standards (Blue Book).7.2 Title (Mandatory)Determine if the title accurately defines the test method described. Change it if it does not.7.3 Scope (Mandatory)The scope shall contain the following essential items:7.3.1 Clearly state the purpose of the test method in one or two sentences.7.3.2 If there are any cautions or concerns regarding the use of the results of the test method or how it is performed, insert thefollowing sentence in the Scope: See the Significance and Use section for cautions in using this test m
