81 FR 91910 - National Conference on Weights and Measures Interim Meeting

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Institute of Standards and Technology

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 243 (December 19, 2016)

The Interim Meeting of the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) will be held in San Antonio, Texas, from Sunday, January 8, 2017, through Wednesday, January 11, 2017. This notice contains information about significant items on the NCWM Committee agendas but does not include all agenda items. As a result, the items are not consecutively numbered.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 243 (Monday, December 19, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 91910-91912]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30436]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


National Conference on Weights and Measures Interim Meeting

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Interim Meeting of the National Conference on Weights and 
Measures (NCWM) will be held in San Antonio, Texas, from Sunday, 
January 8, 2017, through Wednesday, January 11, 2017. This notice 
contains information about significant items on the NCWM Committee 
agendas but does not include all agenda items. As a result, the items 
are not consecutively numbered.

DATES: The meeting will be held from Sunday, January 8, 2017, through 
Wednesday, January 11, 2017, Sunday through Tuesday from 8:00 a.m. to 
5:00 p.m. Central Time, and on Wednesday, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. 
Central Time. The meeting schedule is available at www.ncwm.net.

ADDRESSES: This meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio, 
123 Losoya Street, San Antonio, Texas 78205.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Kenneth Butcher, NIST, Office of 
Weights and Measures, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2600, Gaithersburg, MD 
20899-2600. You may also contact Mr. Butcher at (301) 975-4859 or by 
email at [email protected]. The meeting is open to the public, 
but a paid registration is required. Please see the NCWM Web site 
(www.ncwm.net) to view the meeting agendas, registration forms, and 
hotel reservation information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Publication of this notice on the NCWM's 
behalf is undertaken as a public service; NIST does not endorse, 
approve, or recommend any of the proposals or other information 
contained in this notice or in the publications produced by the NCWM.
    The NCWM is an organization of weights and measures officials of 
the states, counties, and cities of the United States, federal 
agencies, and representatives from the private sector. These meetings 
bring together government officials and representatives of business, 
industry, trade associations, and consumer organizations on subjects 
related to the field of weights and measures technology, 
administration, and enforcement. NIST participates to encourage 
cooperation between federal agencies and the states in the development 
of legal metrology requirements. NIST also promotes uniformity among 
the states in laws, regulations, methods, and testing equipment that 
comprise the regulatory control of commercial weighing and measuring 
devices, packaged goods, and other trade and commerce issues.
    The following are brief descriptions of some of the significant 
agenda items that will be considered at the NCWM Interim Meeting. 
Comments will be taken on these and other issues during several public 
comment sessions. At this stage, the items are proposals. This meeting 
also includes work sessions in which the Committees may also accept 
comments, and where recommendations will be developed for consideration 
and possible adoption at the NCWM 2017 Annual Meeting. The Committees 
may withdraw or carryover items that need additional development.
    Some of the items listed below provide notice of projects under 
development by groups working to develop specifications, tolerances, 
and other requirements for devices such as those used in weigh-in-
motion systems for vehicle enforcement screening. These notices are 
intended to make interested parties aware of these development projects 
and to make them aware that reports on the status of the project will 
be given at the Interim Meeting. The notices are also presented to 
invite the participation of manufacturers, experts, consumers, users, 
and others who may be interested in these efforts.
    The Specifications and Tolerances Committee (S&T Committee) will 
consider proposed amendments to NIST Handbook 44, ``Specifications, 
Tolerances, and other Technical Requirements for Weighing and Measuring 
Devices.'' Those items address weighing and measuring devices used in 
commercial applications, that is, devices that are used to buy from or 
sell to the public

[[Page 91911]]

or used for determining the quantity of products or services sold among 
businesses. Issues on the agenda of the NCWM Laws and Regulations 
Committee (L&R Committee) relate to proposals to amend NIST Handbook 
130, ``Uniform Laws and Regulations in the area of Legal Metrology and 
Engine Fuel Quality'' and NIST Handbook 133, ``Checking the Net 
Contents of Packaged Goods.''

NCWM S&T Committee

    The following items are proposals to amend NIST Handbook 44:

General Code

Item 3100-2 G-UR.3.3. Postion of Equipment
    A weighing and measuring device or system equipped with a primary 
indicating element and used in a direct sale application must be 
positioned that its indication can be accurately read and the weighing 
or measuring operation observed from some reasonable customer and 
operator position. That is, both the customer and user must be able to 
observe the operation of the equipment and be provided a view of the 
indication from some reasonable position. The existing paragraph 
provides officials the discretion necessary to determine on a case by 
case basis whether or not these conditions are satisfied. The proposed 
changes, if adopted, would require officials to base their 
determination solely on customer readability and ease of being able to 
conduct a performance test on the equipment. Additionally, in the case 
of vehicle scales, the changes proposed require that a driver of a 
vehicle being weighed be able to observe the weight indication from 
inside the cab of the vehicle. If adopted, this would retroactively 
require a display on some vehicle scale systems, including mechanical 
types with beam or dial indication.

Scales

Item 3200-2 S.1.2.2. Verfication Scale Interval
    Class I and II scales and dynamic monorail scales, any of which 
that are provided with a scale division value (d) that differs from the 
verification scale interval (e) must currently comply with the 
expression: d < e <= 10 d
    The S&T Committee will consider a proposal that adds a new 
subparagraph beneath the Section heading S.1.2.2. Verification Scale 
Interval which would require the value of ``e'' to be less than or 
equal to ``d'' on Class I and II scales used in a direct sale 
application (i.e., an application in which both parties, for example, 
buyer and seller, are present when the quantity is determined). The new 
subparagraph being proposed is nonretroactive with no enforcement date 
yet specified, making evident the submitter's intention that it not 
apply to equipment already in commercial service.
Item 3200-3 S.1.8.5. Recorded Representations, Point-of-Sale Systems 
and S.1.9.3. Recorded Representations, Random Weight Packages Labels
    The S&T Committee will consider a proposal requiring additional 
sales information be recorded by cash registers interfaced with a 
weighing element for items that are weighed at a checkout stand. These 
systems are currently required to record the net weight, unit price, 
total price, and the product class or, in a system equipped with price 
look-up capability, the product name or code number. The change 
proposed adds ``gross weight or tare weight'' to the list of sales 
information already required.
    Additionally, the proposal adds a new paragraph requiring a 
prepackaging scale or device that produces a label for a random weight 
package to generate labels that contain this same sales information.

Weigh-In-Motion Systems Used for Vehiche Enforcement Screening

Item 3205-1 A. Application and Sections Throughout the Code to Address 
Commercial and Law Enforcement Applications
    In February 2016, the NCWM formed a new task group (TG) to consider 
a proposal to expand the NIST Handbook 44, Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) 
Systems Used for Vehicle Enforcement Screening--Tentative Code to also 
apply to legal-for-trade (commercial) and law enforcement applications. 
The TG is made up of representatives of WIM equipment manufacturers; 
the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration; 
truck weight enforcement agencies; state weights and measures agencies; 
and others. Mr. Alan Walker (State of Florida) serves as Chair of the 
TG.
    Members of the TG met face to face for the first time at the NCWM 
Annual Meeting in July 2016. It was agreed at that meeting to eliminate 
from the proposal any mention of a law enforcement application and 
focus solely on WIM systems intended for use in commercial 
applications. The main focus of the TG since the July 2016 meeting has 
been to concentrate on the development of test procedures that can be 
used to verify the accuracy of a slow-speed WIM system while taking 
into consideration the different axle and tandem axle configurations of 
the vehicles that will typically be weighed by the system.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Anhydrous Ammonia Liquid-Measuring Devices

Item 3302-1 N.3. Test Drafts
    The S&T Committee will continue to hear updates on the progress of 
a ``Developing'' item on its agenda (carried over from its 2016 agenda) 
that would propose recognizing the use of calibrated transfer standards 
(also called ``master meters'') in the verification and calibration of 
Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Anhydrous Ammonia Liquid-Measuring Devices. 
Currently, most official tests of these devices are conducted using 
volumetric test measures or using gravimetric testing. The proposal 
outlined in this item includes requirements for a minimum test draft 
and would recognize the use of ``master meters'' in both service-
related and official testing. This item is also intended to explore the 
possibility of expanding the use of transfer standards to other types 
of measuring devices, including those used to measure petroleum at 
terminals and retail outlets, and to meters used to deliver home 
heating fuel and other products.

Mass Flow Meters

Item 3307-2 N.3. Test Drafts
    The S&T Committee will continue to hear updates on the progress of 
a ``Developing'' item on its agenda (also carried over from its 2016 
agenda) that would propose recognizing the use of calibrated transfer 
standards (also called ``master meters'') in the verification and 
calibration of Mass Flow Meters. Currently, most official tests of 
these devices are conducted using gravimetric test procedures. The 
proposal outlined in this item includes requirements for a minimum test 
draft, and would recognize the use of ``master meters'' in both 
service-related and official testing.

Taximeters

Item 3504-1 A.2. Exemptions;
Item 3504-2 U.S. National Work Group (USNWG) on Taximeters--Taximeter 
Code Revisions and Global Positioningt System (GPS)-Based Systems for 
Time and Distance Measurement; and
Item 3600-6 5.XX. Transportation Network Systems--Tentative Code and 
Appendix D. Definitions
    For several years, the NIST USNWG on Taximeters has discussed 
possible

[[Page 91912]]

approaches for amending the NIST Handbook 44, Taximeters Code to 
specifically recognize GPS-based time and distance measuring systems 
that are used to assess charges for transportation services such as 
those provided by taxicabs and limousines. Appropriate specifications, 
tolerances, and other technical requirements for these devices must be 
developed for manufacturers and users of these devices, as well for 
weights and measures officials. Such requirements help ensure accuracy 
and transparency for customers and a level playing field for 
transportation service companies, enabling consumers to make value 
comparisons between competing services. In 2016, the USNWG on 
Taximeters submitted a proposal through multiple regional weights and 
measures associations to establish a separate NIST Handbook 44 code to 
address ``Transportation Network Measurement Systems (TNMS).'' Changes 
to the current NIST Handbook 44, Taximeters Code are also needed to 
recognize taximeters that are now being designed to operate using 
similar features and functionality as TNMS; these changes have been 
proposed in a separate item. The S&T Committee will examine these 
proposals to assess how to best address these systems.

NCWM L&R Committee

    The following items are proposals to amend NIST Handbook 130 or 
NIST Handbook 133:

NIST Handbook 130--Section on Uniform Regulation for the Method of Sale 
of Commodities:

Item 2302-6 Section 2.17. Precious Metals
    The L&R Committee will consider a proposal to recommend adoption of 
a uniform method of sale for precious metals that will enhance the 
ability of consumers to whether they are getting a fair price for their 
precious metals. This proposal will allow a consumer to make an 
informed decision in doing an equitable trade or purchase and also make 
value comparisons. This proposal is not for precious metals traded on 
the commodity market. If adopted, the proposal will require sellers to 
prominently display conversion factors and the unit price they will pay 
for items containing various amounts of precious metals.

NIST Handbook 133--``Checking the Net Contents of Packaged Goods:''

Item 2600-4 Section 4.5. Polyethylene Sheeting
    The current test procedure in NIST Handbook 133, Section 4. 
Polyethylene Sheeting has provided a test procedure for only 
polyethylene sheeting and some bag type products. The L&R Committee 
will consider a proposal to expand the requirements to also include 
polyethylene bags (e.g., t-shirt bags that retail stores put consumer 
goods in for carry-out) and can liners. If adopted, this proposal would 
clarify the test procedure and improve the accuracy of length 
determinations when determining test measurements for bags and liners, 
including bags with a cut out (t-shirt bags).

    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 272(b).

Kevin Kimball,
NIST Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2016-30436 Filed 12-16-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-13-P