82 FR 22648 - National Conference on Weights and Measures 102nd Annual Meeting

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Institute of Standards and Technology

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 94 (May 17, 2017)

The 102nd Annual Meeting of the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from Sunday, July 16, 2017, through Thursday, July 20, 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 82, Number 94 (Wednesday, May 17, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22648-22649]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09990]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


National Conference on Weights and Measures 102nd Annual Meeting

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The 102nd Annual Meeting of the National Conference on Weights 
and Measures (NCWM) will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 
Sunday, July 16, 2017, through Thursday, July 20, 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 on Sunday, July 15, 2017, through 
Wednesday, July 19, 2017, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and 
on Thursday, July 20, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. 
The meeting schedule is available at www.ncwm.net.

ADDRESSES: This meeting will be held at the Omni William Penn Hotel, 
530 William Penn Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Dr. Douglas Olson, NIST, Office of 
Weights and Measures, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2600, Gaithersburg, MD 
20899-2600. You may also contact Dr. Olson at (301) 975-2956 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 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, and 
representatives from the private sector and federal agencies. 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 in state 
laws, regulations, and testing procedures used in the regulatory 
control of commercial weighing and measuring devices, packaged goods, 
and for other trade and commerce issues.
    The NCWM has established multiple committees, task groups, and 
other working bodies to address legal metrology issues of interest to 
regulatory officials, industry, consumers, and others. The following 
are brief descriptions of some of the significant agenda items that 
will be considered by some of the NCWM Committees at the NCWM Annual 
Meeting. Comments will be taken on these and other issues during public 
comment sessions. This meeting also includes work sessions in which the 
Committees may also accept comments for clarification on issues, and 
where they will finalize recommendations for possible adoption at this 
meeting. The Committees may also withdraw or carry over items that need 
additional development.
    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 Annual 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 used to buy from or sell to 
the public 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 Areas 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:

Scales

Item 3200-2 S.1.2.2. Verification Scale Interval
    Scales Code Paragraph S.1.2.2. Verification Scale Interval 
currently requires any Class I and II scale and dynamic monorail scale 
provided with a scale division value (d) that differs from the 
verification scale interval (e), to 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 the displayed scale 
division ``d'' to be equal to the value of the verification scale 
interval ``e'' 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 a proposed 
enforcement date of January 1, 2020, 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 ``tare weight'' to the list of sales information already 
required.

Weigh-In-Motion Systems Used for Vehicle Enforcement Screening

tem 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

[[Page 22649]]

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. 
The Work Group formed by the U.S. Department of Transportation--Federal 
Highway Administration that developed the existing NIST Handbook 44 
Code titled, ``Weigh-In-Motion Systems Used for Vehicle Enforcement 
Screening--Tentative Code,'' disbanded shortly following the adoption 
of that tentative code by the NCWM in 2015.
    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 primary 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 consider a proposal 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 proving methods. The 
proposal outlined in this item includes requirements for a minimum test 
draft when using ``master meters'' in both service-related and official 
testing.

Mass Flow Meters

Item 3307-2 N.3. Test Drafts
    The S&T Committee will consider a proposal 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 when using ``master meters'' in both service-
related and official testing.

Taximeters and Transportation Network Measuring Systems

The NCWM will consider proposed changes to existing NIST Handbook 44, 
Code Section 5.54. Taximeters and the addition of a new tentative code 
to address ``Transportation Network Systems'' in the following items.

Taximeters

Item 3504-1 A.2. Exemptions
Item 3504-2 U.S. National Work Group (USNWG) on Taximeters--Taximeter 
Code Revisions and Global Positioning System (GPS)-Based Systems for 
Time and Distance Measurement
Transportation Network Systems (New Tentative Code): Item 3600-6 5.XX
Transportation Network Measurement Systems--Tentative Code and Appendix 
D. Definitions
    For several years, the NIST U.S. National Work Group (USNWG) on 
Taximeters has discussed possible 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. 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 have also been 
proposed by the USNWG 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 present these proposals for a vote at the upcoming 2017 NCWM 
Annual Meeting.

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 2301-6 Section 2.17. Precious Metals
    The L&R Committee is recommending adoption of a revision to the 
uniform method of sale for precious metals that will enhance the 
ability of consumers to know 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 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 a table indicating grams and ounces, percentage of 
metal in mixtures, unit price, and if selling by SI a conversion chart 
to troy ounces.

NIST Handbook 133

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 is 
recommending for adoption a proposal to expand the current requirements 
to also include polyethylene bags (e.g., t-shirt bags, which 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).

    Dated: May 12, 2017.
Kevin Kimball,
Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2017-09990 Filed 5-16-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-13-P