[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 125 (Thursday, June 28, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30403-30405]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-13935]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


National Conference on Weights and Measures 103rd Annual Meeting

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The 103rd Annual Meeting of the National Conference on Weights 
and Measures (NCWM) will be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from Sunday, July 
15, 2018, through Thursday, July 19, 2018. 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, 2018, through 
Wednesday, July 18, 2018, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time, and 
on Thursday, July 19, 2018, 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 Tulsa Hotel, 
100 East 2nd Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103.

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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 website 
(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:

SCL--Scales

Item SCL-6 S.1.2.2.3. Deactivation of a ``d'' Resolution
    In 2017, the NCWM adopted a proposal requiring the value of the 
scale division (d) and verification scale interval (e) to be equal on 
Class I and Class II scales installed into commercial service as of 
January 1, 2020, when used in a direct sale application (i.e., both 
parties of a weighing transaction are present when the quantity is 
determined). The S&T Committee will now consider a new proposal, if 
adopted, would prohibit the deactivation of a ``d'' resolution on a 
Class I or II scale equipped with a value of ``d'' that differs from 
``e'' if by such action it causes the scale to round improperly.
Item SCL-7 S.1.8.5. Recorded Representations, Point of Sale Systems
    The S&T Committee will consider a proposal requiring additional 
sales information to be recorded by cash registers interfaced with a 
weighing element for items 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 
would add ``tare weight'' to the list of sales information currently 
required. This change has been proposed as a nonretroactive requirement 
with an enforcement date of January 1, 2022, which means if the 
proposal is adopted, the additional information (i.e., the tare weight) 
would be required to appear on the sales receipt for items weighed at a 
checkout stand (Point of Sale Systems) on equipment installed into 
commercial service as of January 1, 2022. This proposed change would 
not affect equipment already in service.
Item SCL-8 Sections Throughout the Code To Include Provisions for 
Commercial Weigh-In-Motion Vehicle Scale Systems
    The S&T Committee will consider a proposal drafted by the NCWM's 
Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) Task Group (TG) to amend various sections of the 
NIST Handbook 44, Scales Code to address WIM vehicle scale systems used 
for commercial application to determine a vehicle's total weight. The 
TG is made up of representatives of WIM equipment manufacturers, the 
U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, NIST 
Office of Weights and Measures, truck weight enforcement agencies, 
state weights and measures agencies, and others.
    The WIM TG was first formed in February 2016 to consider a proposal 
to expand the NIST Handbook 44, Weigh-In-Motion Systems Used for 
Vehicle Enforcement Screening--Tentative Code to also apply to legal-
for-trade (commercial) and law enforcement applications. Members of the 
TG agreed during their first face-to-face meeting at the 2016 NCWM 
Annual Meeting to eliminate from the proposal any mention of a law 
enforcement application and focus solely on WIM vehicle scale systems 
intended for use in commercial applications. Members of the TG later 
agreed that commercial application WIM vehicle scale systems should be 
addressed by the Scales Code of NIST Handbook 44, rather than the 
Weigh-In-Motion Systems Used for Vehicle Enforcement Screening--
Tentative Code.
    A focus of the TG since July 2016 has been to concentrate on the 
development of test procedures that can be used to verify the accuracy 
of a WIM vehicle scale system given a proposed maintenance and 
acceptance tolerances of 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively, of 
the test loads applied during testing and considering the many 
different axle configurations of vehicles that will typically be 
weighed by these systems. Although members of the TG have not been able 
to reach agreement on appropriate test procedures, the TG recommended 
and the Committee agreed, at the 2018 NCWM Interim

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Meeting, to elevate the status of this item to ``Voting'' for the 
upcoming 2018 NCWM Annual Meeting.
Block 1 (B1) Items Manifold Flush Systems

B1: Gen-2 Withdrawn G-S.2. Facilitation of Fraud [General Code]
B1: VTM-1 V S.3. Diversion of Measured Liquid and UR.2.6. Clearing the 
Discharge Hose [Vehicle Tank Meters]

    The S&T Committee will consider a proposal that would permit the 
installation and use of a ``manifold flush system,'' which is intended 
to provide a safer means of flushing the different products from the 
delivery systems of vehicles equipped with multiple product storage 
compartments used commercially to deliver different products through a 
single vehicle-tank meter and discharge hose. This ``flushing of 
product'' is necessary when switching between the different products 
stored on and delivered from the same truck to lessen the amount of 
contamination of product delivered into a customer's storage vessel.
    Flushing of product normally requires the delivery vehicle's 
operator to climb on top of the delivery truck with discharge hose and 
nozzle in hand to discharge product back into the appropriate storage 
compartment (after opening its hatch), clearing the lines for the next 
product to be delivered.
    The manifold flush system makes possible flushing of the system at 
ground level, but its installation currently violates existing NIST 
Handbook 44 Vehicle Tank Meters (VTM) code paragraph S.3.1. Diversion 
of Measured Liquid by providing a means in which measured liquids can 
be easily diverted from the discharge line back into a product storage 
compartment. This diversion of metered product back into storage is 
considered by many to facilitate the perpetration of fraud.
    The proposal exempts all metering systems with multiple 
compartments delivering multiple products through a single discharge 
hose from having to comply with VTM code paragraph S.3.1. and requires 
a means for clearing the discharge hose be provided for metering 
systems with multiple compartments delivering multiple products through 
a single discharge hose. It also allows for the installation of a 
manifold flush system and specifies various conditions that must be met 
for this flushing system to be considered acceptable.
    The proposal also requires device users, who have the need to flush 
a discharge hose to keep a 12-month record of the different flushing 
operations to include dates, times, original product, new product, and 
gallons dispensed to avoid contamination.
Block 4 (B4), Items Terminology for Testing Standards and Block 5, 
Items (B5) Define ``Field Reference Standard''
    Block 4 (B4) Items and Block 5 (B5) Items include all the following 
items:

B4: Item SCL-4 N.2. Verification (Testing) Standards [Scales Code]
B4: Item ABW-1 N.2. Verification (Testing) Standards [Automatic Bulk 
Weighing Systems]
B4: Item AWS-1 N.1.3. Verification (Testing) Standards, N.3.1. Official 
Tests; UR.4. Testing Standards [Automatic Weighing Systems]
B4: Item CLM-1 N.3.2. Transfer Standard Test; T.3. On Tests Using 
Transfer Standards [Cryogenic Liquid-Measuring Devices]
B4: Item CDL-1 N.3.2. Transfer Standard Test; T.3. On Tests Using 
Transfer Standards [Carbon Dioxide Liquid-Measuring Devices]
B4: Item HGM-1 N.4.1. Master Meter (Transfer) Standard Test; T.4. 
Tolerance Application on Test Using Transfer Standard Test Method 
[Hydrogen Gas-Metering Devices]
B4: Item GGM-1 Section 5.56.(a) [Grain-Moisture Meters ``a''] N.1.1. 
Air Oven Reference Method Transfer Standards, N.1.3. Meter to Like-Type 
Meer Method Transfer Standards, and Section 5.56.(b) [Grain-Moisture 
Meters ``b''] N.1.1. Transfer Standards, T. Tolerances
B4: Item LVS-1 N.2. Testing Standards [Electronic Livestock, Meat, and 
Poultry Evaluation Systems and/or Devices]
B4: Item OTH-2 Appendix A--Fundamental Considerations, 3.2. Tolerances 
for Standards; 3.3. Accuracy of Standards
B4: Item OTH-3 Appendix D--Definitions: Fifth-wheel, official grain 
samples, transfer standard; standard, field
B5: Item CLM-2 N.3.2. Transfer Standard Test; T.3. On Tests Using 
Transfer Standards [Cryogenic Liquid-Measuring Devices]
B5: Item CDL-2 N.3.2. Transfer Standard Test; T.3. On Tests Using 
Transfer Standards [Carbon Dioxide Liquid-Measuring Devices]
B5: Item HGM-2 N.4.1. Master Meter (Transfer) Standard Test; T.4. 
Tolerance Application on Test Using Transfer Standard Test Method 
[Hydrogen Gas Metering-Systems]
B5: Item OTH-4 Appendix D--Definitions: Field Reference, Standard 
Meter; Transfer Standard
    Block 4 and Block 5 items are considered related agenda items. The 
items in these two blocks are currently assigned a developing status 
and while the S&T Committee may not take comments on these items at the 
2018 NCWM Annual Meeting, interested parties may wish to monitor the 
future progress of their continued development. These two groups of 
items are intended to: (1) Make clear the qualifying conditions in 
which a standard intended for use in testing (i.e., evaluating the 
performance of) a commercial weighing or measuring device or system can 
be used to conduct an official test; and (2) harmonize the terminology 
used to identify a suitable test standard in each of the Handbook 44 
codes.

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 
(MOS) of Commodities

Item MOS-10 2.XX. Pet Treats or Chews
    The L&R Committee is recommending adoption of a uniform method of 
sale for Pet Treats or Chews. If adopted, the proposal will require 
sellers to follow labeling guidance under the Food and Drug 
Administration and 21 CFR 501, which defines these types of products as 
``shall be sold by weight.'' This will also allow consumers to make a 
value comparison for similar like items.

NIST Handbook 133

Item NET-4 4.XX. Plywood and Wood-Based Structural Panels
    There is no current test procedure in NIST Handbook 133, for 
Plywood and Wood-based Structural Panels. This will provide a test 
procedure for Plywood and Wood-Based Structural Panels. The L&R 
Committee is recommending further comment and consideration to add a 
testing procedure to NIST Handbook 133. This procedure follows good 
measuring practices for products sold by linear measure.

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

Kevin A. Kimball,
Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2018-13935 Filed 6-27-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P