The Reasons We Have Codes 14

[JedClampett]

For all the griping we do, it's good to have a historical reminder that our work isn't arbitrary and has a reason.

 

[BigInch]

1905 After the ASME helped overcome manufacturer objections to "needless government interference", Massachusetts passed "An Act Relating to the Operation and Inspection of Steam Boilers" in 1907.[15] The Massachusetts laws eventually led to passage of a national boiler safety code.
Grover Shoe factory disaster

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[JedClampett]

needless government interference

It's funny, but that oldie but goodie is brought out for every regulation today, whether it's true or not. From 1905 to present, the same arguments.
And when was the last time you heard of a boiler exploding?

 

[IRstuff]

I guess, in the US, that seemed to work well; the listed boiler explosions in the US since then are either train or ship

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[cranky108]

I much favor professional associations publish standards, which become adopted by states and local as regulations, over having governments just make stuff up.

 

[BigInch]

I'd say the record shows it was probaly far from needless, however "needless government interference" is still not my quote. Somebody else said it in an attempt to emphisize the same thing; far from needless. Since someone else said it, I put the phrase in quotation marks.

I wonder how that regulation would have fell in the latest nonsensical plan to remove 2 regulations for every new one and prohibit any new regulations after 2018.

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[djs]

But you are not getting the point. The less regulation, the less money has to be spent on compliance, and the larger the profits are. Follow the money trail.

 

[IRstuff]

" the less money has to be spent on compliance, and the larger the profits are.

Absolutely, and that'll bring back stage 3 smog alerts in LA, which was common back in the 1970s.

Every major city in China is mired in lung-damaging smog. Why? Because there's ZERO regulation and therefore ZERO compliance to anything but making money. What does it matter if 20 million people die early deaths, there's still another billion.

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[BigInch]

Back in the 60-70s you couldn't breath in Houston. If the wind blew from the east, you had to get your car repainted. Gasoline was 15c/gal. Chevy Corvairs were the hottest car on the road; ya they caught fire, kind of like the 777 of today. Maybe we'll even be able to order up some of that good ole Agent Orange soon. So nice. BACK TO THE FUTURE!!!

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[JedClampett]

I can remember when the car companies said that requiring seatbelts in cars and padded dashboards was needless government interference.

 

[IRstuff]

btw, I was in an Uber yesterday, and the driver had lived the last two years in Nanjing, China, and the smog was so bad he developed lung problems and had to move back to the US

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[cranky108]

Some regulation is necessary, and good. Like smoke alarms in houses that are sold. And is not an overburden to install.

But regulation to collect cow farts is an overburden and wasteful, besides increasing the cost of food.

In the electric industry, having regulation is also necessary because of a lack of understanding of electricity, and safety of the consumer who would be unable to inspect the wires once installed in the walls of a building. I think the same thing could be said of other building services, like water, gas, and wastewater.

But regulations in the EU on the size of an oven is too much.

 

[BigInch]

Don't we have regulations that specify wire size?

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[btrueblood]

"And when was the last time you heard of a boiler exploding?"

Literally yesterday...

http://www.delcotimes.com/general-n...ol-in-haverford-closed-after-boiler-explosion

 

[MikeHalloran]

Interesting that there was still a room to inspect.
Before ASME, boiler explosions leveled buildings.
That one appears to have an intentionally weak wall to blow out.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[cranky108]

Wire size is by the expected loading in amps. Or by the breaker size.

On the higher voltages there is less regulation on wire size. But that maybe because it is expected to be engineered, rather than designed by an installer.
At transmission voltages, we are required to keep track of equipment ratings, and develop a method of rating non-rated equipment, per FERC/NERC regulations.
This is a little different case, in that FERC/NERC seem to think the power grid belongs to the US government. Much different than public safety.

 

[JAE]

Interesting article here on a gas explosion in 1937 in Texas that resulted in the Texas Engineering laws.

I think other similar US states and countries probably have similar stories.

Also a short slide show from NCEES about history of licensure in the US:

http://www.aaes.org/sites/default/files/2012_NAE_Convocation_licensing_overview.pdf

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[IRstuff]

"But regulations in the EU on the size of an oven is too much"

Is it, though? Ovens tend to conform to a few standard sizes so that they fit into cabinets and countertops. One would think that a budding oven manufacturer would want to know what sizes to build and not have to waste time and money going to the local Home Depot or Best Buy to measure them there. So, if there were a regulation, it would mostly conform to existing marketed sizes of ovens, and would not be a burden, per se, since the manufacturer has a vested interest in building an oven that fits the market.

Nevertheless, the EU regulations are not about sizing, but about energy labeling:

https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/e...lementation guidelines cooking appliances.pdf

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[dik]

I figured it was to keep civil servants off the street... the world functioned for millennia without codes.

Dik

 

[BigInch]

Most all principal doors, to any space that can contain more than 10 people or so, open outwards in the USA. That was not the case before a 1905 disaster in northern Michigan. Surprisingly enough in many countries, such a simple safety feature is basically unknown.



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