2022 NCWM Newsletter, Issue #2

2022 NCWM Newsletter, Issue #2

NCWM NEWS National Conference on Weights and Measures

Chairman ’ s Column Ivan Hankins, NCWM Chairman — State of Iowa

2022 Issue 2

Chairman’s Column..........................1 Tip of the Month................................2 NCWM Welcomes New Members...................................3 NTEP Column...................................4 Thank You NCWM Survey.................5 107 th NCWM Annual Meeting............6 Event Calendar.................................8 2022 NCWM Interim Meeting............8 Safety Column..................................9 NTEP Quick Guide..........................12

Just look around and see all the new method of sale going on. Paying for a convenience without considering what exactly we are paying for. Consider e-commerce, buying things that display no weight or measure on their web site. No value comparison opportunities there! Electric vehicles…who’d have thought! Cannabis, no way! Yep, it is here. Try to be that inspector who sees this stuff coming down the pike, be the inspector who questions why, and how, and be the inspector who seeks solutions for the Sake of Equity! Get involved with the lawful ideas which will be used to meet future Weights & Measures issues. Get involved with your regional W&M associations with your ideas! Someone will hear you! Directors and Chiefs, you have a difficult task time, two! You are between your inspectors and your superior types. And if you have never been an inspector, you really don’t know what they deal with every day in the field. Listen to them, get involved and get a feel for what they do. Keep in mind that numbers are not conducive to a good inspection! They are, (I’m convinced) for auditors to look at and say you’re not getting enough inspections done. Be the leader who can keep balance on both sides and know the difference. Need I say Equity?! I had a division director once ask me “Ivan why do you have all the expensive toys and never seem to get anything done!?” Seriously! He and I did not speak the same language…

My wife and I like to go to junk shops to look for unusual and sometimes valuable (to me) things. Years ago, I found this little sign that said “There is no limit to what one can do if they don’t mind who gets the credit… The message is obvious, but sometimes hard to accept. Everyone likes to or wants to, be recognized for what they do. But often, it seems if you mention an idea, the next thing you know…someone else has used it and is the taking credit. Frustrating, as many of us know. I had to finally take the attitude, if the idea was mine, and it was used, and it worked …all the better. It must have been a good one! The only reason I bring this up, is because W&M inspectors have a lot of time to think and ponder new ideas while doing their inspections. We see things that are happening around us while we focus on gas pumps, or scales. We come up with an old idea we believe can be made better, or a new way of looking at old issues, because that’s just the way we’re programed. I realize some of us are happy going to work, collect our paycheck, keep our mouth shut, and go home. That’s good, even necessary for some of us, but there are others who crave knowledge in what we do, we seek more than the obvious, we want to learn, and then act.

NCWM Headquarters 1135 M Street, Suite 110 Lincoln, Nebraska 68508 P. 402.434.4880 F. 402.434.4878 E. [email protected] W. www.ncwm.com Don Onwiler Executive Director Darrell Flocken NTEP Administrator Mike Manheim NTEP Specialist Allen Katalinic NTEP Evaluator Elisa Stritt Meeting Planner Sunday Koung Project Coordinator

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NCWM Welcomes New Members (4/23/2022 - 6/6/2022)

Chairman’s Column Continued

For far too long Weights & Measures has been under appreciated, underfunded, and under the stigma of weak mind and strong back regulators! It must be pointed out that we as regulators have a “duty” to insure Equity in the marketplace, all of us from the boss on down! So, it is necessary to speak the same language. What we do is one of the single most important jobs ever, from the Chief on to the inspector, and from the inspector to the Chief. It is as old as civilization itself. And it’s our duty, so have must have each other’s backs. While traveling to the different regions this year, I have met the future of Weights & Measures in this country, each region has a different but similar outlook for their duty to Equity. Will we ever be totally unified as W&M regulators across the country? That remains to be seen, but that is a goal we all should be considering as a priority. Old habits do die hard … We have accomplished the two thing that we set out to do this year. With the help of Constantine Cotsoratis, the Inspector Field Training Manual was a success, and is available on our web site: under “Training and Exams” or contact the NCWM office and request an actual handbook. Also, a big thank to David Sefcik and our partners at NIST for putting together the LP Survey. And most of all, the states and jurisdictions who participated in the actual execution of the project. The NIST Statisticians are putting the final figures together and the results will be forth coming. This was a big deal folks, and I personally THANK every one of you who were involved, thank you very much. And least I forget, the Board of Directors, the Chair is only as good as his support, you’re the best thank you all!

Lastly it has been a great privilege and honor to serve as Chairman of the National Conference on Weights & Measures. It is my hope that in the future the Conference will be the considered the single most authority for Weights & Measures in the USA, and that we and our partners, will be able to promote the importance of uniformity, and a simple concept… That Equity Shall Prevail! For the sake of Equity

Ivan Hankins, “Old Inspectors never die, They’re just placed ‘Out of Service’”- Ivan

“Legal for Trade” Defined In some ads, you may see the phrase “Legal for Trade”. This phrase is often misused even by many reputable dealers. Let’s be clear on this one. No scale is legal for trade until the regulatory authority says it’s legal for trade. Read more about the term “Legal for Trade” on the NCWM website

How do you reach weights and measures professionals? Advertise in NCWM-News! www.ncwm.com/advertise

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2022 Issue 2

2022 Issue 2

Thank You, NCWM LP Survey Ivan Hankins, NCWM Chairman - State of Iowa

NTEP Column If I Make a Design Change to

3. ADM-21.4, This is a house cleaning proposal to bring the VCAP Policy quality requirements up to date to the current ISO standard level. The VCAP Policy currently lists ISO 9001:2008, this proposal recommends updating the ISO reference to ISO 9001:2018. 4. ADM-21.5, this proposal has the largest impact on Manufacturers and Private Labels of NTEP-certified devices not currently listed in the VCAP Policy. Current VCAP Policy requirements state that VCAP compliance applies to all devices that are required to undergo Influence Factor Testing during the NTEP evaluation process. (Note: influence test consists of evaluating the performance of a device across a change in temperature or across a range of input voltages.) The adoption of this proposal will remove the limitation of VCAP compliance to those devices requiring influence factor testing and will apply the VCAP Policy to all device types. To learn more about the VCAP requirements, go to the NCWM Website at VCAP | National Conference on Weights & Measures (ncwm.com). 5. ADM-22.1, is a proposal to recognize the ability of a third party testing laboratory to become certified to perform influence testing on device samples as defined and required by VCAP Policy. The information provided is a summary of the actual proposal included in the NTEP Committee Agenda for the upcoming NCWM Annual Meeting in July and is only intended to make you aware of the possible changes to the VCAP Policy. The NTEP Committee encourages you to download a copy of the NTEP Committee Agenda from the Meetings link at www.ncwm.com/publication 16. After reviewing the complete proposal, please submit any comments, thoughts, or concerns you have related to any of the proposals to the undersigned or during the NTEP Committee Open Hearings during the NCWM Annual Meeting.

My NTEP Certified Device, Do I Need to Inform NTEP? Darrell Flocken, NTEP Administrator Proposed Changes to the Verified Conformity Assessment Program Policy This article is to bring to your attention several proposed changes to the Verified Conformity Assessment Program (VCAP) Policy. These proposed changes, if adopted, may impact your VCAP compliance audit requirements. Following are the proposals that are currently published in the NTEP Committee Agenda and are open to your comments during the NTEP Committee Open Hearing at both the NCWM Annual and Interim Meetings. 1. ADM-21.1, this proposal is a recommendation to add Multiple Dimensioning Measuring Devices and Grain Analyzers to the current list of seven device types. If you currently hold a Manufacturer or Private Label Certificate of Conformance for any of the seven devices, you are familiar with the VCAP requirements and understand the change this proposal would make if adopted. If you are holding a Manufacturer or Private Label Certificate of Conformance for either one of these proposed new additions, this proposal, if adopted, will require you to comply with current VCAP requirements. (Note: the VCAP requirements do not apply to software-only applications.) To learn more about the VCAP requirements, go to the NCWM Website at VCAP | National Conference on Weights & Measures (ncwm.com). 2. ADM-21.3, is a proposal to require all 2nd party auditors to be certified by NTEP to perform VCAP audits. While this does not directly impact Manufacturers and Private Label certificate holders, its adoption will create a more consistent level of compliance auditing.

Hi Everyone! I am taking this opportunity to express my sincere ap- preciation to everyone involved in the NCWM National Survey on 20 LB Cylinders of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Propane). I wish to thank them on behalf of the NCWM, as well David Sefcik from NIST, Office of Weights and Measures, who helped assist us in this effort. For the last three months we have been conducting this study to gather information to present to the Depart- ment of Transportation (DOT), Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The efforts of officials across the country in providing this survey >Page 1 Page 2-3 Page 4-5 Page 6-7 Page 8-9 Page 10-11 Page 12-13

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