ASTM Int'l Approves Package Delivery Systems Standard - ASTM D 7386
August 12, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
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ASTM International approved ASTM D 7386 - Practice for Performance Testing of Packages for Single Parcel Delivery Systems to help create a more realistic simulation for the small parcel shipping and handling environment, according to ASTM International.
According to Pat J. Nolan, chief operating officer, DDL Inc., and chair of Committee D10, the distribution cycles contained in ASTM D 4169 - Practice for Performance Testing of Shipping Containers and Systems no longer accurately represent the handling methods and technology within the small parcel shipping industry.
"[ASTM] D 7386 will be used to test and evaluate packages that are handled with UPS, FedEx or other small parcel handling systems," said Nolan. "It will have the most application for companies who typically ship by this mode of transport."
Medical device manufacturers that use small parcel shipping frequently will be a primary user of ASTM D 7386 to replace the current standards contained in ASTM D 4169, according to Nolan.
He also said that ASTM D 7386 was submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for inclusion in the list of recognized standards within the FDA's Guidance for Recognition and Use of Consensus Standards. FDA recognition will allow medical device manufacturers to use ASTM D 7386 in lieu of ASTM D 4169.
Subcommittee D10.21 revised ASTM D 4169 to reflect the existence of ASTM D 7386.
As described in ASTM D 4169, Distribution Cycle 3 previously included the small parcel/single package carriers now covered in ASTM D 7386 and less-than-truckload carriers that sort packages manually or with lift trucks at their transit terminals.
The small parcel/single package categories now covered in ASTM D 7386 were eliminated from ASTM D 4169.
Subcommittee D10.21 on Shipping Containers and Systems - Application of Performance Test Methods, under the jurisdiction of ASTM International Committee D10 on Packaging, developed the standard.
Source: ASTM International.