FALL 2016
Distributor's Link Magazine Fall Issue 2016 / Vol 39 No4
Distributor's Link Magazine Fall Issue 2016 / Vol 39 No4
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116<br />
THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK<br />
ZaGO MANUFACTURING INC.<br />
21 East Runyon Street, Newark, NJ 07114<br />
TEL 973-643-6700 FAX 973-643-4433 EMAIL info@ZaGO.com WEB www.ZaGO.com<br />
FROM MS TO NASM (AND BACK AGAIN) by Gail R. Friedberg<br />
There is no doubt regulations governing sales to the<br />
military, add to the expense of military products, including<br />
fasteners. In 1994, Defense Secretary William Perry, issued<br />
what came to be known as “The Perry Memo”, directing a<br />
decreased reliance on military specifications (“mil specs”) and<br />
encouraged a greater use of “performance and commercial<br />
specifications.” Shortly thereafter, Congress passed the<br />
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)<br />
requiring federal agencies to use standards developed<br />
by voluntary bodies instead of mil specs. Accordingly, the<br />
Aerospace Industry Association (AIA) took over 546 former<br />
mil specs slated for cancellation and renamed them NASM<br />
(for inch/pound) and NAM (for metric).<br />
By way of example, MS3212 and MS3213 which<br />
pertain to Phillips pan head self-sealing fasteners were<br />
migrated to NASM 82496 and all of the documentation<br />
setting manufacturing, quality and performance standards<br />
are now found in that AIA document. The increased reliance<br />
on commercial standards and decreased reliance on mil<br />
specs, for a period of time led to decreased observance in<br />
BUSINESS FOCUS ARTICLE<br />
the formalities of the standards. Recently, there has been<br />
a renewed call on the part of federal auditors for stricter<br />
adherence to the letter of the specs. One can only speculate<br />
as to the reasoning, although critical product failures<br />
and cost overruns along with current Defense Secretary<br />
Ash Carter’s observation that “not every defense dollar<br />
is always spent as it should be” and his call for the DOD<br />
acquisition process to be more “accountable” is potentially<br />
the reasoning for stricter adherence to the specifications.<br />
It is critically important, when purchasing parts to buy<br />
only from companies who are well versed in the past mil<br />
specs and current NASM requirements as they pertain<br />
to materials, secondary processing and testing. Zago<br />
Manufacturing Company has been supplying self-sealing<br />
fasteners under the MS and NASM specs since 1993 and<br />
is the foremost well-versed company in its sector on the mil<br />
spec and NASM requirements.<br />
Gail R. Friedberg is the Vice President of Zago Manufacturing<br />
Company, Inc. as well as its legal counsel. She is a graduate of<br />
the National Law Center at George Washington University.<br />
ZAGO MANUFACTURING INC<br />
WORD SCRAMBLE<br />
Can you form 5 terms by unscrambling these 5 groups<br />
of letters and placing a letter in each square?<br />
All 5 terms relate to fasteners.<br />
© Puzzle Features Syndicate<br />
SOLUTION ON PAGE 189
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