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We Are Family!

12/1/2002

This phrase has become part of the popular culture in the U.S., particularly for fans at professional athletic events. At the most recent ACI convention, I didn't hear or feel much of this spirit because there was a great deal of complaining about the operations of our Technical Activities Committee (TAC).

The complaints were generally: "TAC is delaying the publication of our document," or "TAC is holding my committee to the same standard as a code or specification and we are only writing a guide or a state-of-the-art report." Before I address these points specifically, let me discuss the issue on a more general level.

ACI technical committee documents are well respected worldwide for several reasons:

• They are perceived as technically correct;
• They are generally well written;
• They contain a minimal level of commercial influence; and
• They are generally in agreement with other ACI committee documents.

I strongly believe that the reputation of ACI technical documents is well deserved and is a direct result of the TAC review process that has evolved over the years.

Founded in 1947, TAC currently consists of a Chair, 12 members, and the Managing Director of Engineering, who serves as secretary. The volunteer members contribute a tremendous amount of time to the Institute over the course of a 6-year stay on TAC. The criteria for being selected to serve on TAC include:

• Recognized expertise in a technical area of the Institute; and
• Demonstrated success at chairing an ACI technical committee, which usually includes success in getting a document through the development and approval process.

Given that there are only 14 members of TAC, it is not possible to have every technical interest within the Institute represented at any given time. However, there is an explicit effort to maintain an appropriate balance between members with structural and materials orientation.

Now let's address the issues raised previously. First, the TAC review does not delay the progress of a document. Documents are reviewed on a first-come, first-reviewed basis. Documents are almost always reviewed at the first TAC meeting after being submitted for review. The only exceptions are those documents that are submitted immediately before a TAC meeting and for which this is simply not adequate time for the review.

Second, TAC does generally hold all of the technical committee documents to the same standard. This is important because the readers of the documents have come to expect a constant level of quality. We do not have a portion of the MCP devoted to documents of lesser quality. I don't believe that such a situation would serve the interests of the Institute.

Here are a few tips on how to have your document reviewed and quickly completed after the review:

• Try to leave your pride of authorship out of the review room. This is difficult, but it is critically important for allowing you to accept the criticism of your document.
• Have members of the committee who are familiar with the entire document attend the review session. The interaction between the committee members and the TAC members can eliminate misunderstandings and can significantly reduce the number of comments eventually sent to the committee. In almost every case where I have been involved with a review of a document when committee members were present, they admitted that the process, while not particularly fun, did result in a better document.
• Act on the review comments immediately. Probably 90% of the comments can be dealt with in a committee meeting immediately following the review session. Assign the remaining comments to specific individuals with expertise in the topic. Also, assign a specific date for them to respond.

Just remember that we are all part of the ACI family and we need to work together rather than criticize a part of the Institute that has given ACI much of the credibility it currently has. I welcome your comments and recommendations-but remember that expediting the process must not reduce the quality of what we produce.

Terry Holland
President,
American Concrete Institute

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