Standards and specifications do not provide an enjoyable reading experience. There are no metaphors or similes as in poetry. There is no mayhem or suspense like you would find in a good mystery novel; no jokes as in a comedy; and worse yet, no plot or climatic ending. Standards and specifications may, however, make good bedside reading because they can put you to sleep if you do not understand the author’s intent. Let’s exam the initial intent of military standards and specifications, because that is where it all started.

Standards and specifications first began to appear in the United States Navy as it was in the process of building a fleet of ships. The Navy required that all the sailors have the ability to repair the ships while out to sea, as well as after battle. This meant that all Navy personnel would have to be able to identify every material, its method of fabrication and the operating and maintenance instructions for the systems. As a result, it became crucial that all specification were standardized throughout the Navy.

The architects of the original Navy standards and specifications had to create documents that illustrated exactly how a ship was to be built, in language that could be understood by sailors and other ship personnel, on an eighth grade reading level.

A perfect example is the NAVSEA 250-1500-01 standard.

To read more, please click here for the complete article on “Interpreting Standards and Requirements,” in the November issue of NDT Magazine.