Subcommittee Chairmen’s
Duties And Responsibilities
September 2012
Officers’ Training Workshop
Joe Koury and Ashley Wiand
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OBJECTIVES
 At the end of this module, you will be able to serve
effectively as a Subcommittee Chairman by:
• Handling administrative responsibilities
• Conducting an effective meeting
• Preparing items for Sub and Main Committee ballots
• Resolving negative votes effectively
• Utilizing available resources at ASTM Headquarters
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ROLE OF SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRMAN
You serve as a . . .
 Leader
 Communicator
 Administrator
 Organizer
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DELEGATION OF
RESPONSIBILITIES
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THE VICE CHAIRMAN
 Chairs meetings in your absence
 Assigns projects to task group chairmen and follows
up on deadlines
 Answers correspondence
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THE SECRETARY
 Records minutes
 Collects task group reports
 Distributes attendance lists
 Assumes responsibilities as delegated by the
Sub Chairman
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SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR
ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES
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DUTIES
 Report to main committee on subcommittee actions
 Process necessary information through the website
 Provide meeting room requirements and audio/visual needs for
next meeting
 Assist in inquiries on standards
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INQUIRIES ON STANDARDS
 ASTM membership and staff are prohibited from offering official
interpretation of standards
 Official responses must follow Section 16 of the ASTM Regulations
 Inquiries can be handled informally by Subchairs and technical
contacts
 Be clear that the response is a personal opinion
 Do not use ASTM stationery for the response
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ROSTER MAINTENANCE
 Approve new members with classification and vote
 Check balance and classifications of existing
members
 ASTM sends email notifications regarding new
members and out-of-balance rosters
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CONDUCTING A
MEETING
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PREPARATION FOR A MEETING
 Review ballot results
 Review correspondence
 Review minutes and action items from previous meeting
 Review status of your subcommittee’s standards
 Update subcommittee roster/print attendance sheet
 Contact task group chairmen
 Contact staff manager
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WHY IS AN AGENDA IMPORTANT?
 Prepares chairman
 Prepares attendees
 Creates an interest
 Defines clear objectives
 Serves as a valuable organizational tool
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AN INFORMATION-FULL AGENDA
INCLUDES:
 Meeting date, time, location
 Agenda/minutes approvals
 Agenda items with background/goals
 Unfinished/New business
 Utilize the Create My Agenda tool.
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INCLUDE BALLOT RESULTS IN AGENDAS
 Access My Tools >> Ballot Negatives and Comments link
 Copy and paste negative comments into the meeting
agenda
 Allows all subcommittee members to be aware of the
negatives that need to be resolved
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Create My Agenda
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Create My Agenda
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Create My Agenda
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Inserting Negatives and
Comments
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Inserting Negatives and
Comments
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Inserting Negatives
and Comments
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Inserting Negatives
and Comments
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OPENING A MEETING
 Start on time
 Delegate the task of taking minutes if you don’t have a subcommittee
secretary
 Review ASTM’s Antitrust Statement (included in agenda)
 Announce that recording of any kind (audio or video) is not allowed in
ASTM meetings
 Review the agenda/obtain agreement on the meetings objectives and goals
 Revise agenda if necessary
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DURING THE MEETING
 Use ASTM Regulations
 Use Robert’s Rules of Order
 Use time efficiently
 Use members effectively
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PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE
 Majority rule must prevail
 Rights of members with minority opinion are
protected
 Respect for all members assured
 Logical order of business provided
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HOW TO MAKE A MOTION
 Motion made
 Motion seconded
 Chairman calls for discussion of the motion
 Chairman calls for vote on the motion
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USES OF MOTIONS
Motion
Requires a Second
Debatable
Vote Needed
Approve Agenda
Yes
Yes
Majority
Approve Minutes
Yes
Yes
Majority
Place an Item on Ballot
Yes
Yes
Majority
Establish a Task Group
Yes
Yes
Majority
Executive
Administrative Decision
Yes
Yes
Majority
Adjourn a Meeting
Yes
Yes
Majority
Not Persuasive Action
(must state rationale)
Yes
Yes
2/3 Affirmative
Not related Action
(must state rationale)
(New agenda item for
next meeting)
Yes
Yes
2/3 Affirmative
Amend a motion
Yes
Yes
Majority
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ROLE OF THE CHAIRMAN
 Remain neutral
 Recognize attendees who wish to speak
 Maintain order
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CLOSING A MEETING
 State conclusions reached
 Summarize assignments
 Review requirements for next meeting
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AFTER THE MEETING
 Prepare Minutes
- post through the My Tools portion
 Enter Negative Resolutions
 Make a list of subcommittee ballot items and main
committee/concurrent ballot items and send to your staff
manager
 Contact staff manager regarding any changes for the next
meeting (time, room size, a/v, etc.)
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PREPARING ITEMS FOR
BALLOT
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REGISTERING WORK ITEMS
 Required upon initiation of work on new standards
or revision to existing standards
 No need for reapprovals, withdrawals or
reinstatement
 An easy eight-step process
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MONITOR WORK ITEMS
 Establish procedures for who will register work
items within the subcommittee
 Review content and authorize the posting of the
work item to the web
 Keep active work items current and delete dropped
projects
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WHY WORK ITEMS?
 Promote activity
 Provide visibility
 Serve as tracking number
 Initiate the “Standards Tracker” function
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ISSUING A BALLOT
 Subcommittee Ballot:
• Subcommittee Chairman or their designees are authorized to initiate a
subcommittee ballot
• Motion passed at a subcommittee meeting
• Rationale required for each ballot item
 Concurrent Main/Sub Ballot:
• Minor revisions to an existing standard or new standards/major revisions that
have undergone at least one subcommittee ballot can be issued concurrently
• Concurrent ballot can be issued when approved by the main committee
chairman and either approved at a subcommittee meeting or requested by
subcommittee chairman
• Rationale required for each ballot item
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PREPARING NEW DRAFTS FOR BALLOT
 Use the standard templates
 Use the Form and Style Guide for...
• Proper format of Test Methods, Specifications, Classification,
Practices, Guides, and Terminology
 “Up Front” editing available via Headquarters
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PREPARING REVISIONS FOR BALLOT
 Register work item
 A link to the Word document will be provided to the technical
contact
 A link to instructions on how to prepare the work item for
ballot will also be provided
 Tack Changes “bars” appear in the margin of the document
 Submitting entire standard is not necessary, only revised
sections
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PREPARING RATIONALE FOR BALLOT
 Short, concise explanation for balloting the item
 Previous ballot history
 Changes made due to negative votes or comments
 Rationale required for all ballot items
 Include all contact information
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RESOLVING NEGATIVE VOTES
EFFECTIVELY
 Communication
 Consideration
 Documentation
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COMMUNICATION
 Contact the negative voter:
• before the ballot closes
• before the meeting
• after the meeting
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CONSIDERATION
 Ensure proper motions are made when handling
negative votes
• Motion should include the rationale
 Tally only official voting members
• Official vote is indicated on attendance sheets
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DOCUMENTATION
 Document motions, vote count, and rationale in
minutes
 Respond to negative voter
 Resolving the negative online
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DISPOSITION OF NEGATIVE
 Persuasive
 Withdrawn
 Withdrawn with Editorial Change(s)
 Not Related
 Not Persuasive
 Previously Considered
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UTILIZATION OF AVAILABLE
RESOURCES
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ASTM STAFF
 Staff Manager/
Administrative Assistant
 Member Services
 Corporate Communications
 Technical and Professional
Training
 Editor
 Corporate Development
 Symposia
 Proficiency Testing
Program
 Interlaboratory Study
Program (ILS)
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TOOLS AND RESOURCES
 Regulations Governing ASTM Technical
Committees
 Form and Style Manual
 Committee Bylaws
 Virtual Classroom for Members
 Standard Templates
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TOOLS AND RESOURCES
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MORE TOOLS AND RESOURCES
 Standards Tracking
 Publicity (Standardization News/Press Releases)
 Regularly Scheduled Virtual Training Sessions
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MORE TOOLS AND RESOURCES
 Virtual Meetings
• Combination of web-based/teleconference meeting
• Allows task groups to work on standards in between face-to-face
meetings
• Can create and revise standards online in real time
• Schedule your own or contact Staff Manager
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REVIEW OF SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
 Handling administrative responsibilities
 Conducting an effective meeting
 Preparing items for Sub and Main Committee ballot
 Resolving negatives effectively
 Utilizing available ASTM resources
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GOOD LUCK IN
YOUR IMPORTANT ROLE
Joe Koury: jkoury@astm.org
Ashley Wiand: awiand@astm.org
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