TIPs Review & Development FAQ
What group regulates the process for development and review of TAPPI TIPs?
The Quality and Standards Management Committee (QSMC) is a committee appointed by the TAPPI President and which reports to the TAPPI Board of Directors. QSMC is responsible for establishing, reviewing, and revising (when necessary) the regulations and style guidelines for TAPPI TIPs. QSMC has other responsibilities as well, as outlined in its scope:
Scope: The Quality and Standards Management Committee is responsible for implementation of the portions of TAPPI’s Strategic Plan that relate to the sharing of technical information and knowledge in the specific areas of Test Methods, Technical Information Papers, and quality management systems. The Committee coordinates with other groups in achieving all appropriate strategic outcomes, takes action to insure progress, and recommends changes in strategic direction as necessary. The Committee oversees TAPPI Test Methods and Technical Information Papers and maintains liaison with internal and external groups as appropriate. The Committee brings major policy proposal changes to the Board of Directors.
How can I find current information about activities involved with the review and development of Technical Information Papers?
Read the latest edition of the Standards and TIPS Action Report (STAR). Go to the Specialty Newsletter page on the TAPPI web site and scroll down to the listing for the STAR.
How does a new TIP get approved?
Any TAPPI member may propose a new TIP. A draft must be completed and submitted to the Standards Manager at TAPPI. This draft may come from a TAPPI technical group that has developed the new TIP, but it is not required that a technical group “sponsor” a new TIP. A proposed new TIP is placed in one of the Subject Categories (found in Appendix 3 of the TIP Guidelines. A TIP may be published when all of the required sections, as described in the TIP Guidelines, have been incorporated into the draft, and a minimum of three TAPPI members from three different companies have approved the final draft.
Do all TIPs get reviewed regularly?
Prior to the TIP Guidelines that were approved in 2001, every TIP had to be reviewed every five years. Under the new guidelines, TIPs, as they come up for review, must be placed in one of three TIP Categories:
Data and Calculations: TIPs that contain basic data, calculations, and other similar information that would be constant over time and would normally only need to be reviewed if an error was discovered or a special request for review is received. Any user of Data and Calculations TIPs should contact the TAPPI Standards Manager if there is evidence that a review is needed or an error has been discovered.
Resource Information: TIPs that contain references for resources (with proper disclaimers); this is information that may not need to be reviewed as regularly as other TIPs, but the accuracy of the information should be checked and verified at each publication of the TIPs book. Deadlines shall be established by the Standards Manager for reviewing the accuracy of this information in order to update it in time for the publication of the TIPs book and CD-ROM in odd-numbered calendar years.
Automatically Periodically Reviewed: TIPs that, in the opinion of technical experts, should be reviewed on a regular basis. The Working Group that approves the TIP shall determine the period of review and note this time period on the published TIP. The period of automatic review shall be no shorter than five years and no longer than 10 years.
So, under the new guidelines, only TIPs that are in the Automatically Periodically Reviewed category or the Resource Information category are required to have regular review. Resource Information TIPs are checked for accuracy prior to the publication of the full collection of TIPs; Automatically Periodically Reviewed TIPs are reviewed in accordance with the time period established by the Working Group (from 5 to 10 years).
Who is responsible for the review of TIPs?
As TIPs come up for review, the Standards Manager at TAPPI recruits a technical expert from among the membership to act as Working Group Chairman (WGC) for the review. The WGC then is responsible for including any other technical experts that may have an interest in reviewing the TIP. At least three active TAPPI members from three different companies must approve the content of a final draft of a TIP.
The Subject Categories for TIPs were originally established and based on the TAPPI Technical Committee structure at the time. TAPPI Technical Divisions and Committees may decide to reorganize in various combinations, but this does not affect the assignment of TIPs to a Subject Category. However, since most of the Subject Categories align with the Technical Committees, most TAPPI Technical Committees take “ownership” of the TIPs that relate to the scope of the committee. This is not a requirement in the guidelines, but it is common practice. It is usually through the membership of the appropriate Technical Committee that a WGC and other Working Group members are usually recruited.