Engineering Standards

What Are Engineering Standards?

Engineering standards are established guidelines that provide technical specifications, requirements, and best practices for designing, manufacturing, and testing products, processes, and systems in various engineering disciplines. 

This guide will show you how to identify and obtain standards available at Gleeson library, and beyond.

= AI-assisted text

ASTM Standards

The Annual Book of ASTM Standards is an 85-volume set of books containing more than 12,000 standards. The set is on reserve at the library Information Desk, and you can request specific volumes there for the purpose of copying pages or browsing the contents.

How to locate a standard in the Annual Book of ASTM Standards

There are two sources for identifying ASTM standards: the ASTM website, and the engineering database Compendex. 

ASTM website

• Pros: fast and easy to search.
• Cons: results cannot be limited only to standards, so will include non-standards publications as well.

Compendex

• Pros: results are precise and limited only to standards.
• Cons: requires more steps to create the precise search results.

Both methods will be detailed below, and you are welcome to use either.

Searching the ASTM Website for Standards

1. The ASTM website searches ASTM standards as well as journal articles, symposium papers, and other publications.

• Go to the ASTM website and enter your search terms in the search box at the top of the page.
  • EXAMPLE: natural cement
    • TIP: add the word "standard" to your search and some (but not all)  of the non-standards results will be eliminated.
      • EXAMPLE: natural cement standard

2. Examine your search results to identify a relevant standard.

• Standards will be identified with a blue "Standard" button. 
  • Be sure the standard also displays a green "Active" button, which designates a standard that is still in use.

3. Click on the title of the standard for a description or summary of the contents of the standard, and find the volume number.

• Take note of the ASTM Standards volume number listed in the "Details" box in the right-hand sidebar. You will need this information to request the relevant volume at the library information desk.
  • EXAMPLE: "Book of Standards Volume: 04.01"
    • TIP: The library owns the 2023 edition of ASTM Standards, but you don't need to worry if the year listed is different — the volume number will still be the same.

4. Go to the Gleeson Library Information Desk (front desk) and ask for the specific volume.

• Example: "I'd like to get a book on reserve for my class. The book is ASTM Standards, volume 04.01."
  • You can photocopy or take photos of the relevant pages, and return the book to the Information Desk.

Searching Compendex for ASTM Standards

1. ASTM standards (as well as many other standards) are indexed in the engineering database Compendex. 

• Click on: Compendex (if you're asked to login, do so with your myUSF login credentials).

2. Limit your search to only ASTM standards.

• At the Compendex home screen, click the "Search within" dropdown menu, and select "Source title."
• In the "Search documents" box, enter: "ASTM standards."

3. Add keywords representing your topic for searching in the ASTM Standards. 

• Click the "+ Add search field" link below the search box to add a second search box.
• Enter your topic keyword(s) into the "Search documents" box.
  • Example: "Cement"
• Click the "Search" button to display your results.

4. Identify a relevant standard from the results, and request the specified volume at the library information desk.

• Scan the results for a relevant standard. Click on the title to view the abstract / summary of the standard.
• Take note of the ASTM Standards volume number listed in the citation. You will need this information to request the relevant volume at the library information desk.
  • Example: "Standard Test Methods for Wetting and Drying Compacted Soil-Cement Mixtures" is located in: volume 04.08.
    • TIP: The library owns the 2023 edition of ASTM Standards, but you don't need to worry if the year listed is different — the volume number will still be the same.

5. Go to the Gleeson Library Information Desk (front desk) and ask for the specific volume.

• Example: "I'd like to get a book on reserve for my class. The book is ASTM Standards, volume 04.08."
  • You can photocopy or take photos of the relevant pages, and return the book to the Information Desk.

Other Standards

How to find standards from many different organizations

1. Compendex allows you to search for a wide variety of standards.

•  At the Compendex home screen, enter your topic search term(s) in the search box, and click the "search" button.
  • EXAMPLE: automated vehicles and safety
    • TIP: if you are asked to login, do so using your myUSF credentials.

• TIP: Compendex indexes standards from the following organizations: 
  • ACI: American Concrete Institute
  • AIAA: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
  • ASCE: American Society of Civil Engineers
  • ASTM: American Society for Testing and Materials
  • AWS: American Welding Society
  • AWWA: American Water Works Association
  • BSI: The British Standards Institution
  • IEEE: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
  • IET: The Institution of Engineering and Technology
  • SAE: Society of Automobile Engineers
  • SMPTE: Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
  • TAPPI: Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry

2. Limit your results to standards only.

• EXAMPLE: In the left-hand "Refine" sidebar, locate the "Document Type" category, select "Standard" from the list, and click the "Limit to" button.
  • TIP: Only the top 5 document types are displayed, so you may need to click the "View more" link to display the full list including "Standard."

3. Select a standard from the results and click on the title for more information. 

• EXAMPLE: Safety-Relevant Guidance for On-Road Testing of Prototype Automated Driving System (ADS)-Operated Vehicles

4. Request the standard using our interlibrary loan service. 

• Login to Illiad (our interlibrary loan service) using your myUSF credentials.
• From the "New Requests" menu, choose "Article" unless the standard you're requesting includes an "ISBN" number, in which case, choose "Book" from the menu.
  • Enter as much information as you can about the standard, including the title; standard ID, and ISBN (if applicable). You can always enter information in the "Notes" field if there is no obvious field to enter it in.
  • Submit your request, and we will do our best to get you a copy of the standard.
• If you need help or have questions please let me know (my contact information is on this page.).