Getting a New Life

This article reviews a much younger standards committee that has revamped the way it does business in order to make sure its message embraces Europe and Asia. This committee’s standards address bioprocessing, the use of living organisms to create products. ASME’s Bioprocessing Equipment Standards Committee attempts to define a minimum set of engineering practices that will ensure the safety and reliability of bioprocessing systems. The most comprehensive changes in the 2005 edition fall under Design for Sterility and Cleaning. Its compendial water section includes more detail and graphics on ways through proper design to minimize microbial growth in highly purified water handling systems. The Bioprocessing Equipment Standards Committee is running hard to keep up with the needs of its fast-changing industry. In only a few years, it has come a long way in both the depth of its standards and participation of engineers from around the world.