The New Products Evaluation Standing Committee was established in July 1991 as a single address to which prospective
suppliers of highway maintenance products can direct applications. Products recognized by the committee are added to Ministry of Transportation Recognized Products List.
This list forms part of the highways maintenance services contracts in effect throughout the province.
The list is also used by ministry staff at district, region, major project and headquarters levels. For this reason certain products are listed which are not normally purchased by district highway maintenance contractors.
The committee meets at least quarterly and has established procedures for:
- screening products, by means of appropriate technical referees;
- notifying applicants of the committee's decisions;
- updating and publishing the recognized products list.
A supplier's first contact with the committee is via the product submission form, documents should accompany the completed form.
The committee first determines whether there is a current, or potential, use for the product on Ministry of Transportation work. If a use is identified, the committee then reviews in detail the documents submitted with the application to determine chemical and physical properties of the product, the CSA, CGSB, ASTM or other standards with which the product complies, the MSDS data and relevant case histories.
Products which appear to be of potential benefit to the ministry are added to the recognized products list as a "tentative product", meaning that it may be selected by potential users. The economic considerations of new products will not be studied by the committee, as this would be a matter of negotiation between the producer and potential user. The committee may, however, draw attention to obvious large price differences at the time of review.
Many "off-the-shelf" products for which ministry specifications exist can be reviewed and added to the list within a few weeks of receipt of the form and data. Other types of product, which may be under current or planned generic field testing or policy review, could require as much as two or three years to be listed. Occasionally, a completely new type of product may necessitate the preparation of a new Ministry of Transportation standard specification, a process which could require several months.
The committee does not publish names of products which have been refused listing. This could imply that the product is of no value, while in fact it merely does not meet current ministry needs or systems. Compatibility with currently-used products is especially important in the field of paints and coatings.
After a product has established an acceptable service record in full-scale use, the committee will upgrade the product to the "proven product" category on the recognized materials list. The period of time required to permit this change of status can range from a few months to several years, depending on the type of product. This is especially true where safety or environmental effects are involved.
The committee maintains a data base of all product submissions. Whenever a new ministry need is identified, or a new standard specification is issued, all files on the data base are automatically reviewed for possible addition to the list.
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