The story behind the grade stamp

INTEGRITY has long been a lbyword of the lumber industry with men priding themselves on securing deals with no more than a handshake or a verbal OK to begin a transaction. To the retailer, the grade stamp is another guarantee of integrity, offering assurance of standards and reliability.

The watchdog of the industry, the trustee maintaining this integrity nationwide, is the American Lumber Standards Committee (ALSC) and the agencies approved under its procedures. Using the lumber standards which they developed, the committee is responsible for writing and enforcing procedures for approval of rules, procedures for agencies to grade under those rules and procedures for the reviewing of the adequacy and the competency of agencies after approval.

The ALSC maintains an office headed by a secretary-manager, Thomas D. Searles, in Germantown, Md., and a staff of ten inspectors in the field, both in the U.S. and Canada, checking for compliance with the ALSC rules. This staff has authority to request a reinspection from any agency and to report discrepancies to the Board of Review of the ALSC.

As part of the responsibility of the ALSC for maintaining lumber standards, the grading rules, inspection agencies and grade stamping are approved by the Board of Review. Certification by this group is limited to the inspection of grading of untreated lumber.

Enforcement of grading standards to maintain the integrity of the grade stamp is a major function of the committee. Those breaking the rules appear before the Board of Review with the right of cross examination. Penalties for abuses are determined by the Board of Review and may be action as severe as withdrawing the approval and certification from an agency.

Enforcement became critical in the early 1960s when lurnber grading was so confused that building code officials requested help from the federal government. To avoid government intervention in grading, the ALSC gave the Board of Review increased authority to monitor performance of agencies by checking at mills and at destination. Compliance with the rules has become mandatory with the staff constantly on the alert for violations.

Story at a Glance

Grade stamp integdty important to industry retailer

American Lumber Standards Committee guardian of voluntary product standard program completely self-financed.

The ALSC field inspectors continually tour the United States visiting sawmills, remanufacturing plants and retailers. Their authority to visit sawmills is guaranteed in contractual agreements between the mill and the grading agency. When an ALS inspector visits a retail yard, the retailer almost always grants permission for an inspector to enter his yard. Most retailers respect this protection which assures that lumber is up to standard when it arrives in their yards. If an inspector finds lumber that is not up to grade, he calls the agency in for re-grading at no cost to the retailer.

Once in a while lumber with a bogus grade stamp appears on the market. The phony stamp usually

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