Procedures for Implementation of the Fastener Quality Act

The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), United States Department of Commerce, and the Under Secretary of the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA), United States Department of Commerce (collectively referred to as the Department), are today issuing a final rule based on comments received in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on September 8, 1997 (62 FR 47240-47260) (1997)) amending regulations found at 15 CFR part 280 implementing the Fastener Quality Act (the Act). This final rule establishes the procedures for registration of in-process inspection activities of qualifying manufacturing facilities that use Quality Assurance Systems (QAS), revises definitions and related sections for clarity, and corrects editorial errors. These changes will facilitate the implementation of the Act and will better accommodate modern industry practices by incorporating these practices into the certification process of fasteners covered by the Act. This rule also extends the implementation date of the Fastener Quality Act by sixty days to July 26, 1998.