Here at Document Center, we work with specs and standards from lots of different organizations. Each association is unique in the way they address the administrative side of standards development. And even though there are many similarities between them, occasionally there’s a way of doing things at one developer that’s not done anywhere else. Interim Amendments and Interim Revisions are one example that’s only found in U.S. Government documents.
These special case releases came into being due to the many “interested parties” involved in the development of these documents. For example, in Mil Specs and Standards, it’s not unusual to see several branches of the military contributing to one specification. Since U.S. Government Specs and Standards are developed to support the purchasing life cycle, it’s important that any publication that’s developed be applicable to all the interested parties.
So what happens when 3 out of 4 participants in the development of a government standard agree on a new revision or amendment, but the 4th can’t quite go along with the majority? The dissenting organization is able to create a “parallel universe” Interim Amendment or Interim Revision that is only to be used for it’s purchasing requirements.
Usually these items are generated because of an immediate procurement need and usually they are only allowed to exist for two years. The requirement is that when an Interim Amendment or Interim Revision is accepted for publication, there is an immediate project started to create a regular specification or standard to address the requirements from the temporary update. The reality is that sometimes these Interim documents last a lot longer than 2 years…
You will be able to identify an Interim Amendment or Interim Revision by the double zero’s that are added to the document number. So, for example, there’s a military specification for ammunition, MIL-A-2550. In 1973, the Revision B was released. It was prepared by the Army for use by 5 of their divisions, but also used by Navy and Air Force purchasers as well.
In November of 1977, the U.S. Army Armament Research and Development Command (ARDC) realized that they had new requirements that needed a modification of the specification. The other stakeholders didn’t agree or couldn’t make the change fast enough. An Interim Revision, MIL-A-002550 Revision C, was released to be used “in Lieu” of the MIL-A-2550 Revision B, but only by the ARDC.
You can follow the work done back and forth to accommodate the ARDC’s needs, as amendments and Interim Amendments were released on the 2 co-existing revisions. Finally in 1999, the Interim Revision C was cancelled, leaving the MIL-A-2550B to “reign supreme!”
In the above example, the Interim Revision C was cancelled independently of the earlier Revision B. But what would have happened if the original Revision B would have been cancelled first? Would it also cancel the Interim Revision C or not?
Again, because the procurement requirements have essentially been split for the specific needs of the various military branches, the cancellation is also split. Our experience says any of the following can happen:
- concurrent cancellation notices are released so that there’s one for the regular standard and one for the interim standard, or
- the cancellation notice of the regular standard includes the cancellation of the interim one, or
- the cancellation of the Interim Revision follows later as again, the issuing body has 2 to 3 years to decide what to do, or
- an entirely new document or a new updated issue of the item itself replaces both versions.
And Interim Amendments? It is not uncommon for the next update for the document to contain the amendment or revision that replaces the interim component.
How can you tell? You’ll need to review all updates on the document carefully. In U.S. government publications, you’ll see the new update information in the upper right hand corner of the document. Replaced revisions are listed directly below. It’s this information that often holds the key to the status of an Interim Amendment or Interim Revision.
Or you may need to read any cancellation notices that are issued on the document. Again, the information you’re looking for is likely in the upper right hand corner but may also be addressed in the body of the cancellation notice itself.
The important thing thing with Interim Amendments and Interim Revisions is that they are specifically used by one branch of the government. So only use them for contract work for that specific entity!
If you have questions about specifications and standards and you need expert assistance, please contact Document Center Inc. You can always use our website as your starting point at www.document-center.com. But do consider getting in touch by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com). We’re your Standards Experts and we’re here to help you!
