24th September 2007 - AMECA Announces APTA-test Bus Brake Friction Material Listings

Washington, DC – AMECA. (Automotive Manufacturers Equipment Compliance Agency) announces new bus transit brake friction material product compliance listings for APTA BT-RP-002-05 testing criteria.  This program was developed by the APTA Bus Standards Program in conjunction with LINK Testing Laboratories. AMECA serves the APTA Bus Standards Program as third party Registrar.

About the APTA Bus Standards Program

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) www.apta.com is a non-profit international association of over 1,500 public and private member organizations including transit systems and commuter rail operators; planning, design, construction, and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions, transit associations and state departments of transportation. Standards have become and important program activity at APTA and in the public transportation industry. APTA, through its planning and policy committees, has played a major role in creating active working structures within the organization working on the development of standards. Hundreds of industry volunteers serving on numerous working committees, have developed standards for bus, rail transit and commuter rail operations, maintenance, procurement, and ITS. These consensus-based standards are making a real difference to the management and operations of these organizations.  These standards are now being used to achieve operational efficiencies and safety improvements is services, facilities, and vehicles.  APTA has received official designation as a Standards Development Organization.

APTA BT-RP-002-05 - Recommended Practice for Transit Bus Foundation Brake Lining Classification

This recommended practice provides transit bus maintenance departments with typical test performance data to assist in the selection of replacement foundation brake linings. Individual operating agencies should modify these guidelines to accommodate their specific equipment and mode of operation. This recommended practice provides guidelines for only “S-cam” type brakes and only at the parameters listed in the table in Section 4.1. The testing procedure and data collected does not cover brake lining wear, noise, or other areas of overall transit bus foundation brake system performance or operation. The purpose of this recommended practice is to provide guidance to operating agencies in selecting transit bus replacement brake lining. Basic frictional properties of various brake blocks can be compared with other lining that have been FMVSS 121 dynamometer-tested using the referenced test conditions following SAE review of the test data. The torque values can only be used to determine the relative friction characteristics of the various lining under the stated test conditions.

About LINK Testing Laboratories

LINK TESTING LABORATORIES is an acknowledged leader in providing vehicle and component testing services for the automotive and commercial vehicle industries. With facilities at eight locations in the US, Germany, and Korea, LINK can provide comprehensive testing solutions around the world. The primary testing focus includes friction materials, braking systems, driveline components, wet friction materials, and transmissions. In addition, the Link Engineering family of companies offers test systems for many of the same industries from vehicle data acquisition systems to aircraft dynamometers. www.linkeng.com

Only technically proficient, professional laboratories which maintain a record keeping system with a calibration program and have demonstrated the ability test to every aspect to the relevant safety standard are granted AMECA accreditation. AMECA requires every laboratory to establish and utilize a documented calibration program to assure the required degree of accuracy in measurements. The documented accuracy of all measurement instrument standards remain traceable to primary standards maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology of the United States of America or the national physical laboratory maintaining such standards in the country in which the laboratory is located. Through the accreditation process, LINK Testing Laboratories has clearly demonstrated that it has the equipment, personnel and appropriate qualifications to produce accurate, repeatable and technically valid test data to meet the rigorous requirements of the AMECA accreditation process.

About AMECA

The Automotive Manufacturers Equipment Compliance Agency, Inc. (AMECA) is the agent for various states of the United States to provide equipment compliance services. The AMECA program is the only program of its type in the United States. This Equipment Compliance Program is centralized, provides a one-stop compliance registry service, and notifies government, industry and the general public about compliant motor vehicle safety equipment. Our Notice of Equipment Compliance is recognized as evidence of compliance with the regulatory requirements with our representative jurisdictions.

Every item listed by AMECA has been tested by an AMECA-accredited laboratory and found to be in compliance with applicable United States standards. Our clients are the national and international automotive industry, the standards-setting community, the federal government’s General Services Administration (GSA), numerous state governments, as well as some foreign governments.

AMECA maintains a listing of items that have been tested and currently comply with the applicable standards. Called the “Compliance List of Automotive Safety Devices”, this listing is updated quarterly and is available free as an Adobe PDF document distributed via email. The international "List of Acceptable Plastics for Optical Lenses and Reflectors Used on Motor Vehicles" is also maintained by AMECA. This document is updated twice a year is also available free as an Adobe PDF document distributed via email. To receive your free copy of either document send an email request to info@ameca.org.

Media Contact: Kevin M. Wolford, 202-898-0145, Kevin.wolford@ameca.org

Source: AMECA Press Release