Background | Tasks for Contracted Experts | Identification of Prospective Contracted Experts | Criteria to Determine Qualifications | Managing Contracted Experts | Deliverables & Work Products | Reference Documents & Useful Tools

Tasks for Contracted Experts

Contracted experts provide a valuable resource either as independent practitioners or working in conjunction with a committee or task group as a leader or facilitator. The following are some of the most common services that contracted experts can provide to API’s standards developing activities:

• Draft new or revised standard independently or with task force support

Contracted experts with an in-depth knowledge of a particular subject area are uniquely suited to develop a first draft of a new document or review a current edition and propose recommendations for revisions.

• Facilitate task force meetings

Contractors who are trained or experienced in meeting facilitation can often do a better job than staff or committee members, especially when working through a technically challenging or controversial document. Working closely with staff, the contractor can resolve issues and drive them toward consensus, without taking a technical position.

• Ballot comment resolution, either independently or with task force support

Comment review for a large document can be a tedious task, however, API’s procedures require a thorough review and documentation of the disposition of each comment including reballot or recirculation. Notetaking and completion of the comment resolution document creates a permanent record of compliance which may be reviewed during an internal procedural review, a subsequent appeal, or an ANSI audit.

• Review referenced documents for relevance and consistency

Ttypically, when a document is being considered for reaffirmation, references should be checked for currency and relevance. This may require obtaining a copy of the referenced document and reviewing all, or a portion, and conducting a comparison of requirements of those found in earlier versions.

• Review of page proofs

Contractors who exhibit good detail skills may be used to review page proofs on behalf of a committee. It is useful to obtain a prior estimate for a fixed price to review a proof since the amount of work may vary significantly depending upon the quality of the original draft and the API editor. Contractors are more prone to take on this task when they also prepared the original document. Keep in mind that any changes at this stage must be reviewed carefully since contractors may be prone to inject technical changes after balloting is competed in order to make the document “read better.”