Bassinets Panel Moves to Simplify Rocking Angle Test Method

An ASTM F15.18 task group September 5 agreed to recommend simplifying instructions for angle measurements for rocking bassinets. The activity was prompted by a negative vote from a recent subcommittee meeting. The upshot is that all measurements would occur with the pads in place as opposed to an option to remove them.

The rationale for possible removal was that the soft surfaces of the pads can cause variations in results. Removing them, if not integral to frames, would decrease that variance. However, the recent discussion ended with consensus that such differences would be so minor that they do not merit a more complex method.

Participants did not voice disagreement with a suggestion that manufacturers will protect themselves with designs that fall short of the maximum allowed angle – much less than the potential variance, described by a member as 0.2º-0.3º.

The new language – to be written offline and discussed at an upcoming session – also would clarify how and in which order to place a CAMI dummy, a block to provide a steady/flat surface, and the measurement device.