In 1912 the Pullman Company formalized the adoption of standards for the construction of cars and the equipment used on them, creating a Committee on Standards to oversee the process, which included the consideration of all employee suggestions for improvements. An Engineer of Tests (A. M. Johnsen, 1916-1956) was also appointed to analyze the safety, strength, and wearing qualities of all types of materials necessary for car construction and maintenance. The Committee on Standards was succeeded by the Equipment Committee in 1938.

Pre-1912 standards and test records; Committee on Standards, 1912-1939, and Equipment Committee, 1938-1950, minutes and indexes; suggestions and test files, 1912-1941; and correspondence and memoranda of the Engineer of Tests, A. M. Johnsen, 1932-1956. Pre-1912 records include a record of standards adopted, 1889-1902, and changed, 1896-1914, as well as testing records, 1906-1912. Committee on Standards and Equipment Committee minutes contain a record of the consideration and approval of designs and specifications for cars and equipment as well as decisions regarding the merit of employee suggestions for improvements. Suggestions and tests files, organized by type of equipment, include a record of the suggestion, committee action, and further testing. Engineer of Tests A. M. Johnsen's correspondence and memoranda concerns the testing and standards process for various components.