ABSTRACT
A discussion of the construction or erection of a test section immediately leads into the area of material control. It is in that area that the most apparent departure from standard QA techniques is observed. The term "apparent" is used because upon closer examination the differences aren't nearly as significant as one may assume. For a construction project such as the construction of a pressure vessel to an ASME code (1), the material is generally all collected into central areas and appropriately identified by tags or markings. Issuance of material from stock is closely controlled with markings properly transferred from the base stock item to the piece about to be machined or used. Often material control areas are segregated with security fences. There is documentation shOWing the use of the items issued on a given project or to a given person. This type of centralized stock control with limited access and controlled issuance is a vital part of material control, particularly for "code" construction. But, in a small research project, the person most likely to be involved with the material is the project leader. Since he is the one with the overall responsibility for the success of the research project, he might prefer to maintain his own controlled area for his project materials and keep them segregated from other projects. The end result is that throughout the research center there may be several storage areas maintained by the vari0us technical sections and project leaders to assure that their materials are separate and available when the project leader wants them. Material controls, however, can still be applied to decentralized project stores with appropriate tagging and identification procedures. The project leader can maintain his identification tags and markings on the project materials and thereby demonstrate that he is appropriately controlling those materials so they are not mixed in with unidentified stock. The use of standard quality control tags, such as "hold for inspection" tags, green "accepted" tags and red "discrepancy" tags, are all available and can be used by the project leader without unduly restricting the ability to segregate special project materials from materials owned by other sections. If the project is to be
constructed by a support group, such as the machine shop or welding shop, it may be prudent to establish some central storage areas. Then, when the support group has to draw some material out of general stock for a project, that material will be available and appropriately protected. This type of system is more nearly similar to the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code material control systems.
