REPORT FOR MANAGEMENT
A New Analytical
Feature
f l o w should α very large manufacturing company with plants in many parts of the world organize its analytical group or groups? In this, the third installment of the Report for Management series, J. R. Churchill of Alcoa explains how that industrial giant guards the quality of its products with an analytical unit at each manufacturing center; how these groups are coordinated through the Analytical Chemistry Division of Aluminum Research Laboratories. This particular case study will be very helpful to manage ment, for it tells the story of the analytical organizational setup of one of the largest and most successful companies in the world, a company which from its very inception has under stood the basic need for a strong analytical department closely integrated with research and production and with management at all levels. —7"he Editors
J. R. CHURCHILL Aluminum Research Laboratories, Aluminum Co. of America, New Kensington, Pa.
The Analytical Chemistry Department in Modern Industry I o
VIEW
the
industrial
analytical
chemistry department in true perspec tive, it is first necessary to accept the basic concept that chemical analysis is exclusively a service function. This idea seems to be anathema - to many analytical chemists, who fear that rel egation to service status connotes meniality and inferiority, and who for get that all vocations that are properly called professions are devoted exclu sively to service. Be that as it may, the analytical department, as such, does not sell or manufacture tangible prod ucts, nor does it have as a primary pur pose the invention of manufacturing processes. It does contribute impor tantly to all of these functions, but its
contributions are a part of its service functions. All broad questions and problems involving the analytical de partment in relation to the company it serves are best solved by starting from this service concept. In a particular company, the depart ment should be large or small, and high or low on the organization scale, ac cording to the degree, extent, and kind of service required. The organization of the department and its relationship to other departments should be those which will produce the best service as measured by net gain to the company. This discussion is limited to companies which require appreciable amounts of analytical service and are large enough
V O L U M E 2 8, N O . 1, J A N U A R Y 1 9 5 6
to require rather formal organization. Much of the subject matter, both factual and philosophic, is drawn from the Aluminum Co. of America, which provides very nearly ideal examples of analytical function and application. Functions of the Analytical Department
A frequent misconception concern ing the analytical department is that its service function begins and ends with the performance of analyses under the direction of its analytical custom ers. Unfortunately, such a view is often taken by analytical customers, espe cially if they have had a smattering of 9A
REPORT FOR MANAGEMENT analytical training, and by shortsighted analytical chemists who find in it a means of avoiding responsibility. In this discussion, it is assumed that the analytical department meets its full responsibility and therefore acts in either an authoritative or strongly advisory capacity in each of the following areas : 1. Planning of the analytical program. 2. Sampling with all of its ramifications. 3. Selection of analytical procedures, including development and adaptation of methods as needed. 4. Performance of analyses and determinations. 5. Measurement and control of precision and accuracy of analysis. 6. Interpretation and application of results. 7. General information service concerning matters of composition and analysis. This is not intended to imply that the analytical department bears the sole responsibility in each of these categories. Indeed, it is usually only one member of a technical or administrative team which collectively makes the decisions and forms the policies required. Planning the Analytical Program
Long-range planning involves decisions as to the types and extent of analytical service to be provided for future needs, providing staff and equipment and establishing the organization and channels of communication required to make optimum use of the service rendered. Long-range planning is, of course, a management function, but top management must rely on the analytical department for the information and counsel needed to reach correct decisions. Short-range planning involves the everyday decisions that must be made concerning the what's, how's, and when's of analytical service. The department must feel and exercise a strong responsibility for fitting the analytical program to the current needs of the works. It must have a voice in determining the type and number of samples to be analyzed, the specific determinations to be made, and the end use of the analytical results. It must weigh the advantages of alternative methods of quality control and historical evaluation and plan its service work to maximum benefit of the company. As in all types of industrial management, economics is the essential controlling factor in planning the analytical program. This does not necessarily mean running the laboratory at minimum cost. It means planning
and executing the analytical service in such a way that maximum economic benefit will result to the company. In a works laboratory, this may mean the use of much more expensive equipment and more personnel than would be used if the emphasis were placed exclusively on cost per determination. In many cases, the internal efficiency of the laboratory as measured by cost per determination is intentionally sacrificed to achieve large benefits in plant efficiency. In research and development work, the analytical department has a strong contribution to make at the planning stage. When a research problem involves composition as a variable, it is important that the analytical chemist be consulted at an early stage, and generally he should participate in the design of the experiment. Very often his knowledge of composition and his familiarity with methods of sampling and analysis lead to a more efficient experiment than would be possible without his help. I t is a responsibility of the analytical department to inquire into the investigational work of its customers and make sure that the plan of attack is logical and efficient in so far as analytical chemistry is involved. The responsibility for long-range planning in Alcoa's analytical program is assigned primarily to the Analytical Chemistry Division of Aluminum Research Laboratories. This division works in close cooperation with management and technical people throughout the company and maintains close liaison with the works laboratories. Shortrange planning is, of course, largely in the hands of local laboratories and their customers. Both in works 'aboratories and in research, every effort is made to establish close and direct contact between the analytical department and its customers, so that the plan of attack permits effective use of the department's services. Meetings are held between analytical people and representatives of the departments they serve, and a consistent effort is made to persuade analytical customers to discuss their problems with the analytical department. In research work, this planning function is often facilitated by having a member of the analytical group serve directly on the research team handling a particular problem.
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The truism that an analysis can be no more meaningful than the sample on which it is made cannot be overemphasized. The analytical department must assume and exercise a great deal of responsiblity in this field, regardless of whether the act of sampling is under
V O L U M E 2 8, N O . 1, J A N U A R Y 1 9 5 6
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its supervision. Whenever possible, the analytical department should specify the sampling procedure and police its execution. When this is not feasible, it must be completely and accurately informed as to the procedure and cir cumstances of sampling, so that it can attack the analytical problem intel ligently and provide meaningful in terpretation of the data from the sample provided. Plans and provision for sampling must be included in the design of the experiment, and the significance of the samples considered in final in terpretation whenever the experiment involves composition as an important parameter. Standard methods of sampling are used throughout Alcoa for materials regularly analyzed. The Analytical Chemistry Division of Aluminum Re search Laboratories is broadly re sponsible for developing, surveying, and approving sampling methods. To this end, it works in close cooperation with the works laboratories and with metal lurgical, engineering, and production people. The works laboratory is re sponsible for maintaining proper sam pling practices in the area it serves. In most metallurgical operations, the act of sampling is performed by people in the production and operating depart ments. In mining and refining opera tions, the analytical department may have either direct or indirect control over sampling. In all cases, the an alytical department is responsible for continuous surveillance over sampling operations, detecting and reporting de partures from standard methods or good practices, and advising its custom ers concerning sampling problems.
All analytical departments have a more or less continuous problem of methodology. In some eases, the prob lem is one of selection among available methods. In other cases, the develop ment of a new method or the modifica tion in some existing method is in dicated. In all cases, the analytical de partment must know its own methods very thoroughly as to applicability, reliability, and limitations and it must have a broad knowledge of the methods used by other laboratories. Although accuracy should be the most generally sought attribute in selecting a method, other attributes such as speed, con venience, ease of execution, and econ omy must be considered and may even be controlling factors in a particular case. To render consistently effective serv ice, the industrial laboratory must em ploy standard methods of analysis. By a "standard method" is meant one
that has been more or less formally adopted by the laboratory and is con sistently followed in all determinations of a particular category. Adherence to standard methods is desirable for a variety of reasons. First, the standard methods will naturally be those which have been most thoroughly explored and found to be most satisfactory for their intended applications. Second, the effi ciency and reliability of a method im prove with continued application, and any analyst will get the best results with familiar and often-used methods. Third, conformance to standard methods is essential for comparisons among data obtained at different times and by different laboratories. This is especially important in the frequent case in which alternate methods give systematically different results. For similar reasons, all laboratories within a company should adopt the same standard methods in so far as they are applicable. Further than this, industry-wide standardization is bene ficial. For intercompany comparisons, it is at least necessary to show equiv alence if not identity of standard methods. The efforts of the ASTM in this direction are highly laudable. The responsibility for standardizing procedures clearly rests with the an alytical department in a company hav ing only one such department. When two or more analytical departments serve a company, it is generally neces sary to place the responsibility for standardization of methods on one laboratory or on a coordinating person, group, or committee. Alcoa is fairly representative of the multilaboratory situation. The primary responsibility for the development and standardiza tion of analytical methods for all Alcoa laboratories is assigned to the Analyt ical Chemistry Division of Aluminum Research Laboratories. Intercompany standardization of an alytical methods has been largely achieved in the aluminum industry through the pre-eminence of Alcoa's analytical chemists through the years and through the company's policy of making its methods readily available to others. Alcoa and ASTM methods for aluminum alloys are essentially the same—a result of the fine coordinating work of that society and the partici pation of Alcoa in its activities. Unfortunately, it is a rare analytical department that can accumulate stand ard methods to meet all its problems. Virtually every laboratory must modify, improvise, and invent methods from time to time. Even the so-called stand ard methods must be continuously studied in relation to their application, and no analytical department other than a routine laboratory of very limited ANALYTICAL
CHEMISTRY
ackardl
scope can meet its responsibilities with out a certain amount of development and research.
Instruments
D Liquid Scintillation Spectrometers % Automatic Fraction Collectors
Precision and Accuracy
Every analytical person from the professional chemist to the routine determinator must feel a strong per sonal responsibility for the precision and accuracy of his results. The analytical department, as a whole, must also accept and meet the responsibility for main taining an optimum balance between maximum precision and accuracy on the one hand, and such opposing considera tions as speed, cost, and efficiency, on the other. Compromises that must be made between these attributes must be based on the department's best judg ment as to the basic requirements of its customers. Ideally, the analytical department wishes its results to be highly accurate. In many cases, however, when the pur pose of analysis is comparative, pre cision is the important thing and a sizable bias is tolerable. In process control work, expediency may justify a method of considerable bias, and many such methods are knowingly applied in industry. The most important aspect of precision and accuracy is that the analytical department continuously know and make known the accuracy of its results, and achieve that compromise between the ideal and the practical that will serve the company best. Throughout Alcoa, broad responsi bility for the measurement and control of analytical precision and accuracy is assigned to the Analytical Chemistry Division of Aluminum Research Lab oratories. This in no way relieves local analytical management of its re sponsibility in this area, but rather is intended to help them in meeting this responsibility. Samples are selected in a systematic pattern from all labora tories and checked by the Analytical Chemistry Division by umpire methods. Other samples are exchanged among laboratories and results compared. An extensive verification service is con ducted under which any company lab oratory can have its analytical work checked on request by merely sending the samples to the research laboratory along with the original results. A great deal of work of a statistical nature is done to measure the precision of in struments, such as the Quantometer, both as a measure of the current pre cision of results and as a means of guiding the over-all maintenance, cali bration, and replacement programs. Of great help in the measurement and maintenance of precision and accuracy is the use of standard samples. Basic standards for chemical analysis are proVOLUME
2 8, N O .
1, J A N U A R Y
% Windowless and Flo-Window Counters
1
TRI-CARB LIQUID SCINTILLATION SPECTROMETERS For counting Tritium, Carbon-14 and other beta emit ting isotopes. Provides the most simple and convenient method for precise counting of beta sam ples that go into solution with liquid phosphors. Aqueous samples of vari ous types may also be readily counted. Certain materials that are not soluble in liquid phos phors may be counted in suspensions.
2
3
Request
Bulletin 314
AUTOMATIC FRACTION COLLECTORS For precise column chroma tography. Provides both time and drop counting. Can be fur nished for time o p e r a t i o n only at commensurately low er cost. Drops from column fall di rectly into test tubes. There are no intermediate collect ing vessels, glass arms, or " funnels to cause mixing, contamination, evaporation, etc. This is important where accurate separations are required or where radioactive tracers are used.
Request Bulletin 230
WINDOWLESS AND FLO-WINDOW COUNTERS Both types can be used for Geiger and proportional op eration. Windowless Flow Counter, Model 200A, provides m a x i m u m sensitivity for counting solid sam ples which emit very soft radiations. Has essentially unlimited life. Physi cal arrangement of sample in cham ber makes it possible to achieve full 2 Ti geometry. Flo-Window Counter, Model 210, features a very thin metalized window of Du Pont Mylar which offers a mini mum of obstruction to low energy radiation. Isolates counting chamber from sample. Eliminates static charge, vapor effects, accidental contamination, etc.
packardInstrument DEPT.
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Request Bulletin 200
Company .
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1956
13A
Leco
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vided in several fields of analysis by the Xational Bureau of Standards. Most laboratories, however, must supplement these with more comprehensive or specialized standards. In Alcoa, for example, over 5000 individual standard samples are produced annually, covering the various aluminum alloys, atomized aluminum, bauxite, alumina, and other materials of importance to the industry. About 60% of these standards are sold to laboratories of customers, competitors, government agencies, and others outside Alcoa, and the remainder is consumed internally. These have virtually become industrywide standards and this, like the industry-wide standardization of procedures, is a healthy and desirable situation. Interpretation
To determine dissolved oxygen in liquid hydrocarbons A revolutionary new method developed by the Ohio Oil Company, and employing Leco equipment.
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LABORATORY EQUIPMENT CORP. St. J o s e p h 8,
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Circle Nos. 14 A - 1 , 1 4 A - 2 , 14 A-3, 14 A-4 on Readers' Service Card, page 31 A
14 A
MANAGEMENT
of Analytical
Results
The analytical department has a great responsibility in the interpretation of analytical results. This extends all the way from making each analytical report understandable, to a broad responsibility in the end use of the data. The analytical department must be ever alert for misunderstanding or misuse of the information it issues and must carry on a continuous campaign of education of and assistance to its customers in the application of analytical data. Analytical reports are generally characterized by symbols, abbreviations, conventions, and unwritten qualifications of statement. They are often issued in tabular form with no written explanation or interpretive material. The analytical department is clearly responsible for employing only those symbols and conventions which are understood by its customers and justified by considerations of expediency. It must make a continuous effort toward standardization of terminology, both internally and in its external communications. The broader aspects of interpretation are closely related to the other broad responsibilities discussed. Analytical results must be interpreted in the light of the validity of the sample, and the precision and accuracy of test. Decisions based on analysis may be made outside the analytical department, but it is the department's responsibility to advise its customers concerning the validity and meaning of analytical data, so that decisions can be made logically and with best odds for being correct. The analytical department should be, and usually is, better able than anyone outside the department to judge the significance of variations in analytical results and to judge whether variations represent real differences in composition,
defects in sampling, or variables in analysis. General Informational
Service
The responsibility for information service extends far beyond meeting specific requests for analytical work. The analytical department must know much more about compositions of raw materials, process materials, and products of the company than is usually revealed by routine acceptance, control, and specification analyses. It must have an extensive knowledge of what is typical and what is unusual. It must watch trends of composition and be alert for any which might affect company operations. It must be continuously alert for unexpected impurities or compositional peculiarities which might not be anticipated by its analytical customers in their requests for service. It must know the characteristic differences between its company's products and those of competitors, and this knowledge must be kept current. It must be familiar with methods of analysis used by vendors, customers, and competitors and know how they compare in precision, accuracy, and meaning to its own methods.
Advances
N u m b e r 15 i n in Chemistry
Series
edited by t h e staff of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS A systematic tabular presentation of accurate data on the physical properties of 511 organic cyclic compounds compiled by R. R. Dreisbach of the Dow Chemical Co. These comprehensive and basic data were determined for specially prepared, high purity compounds. In addition to the precisely measured properties the author has calculated new values for many constants based upon his new experimental values 523 pages plus index cloth bound—$5.85 per copy order from: Special Publication Dept. American Chemical Society 1155 Sixteenth Street, N.W. Washington 6, D. C.
ANALYTICAL
CHEMISTRY
GAMMA RAY SPECTROMETRY
The analytical department must not only accumulate such information, but it must transmit it to those who can apply it to the benefit of the company. Like many other responsibilities of the department, the general informational responsibility requires for its optimum utility, close liaison and well-lubricated channels of communication between the laboratory and both its direct customers and top management. Responsibility for general information on composition and analysis is shared by Alcoa's works laboratories and the Analytical Chemistry Division of Aluminum Research Laboratories. Collectively, the analytical departments are responsible for obtaining and disseminating any compositional information Avhich has an important bearing on the processes, products, or profits of the company, regardless of whether the information is or is not forthcoming from analytical service specifically requested. This philosophy of extending the responsibility of the individual for the over-all success of the company beyond his specific assignments is typical of Alcoa. Organization
and
Administration
Although there is no one specific pattern of organization which is applicable to even a majority of companies within our area of examination, there are a few basic requirements that must be met to achieve an optimum fit of the analytical department into the organization structure: (1) adequate direction from management; (2) sufficient authority and independence to permit it to operate objectively and in the best interests of the company; (3) access to information concerning the processes, projects, and plans of the company; and (4) adequate channels of communication with all departments it serves and with the technical world outside the company. At the risk of oversimplification, all the arguments and considerations of organization in relation to industrial analysis will be divided into two categories: those that favor highly decentralized, dispersed analytical service dispensed by small, separate analytical groups operating independently of each other, and those that favor strong centralization with all analytical supervision converging at a single management within the analytical organization. Decentralization and dispersion of the analytical organization have a number of distinct advantages, most important of which is that of bringing the analyst and his customer closer together. As areas of responsibility are reduced by splitting the analytical department into VOLUME
Gamma emitting samples inserted into a scintillation well counter are counted by Radiation Analyzer and standard scaler. Adjustable " w i n d o w " of Analyzer is set to count only pulses that fall within a pre-selected portion of the energy spectrum, thus virtually eliminating " b a c k g r o u n d " .
2 8, N O .
1, J A N U A R Y
with Analyzer is available separately as an economical accessory for laboratories a l ready having a scintillation detector and a scaler or rate-meter.
Automatic scanning and recording of spectrum energies is accomplished by A n a lyzer, rate-meter, recorder and scintillation c o u n t e r . G a m m a e n e r g y s p e c t r u m of Cesium-137 is shown on recorder chart.
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NEW RADIATION ANALYZER and your present scaler and scintillation counter The advantages of pulse-height selection for background and scatter-error reduction, multiple tagging measurement and energy analysis are now available for every radioisotope laboratory. The Radiation Analyzer, connected directly to your present scaler and scintillation counter, incorporates in a compact single-chassis design a non-overloading linear amplifier, pulse height discriminator and extremely stable high voltage regulator. Circuitry has been designed for simplicity, stability and high reliability.
SPECIFICATIONS • Linear feedback amplifier with gain of 2500. • Non-overload amplifier with delay-line shaper. Separate amplifier output. • Base level adjustable 0-100 volts with ten-turn potentiometer. Channel width of 0-10 volts provided by precision single turn control. Computer tubes, precision components andultra-stablepowersuppliesprovidelongtermstability. • Regulator for scaler high voltage supply variable from
500 to 1500 volts with ten-turn potentiometer. Régula°· Overall resolution time for equal pulse pairs within 1.5 microsecond. · Front panel switch provides integral or differentia! count, . p rovi sion for external base level control allows automatic scanning.
tion f a c t o r of 2 0
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1956
ISA
"iy MODEL VRSAC750 0-750 VOLT RANGE
REPORT FOR M A N A G E M E N T
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VOLTAGE REFERENCE SOURCE FOR RESEARCH LABORATORIES · SCHOOLS · PRODUCTION TESTING AMPLIFIER GAIN CHECKS · OSCILLOSCOPE CALIBRATION · SERVO TESTING The Sorensen VRSAC750 V o l t a g e Reference Source is a l o w cost, h i g h l y accurate r e g u l a t o r p r i m a r i l y d e s i g n e d f o r c a l i b r a t i n g AC v o l t m e t e r s in the 0-750 v o l t r a n g e . It is i d e a l f o r use w i t h n e a r l y every p o w e r meter c o m m e r c i a l l y a v a i l a b l e . Its compact d e s i g n , s i m p l e o p e r a t i o n a n d accurate p e r f o r m a n c e m a k e it e x t r e m e l y useful to the l a b o r a t o r y or the p r o d u c t i o n shop. The VRSAC750 is specifically d e s i g n e d f o r bench-top oper a t i o n . . . a l l controls are w i t h i n easy reach of the o p e r a t o r , a n d the reference meter is clear, easy to r e a d , a n d p l a c e d a t eye level to insure m a x i m u m accuracy of a d j u s t m e n t . Input voltage range 105-125 VAC. 1 0 Input frequency 60 ± 0 . 5 cps Input current 7 amperes maximum Output voltage 1-799 volts in 1-volt steps Output voltage accuracy ± 0 . 2 5 % at any voltage in 2 0 - 3 0 C ambient Harmonic distortion 1 % maximum introduced by the unit S I Z E 2 0 y 8 " h i g h , 19%" w i d e , 12" d e e p W E I G H T 115 pounds net
VRSAC10 — A versatile i n s t r u m e n t f o r l o w e r v o l t a g e a p p l i c a t i o n s f e a t u r i n g h i g h accuracy at e x t r e m e l y l o w cost. Output voltage 10 mvtolOvRMS in three ranges range at full scale al 60 cps Calibration ± 0 . 1 % accuracy Input voltage 115v ± 1 0 % , single phase Input frequency 50-60 cps; to 400 cps with slightly less accuracy Waveform Distortion is negligible Regulation with load 0.25% max., with load resistance higher than 0.5 megohm Regulation with line ± 0 . 2 5 % max.
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SORENSEN & C O M P A N Y , INC.
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C O N T R O L L E D P O W E R FOR RESEARCH A N D
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smaller departments serving smaller frac tions of the company, the administrative level at which the management of the laboratory and its customers merge be comes lower and lower. The analytical laboratory therefore tends to be man aged for the more exclusive benefit of the specific portion of the company it serves. Channels of communication between the laboratory and its customers are better under this t3"pe of system, and the laboratory personnel tend to be better informed concerning the plant opera tions they serve because of proximity to those operations. Also, the matter of proximity reduces the time and cost of delivering samples and reports. The advantages of centralization of the analytical organization are more numerous and, perhaps, more impres sive than those of decentralization. Combination of analytical laboratories into larger units almost always leads to reduced analytical costs, especially in analyses which can be handled on a routine, mass-production basis. Less duplication of apparatus is required. Better- balance of talent and manpower can be maintained. Highly trained an alytical chemists and instrument spe cialists can be used to greater advantage in the larger, more diversified depart ment resulting from centralization. Greater objectivity of analysis can be maintained in the centralized organiza tion, since the analyst is not subject to as much direct supervisory pressure in the direction of sought-for results by low level management. Most important of the arguments in favor of the centralized system are those relating to the broad responsi bilities of the analytical department to the company as a whole. A certain amount of standardization, coordina tion, consultation, and information service is required in most companies which cannot be supplied effectively by small, isolated laboratories throughout the company. Analytical service is sometimes split between two or more departments on the basis of techniques employed. For example, spectrographic analysis is sometimes separated from "wet" chem ical analysis and placed in another de partment, such as a physics depart ment. The author believes that this type of departmentalization is in efficient and illogical. Spectrographs, Quantometers, and other devices used for determining composition are tools of the analytical chemist and should be treated as such. The spectrograph is no more an exclusive tool of the physi cist than is the chemical balance. It is important that the analytical depart ment use the best tools available for the job at hand, and supply the judgment
For further information, circle number 16 A on Readers' Service Card, page 51 A
ANALYTICAL
CHEMISTRY
CARVER LABORATORY PRESS
Standard For Research
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y>* Dehydrating •** Pressing out various oils, stéarines and waxes \>* Pressure filtering of thick fluids ** Compression tests κ* Fatty acid determinations ι · * Plastic molding, forming and blocking ι · * Embossing and forcing κ* Pressing mother liquors from crystals (-* Extracting Vaccines and Viruses The Standard (10 Ton) CARVER LABORA TORY PRESS complete with Gauge $295.00 20 Ton Models also available - additional Standard Accessories for other applicat oas can be supplied. Send tor complete
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involved in selecting that tool. In dependent spectrographs and wet chemical departments mean entrusting the choice of technique to the analytical customer. Efficient management and effective coordination are always difficult to achieve when two independent an alytical departments, differentiated only by technique or equipment, attempt to serve the same set of customers. Although the preceding discussions might seem to indicate that a high degree of centralization is always de sirable, the ideal organization is a com promise between centralization and dis persion, based on the circumstances prevailing in the particular company or plant. An example of a nearly op timum industrial organization from the analytical chemistry standpoint is pro vided by Alcoa. Alcoa is served by 27 works labora tories, each serving a definite segment of the company consisting of a mine, a plant, or a combination of operations within a radius of a few miles. Accord ing to Alcoa usage, "works laboratory" is the name of the analytical depart ment serving a particular area and is used in the singular even when it might literally consist of a group of labora tories. In all cases, only one analytical department or works laboratory serves a given area. An idea of the magnitude of the work carried by the works lab oratories may be gained from Table I. This tabulation includes only the sam ples and determinations officially re ported and does not include replications of analysis, standardization or calibra tion wrork, research, or development.
Table I. Type of Plant Mining Refining Smelting Fabricating Casting Total
directly to the works manager, to an operating superintendent, or to the head of an over-all technical organiza tion of the plant or plants involved. For example, in a large casting or fab ricating plant, the chief chemist re ports to the chief metallurgist and in a large refining plant to the chief chemical engineer or technical superintendent. In all cases, the lines of authority leading upward from the analytical depart ment and from the departments or individuals it serves merge at a suf ficiently low level in the company structure to provide good coordination and liaison and at a sufficiently high level to provide objective management in the best interests of the company. The chief chemist, as a department head, occupies a position of sufficient responsibility, prestige, and authority to assist the top management of the works in matters of policy, planning, and administration in so far as analytical service is involved or affected. Analytical service is decentralized in Alcoa to the extent that each laboratory is placed under the local works manage ment, but it is strongly centralized in the technical and scientific aspects of its work. This is accomplished, not by authoritarian dicta issued from a cen tral authority, but by close coordination and cooperation effected through an efficient liaison organization. The pri mary responsibility for liaison among analytical departments and between the collective analytical organization and the company as a whole is assigned to the Analytical Chemistry Division of Aluminum Research Laboratories.
Work Load of Alcoa's Works Laboratories for 19SS Laboratories 3 3 7 7 _7_ 27
An Alcoa works laboratory is defi nitely and distinctly a part of the works organization. The responsible head of the works laboratory normally bears the title of chief chemist, but other titles are employed when more appropriate under local circumstances. For ex ample, in a small plant, functions such as analysis, mechanical testing, metal lurgy, and quality control may be com bined in such a way that a more gen eralized title may apply. Here, the title "chief chemist" is used for all cases, with the understanding that it means the responsible administrative head of the analytical department. Adminis tratively, the chief chemist reports
Samples 81,228 250,524 721,140 514,692 193,632 1,761,216
Determinations 410,040 560,364 4,999,032 3,520,800 2,692,728 12,182,964
The Analytical Chemistry Division is one of 14 divisions of the research organization and reports administra tively to the director of research who, in turn, reports to the top management of the company. The organizational re lationship between the division and the works laboratories is purely advisory except in the specification of standard methods. The following activities are adminis tered by the Analytical Chemistry Divi sion for purposes of standardization, coordination, and liaison. 1. Specification of company-wide standard methods. 2. Provision of standard samples. ANALYTICAL
CHEMISTRY
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3. Measurement of precision and ac curacy on a company-wide basis. 4. Periodic inspection of labora tories. 5. Interlaboratory visits, confer ences, and symposia. 6. Reports to management and to the various technical departments of the company on the performance of works laboratories with respect to precision, accuracy, and productivity. 7. Consultation and assistance in design of laboratories and selection of equipment. 8. Design and manufacture of spe cialized analytical equipment not availa ble commercially. 9. Dissemination of analytical and compositional information, both inside and outside the company. 10. Compositional surveys of raw materials, process materials, and prod ucts with particular attention to areas not fully covered by works laboratories. 11. Handling of technical contacts with outside laboratories, institutions, societies, and associations. 12. General advisory assistance to works laboratories and all other parts of the company on matters pertaining to composition or analysis. All these activities are integrated with a comprehensive analytical re search program and with other activi ties of the Analytical Chemistry Divi sion, which include direct analytical serv ice to other divisions of research and considerable activity in fields of auto mation and instrumentation lying out side the specific boundaries of analytical chemistry. The internal organization required for this comprehensive and complex array of work is simple and needs little discussion. The close inter dependence of research, consultation, quality control, and actual analysis pre cludes any sharp organizational separa tion of functions. Although the divi sion contains a number of groups con centrating on particular functional areas, the formal organization is kept flexible, informal, and sufficiently unobtrusive that it does not limit the responsibility or opportunity of the professional chem ist in his contribution to the various avenues of service. An important feature of Alcoa organi zation is that the analytical depart ments are so related to the rest of the company that channels of authority and communication are direct, well known, and easily accessible without a super fluity of arbitrary rules and regulations. The chief chemist is under the local works management, and his contacts with his customers are close and direct. Technical contacts among the central research organization and the Avorks laboratories are similarly direct and are not channeled up and down the manage ment scale in crossing organizational boundaries. The Analytical Chemistry
Division is not only in direct contact with the works laboratories but with central management and technical groups which guide the over-all company pro gram. It is a strong habit and policy of Alcoa to keep management people accessible and available and channels of communication direct and unimpeded. This carries with it the corrollary re sponsibilities of constant consultation, careful observance of management pre rogatives, and general fair play. For example, although the Analytical Chem istry Division communicates directly with the works laboratory, it must keep the works management and other legit imately interested people fully informed. Moreover, all actions and recommenda tions must be in accord with local and company policy and have the stated or implied approval of local management. The Essence of the
Problem
Despite their problems of organiza tion and delegation of responsibility, the basic problem, both of the analytical chemist and the company he serves, is one of philosophy, and when the philo sophical problem is solved, the more de tailed problems discussed here solve themselves. The analytical chemist must fully understand and appreciate the fact that the basic purpose of the company is to make money. The only qualification necessaiy is that the money shall be made honorably and without detriment to public welfare. He must also accept the fact that his function is to serve that same purpose through the provision of analytical service. He must feel a strong personal responsibility extending far beyond the confines of his laboratory. According to a favorite Alcoa saying, his decisions must be those he would make if he owned the company. Company management, on the other hand, must know what analytical chem istry is and what it can do for the com pany. It must recognize analytical chemistry as a profession and distin guish it from the vocation of routine de termination. The analytical depart ment must be viewed as a service de partment, but the scope of its service should extend beyond the mere per formance of analytical determinations. The analytical department is an impor tant part of the brain and nerve system of the company and must be permitted to function as such. This means that the administrative policies of the com pany should be designed to enable the analytical department to communicate effectively with the rest of the com pany, to exercise authority within its area of direct responsibility, and to act as the eyes and ears of the company in matters of chemical composition. ANALYTICAL
CHEMISTRY
