Material Usage Policy
Production welders and fabrication welders are an important part of controlling costs for a project. Efficient use of materials is one of the important skills a welder must develop.
- Use rods and electrodes completely. The instructor will provide guidelines on acceptable usage and acceptable discard length.
- Use material as directed by the instructor. Work pieces will be inspected before new material is issued.
- Focus on working as directed by the instructor and focus on quality work. Some work pieces generated in one class are used in other classes. Some work pieces will be used to complete projects later in the class
- New work pieces will not be issued because of mistakes. Effort will be made to correct the mistake. The instructor will work with the student to correct the mistake and return the work piece to usable condition if possible.
- For some applications, used pieces maybe used because it reflects the nature of a particular point or application
- The instructor will verify whether an item has been used completely before being replaced. The student will be directed on how to maximize consumable life (rods, electrodes, compressed gas cylinders, grinding wheels, metal etc.)
- In some cases, the student may be issued a specific amount of material and consumables for a task.
- When checking equipment settings before working on an assigned project, use rod and material from the recycle bin
- When tacking work pieces, use rod stubs
- Break off and reuse hanging tabs
- Turn off equipment, exhaust fans and torches when not in use
- When using rod to space work pieces, use the smallest stub available in the recycle bin
- Follow all material and rod handling guidelines so that material isn’t wasted or its quality isn’t compromised.