Operating Procedures for Central Materials Laboratory

Abstract

This document sets out quality management and operating procedures for the Government Central Materials Laboratory (CML) of the Materials and Research Division of the Roads Department. This Guideline on the operating procedures for Central Materials Laboratory (CML) is a very useful document in that it captures the experiences gained, over a period of twenty years, both within CML and in commercial Laboratories in and outside Botswana. CML is the principal materials testing laboratory in Botswana. The quality of services provided by CML has important infl uence on the quality of Botswana’s road infrastructure. The laboratory could also be a standard bearer for the nation’s commercial laboratories. This manual is intended for daily use of CML staff at all levels for management and operational functions including outline of test procedures. The primary aim is to maintain quality, consistency and appropriate standards in the testing of road construction materials. It is my sincere hope that this guideline will be useful to the Technicians and Engineers especially those deployed to CML for the fi rst time and will assist in ensuring that the testing procedures are standardised and the results are quality assured. I trust that this is an important step towards establishing an internationally accepted code of practice on quality assurance.