INTRODUCTION
The operation of a petroleum laboratory is very crucial to the overall success of any unit's mission. As you are
aware the majority of all Army operations rely on fuel to make them successful. The quality, availability, and
continued supply of the right fuel are major responsibilities of the petroleum laboratory specialist. In this lesson
we will discuss general petroleum laboratory terminology, laboratory operations, and responsibilities.
PART A LABORATORY OPERATIONS, DUTIES, AND RESPONSIBILITIES
General Procedures.
Due to the nature of a petroleum laboratory, and the mission in general and the
procedures are at times, very crucial and complex. As a senior petroleum laboratory NCO you are ultimately
responsible for the successful accomplishment of the varied tasks and procedures including environmental and
safety considerations that are identified below.
Fire and safety
Environmental stewardship
Sample receipt and testing
Equipment calibration
Laboratory supply
Equipment maintenance
Quality surveillance
Base laboratory facility monitoring
Aviation unit facility monitoring
Air-mobile and mobile petroleum laboratory operations
Correlation testing
Personnel training
Overall laboratory facility quality assurance
As a petroleum supply senior NCO, you are responsible for assuring that your units function is accomplished
successfully in order to ensure the overall success of the U.S. Army, other DOD agencies, and foreign allies.
Your responsibility will be overall quality surveillance of the petroleum testing facility.
Identification and Quality Surveillance of Bulk Petroleum Products.
Quality
surveillance of bulk product must begin from receipt until the product is used. This entire process depends upon
sampling, testing, and observes the QS Standard Quality Surveillance procedures which include filtering, product
isolation, product maintenance, and rotation. All samples will be taken in accordance with the standard
procedures described in ASTM Method D-4057. A list of the types of products that your laboratory may receive
and their methods of storage or issue can be obtained by contacting all units within your area of operation that
store and/or issue petroleum products. After this has been obtained, you must ensure that you have all of the
product specifications, standards, and deterioration limits on hand. Testing petroleum product samples is the
primary function of any petroleum laboratory. Listed below are the steps that must be followed in order for your
mission to be accomplished successfully:
Frequency of Testing. To determine the minimum frequency of sampling and testing you would refer to MIL-
HDBK-200, Table II and Table III. With these tables and the information obtained on the DA Form 1804
(Petroleum Sample) you can determine what type of test is required to be performed on the samples received.
Sample Processing. Several steps will be followed for processing samples. Sample tags will be checked for
the following required information:
The laboratory number is assigned and entered on the top and bottom section of the sample tag.
Log following information from DA Form 1804 (Petroleum Sample), adjacent to assigned laboratory
number, in the sample log book:
- Sample number
- Submitting unit
- Grade of product
- Specification
- Source of sample
- Quantity represented
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QM 5183
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