airfield, or the various tests that are associated with the design  or  proportioning  of  concrete  or  asphalt-concrete mixtures. Obviously, to do all of this testing, you must make sure that your EAs are properly trained. If you have been away from a construction battalion for some time,  you  may  even  find  it  necessary  to  do  some refresher  training  yourself. Work Assignments As   with   the   drafting   and   surveying   section, requests for materials testing can be made using the engineering division work request (fig. 14-1). These can then be posted to a work schedule and handled using  a  priority-system  method  like  that  described previously. Not  all  of  the  work  requests,  however,  will  be originated by a project supervisor or the QC division. Many  of  them  should  start  with  you.  For  this  to happen,  you  must  become  thoroughly  familiar  with each of the projects the battalion is tasked with. This involves   reviewing   the   project   plans   and specifications   to   see   what   tests   are   needed   and reviewing all project schedules to know when the tests are required. Having done this, you can generate the work  requests  and  post  work  to  the  schedule  with tentative start dates that can be adjusted as changes occur.  Obviously,  you  must  coordinate  closely  with the project supervisors and QC to know when changes are  needed. Many  of  the  materials  tests  are  critical  item  tests that must be performed at a given point in construction before  further  construction  work  can  proceed.  For instance,  asphalt  paving  operations  on  a  road  or parking  area  cannot  start  until  the  base  material  has been  compacted  to  meet  specifications.  Current COM-    SECONDNCB    or    COMTHIRDNCB    and battalion instructions pertinent to quality control state minimum  requirements  and  stress  critical  item inspections and tests that must be performed during construction.  You  should  be  particularly  aware  of these  so  that  project  work  will  not  be  delayed  for materials testing. You need to remember, too, that some tests are dependent upon other tests; for example, the results of   in-place   density   testing   using   the   nuclear moisture-density meter must be compared with the results  of  laboratory  tests  performed  on  the  same material.  For  these  pretests,  you  will  not  receive  a work  request;  you  must  initiate  them  yourself.  Never wait until the last minute to have these tests performed or you maybe the cause of unnecessary construction delay. Analyzing Test Results All materials tests have a specific purpose, and when  carefully  performed  according  to  established standard procedures should provide results that can be  reasonably  expected.  As  a  supervisor,  you  need to  know  what  the  end  purpose  is  before  you  can decide what tests to perform and you need to know what to expect from the tests. With this knowledge, you are in a position that enables you to analyze the results of each test performed. When a test results in  data  that  is  greatly  out  of  step  with  that  expected, then you need to determine the cause; for example, if an in-place density test shows unexpectedly high results,  what  happened?  Was  the  test  performed improperly?  Was  a  substance,  such  as  cement, added to the soil that greatly increased the density of  the  in-place  material  as  compared  to  previously performed  laboratory  tests?  These  things  can,  and do,  sometimes  happen. In addition to analyzing the test results for accuracy and validity, you sometimes need to place the test data into  a  more  usable  form.  Figure  14-6,  for  example, shows California bearing ratio data that is presented in a usable form. You can read about this in Materials Testing, NAVFAC  MO-330. Training of Testers Lower  rated  personnel  assigned  as  materials testers should be given assignments for spare-time reading  of  printed  sources  on  testing  procedures. Locally  used  data  forms  should  be  explained.  New personnel should be assigned to learning on-the-job procedures  in  the  laboratory  and  at  the  jobsite  under experienced personnel. The purpose of what is being done  should  always  be  explained;  for  example,  the ultimate effect of soil tests on the work of highway subgrading  should  be  clearly  shown.  Some  testing, such  as  fieldtests  for  soils,  require  extensive  practice to become proficient. Even though field testing is a requirement  at  the  senior  EA  level,  you  should  see  to it that the junior rated EAs get a chance to practice it as  often  as  possible  under  the  watchful  eye  of  an experienced   technician. There  is  relatively  little  routine,  day-to-day  work in  testing  since  the  work  of  the  materials  testing 14-12