Providing Technical Assistance for the Development of MC&A Systems

Using the adage that \"hindsight is 20/20\" it might be profitable to stop and review Material Control and Accounting (MC&A) activities at facilities that have been partners with the United States-Department of Energy (DOE) Cooperative Threat Reduction Program for a number of years. The purpose of the reviw is see what can be learned that will help current or future technical assistance programs. The clear first lessons for MC&A activities are applied. The principles of how to identify and jointly work through these differences to meet the common goals are addressed using measurement control program in a production facility as an example. This paper examines the pitfalls in providing technical assistance for the development of a measurement control program and the long steps between development and implementation. The process parallels that in the US commercial industry during the late 70's and early 80's as the need for a more structured and comprehensive measurement control program was recognized and the programs were developed and implemented.