RESOLUTION OF SHIPPER-RECEIVER DIFFERENCES

Every facility strives to comply with DOE Order 5630.2 requiring independent and timely measure- ments of between facility shipments. While it is desirable to resolve shipper-receiver (S/R) differences before processing any of the material, this is not always possible or practical. Two examples are discussed where there is an apparent measurement bias between the shipping and receiving facilities. This measurement bias persisted over several ship- ments resulting in more S/R differences outside the combined error limits than expected. For the first example, the receiver could not measure the material until processed. In the second example, the receiving facility made NDA measurements of the shipments before processing. However, shipments were closed by dissolution until a measurement problem with the dissolution required using the NDA measurements for closing the accounts. Three shipments were processed before a significant S/R difference was identi- fied. NDA measurements for the next two ship- ments indicated the same size S/R difference. Individual items outside limits were identified and measured by an independent arbitrator. While no definite answer exists that will resolve S/R differences in all situations, the examples presented of studies and investigations to identify biases and verify the integrity of the measurements could be applied at other facilities.