Practical checking instructions and report form for rapid control at delivery

This checking procedure is meant to point out any major failure which might occur with the material. It is not meant to be an exact check up of all the physical characteristics given in the technical description. Two people are required, but it is really easier with three. It takes about 2 hours for one sample and up to six hours for six samples.

Equipment needed

Physical check of the product

• a measuring tape, 10 metre long
• a scale which measures up to 100 kg, in increments of 100 g, to weigh rolls and/or a scale which measure up to 10 kg, in increments of 10 g, to weigh tarpaulins
• a cutter knife
• a note book, a pen and as many copies of the report form as per number of samples
• a calculator
• a pair of scissors
• a 20 cm ruler
• a pocket knife
• a permanent marker

Mechanical tests

• two clamps with minimum 40 mm wide jaws
• one hook made of 8 mm diameter steel rod
• one "adjustable weight" in order to weigh 10 kg when combined with one of the clamps (i.e. a strong canvas bag filled with iron pieces)
• one weight of 70 kg (i.e. a tarpaulin bale plus the canvas bag)
• two wooden bars of 1 m in length and 4 x 4 cm² in diameter or equivalent
• one punch of 8 mm in diameter
• one hammer and some nails
• one crow bar with nail extractor

Checking procedure

Physical check

NB. Before starting the procedure, write a reference on each roll or tarpaulin to be tested, mentioning the name of the customer, the date of the test and the number of the sample (i.e. MSFKenya-23/03/2019 nr 1, 2, 3,…). This reference has to be reported in the heading of the respective report form.

• weigh the roll or the tarpaulin, without any packaging, and note the result for further calculation
• unroll, or unfold the tarpaulin and check the colour of the sheet: it should be a strong white, without significant colour fluctuation
• compare the presence of the 6 bands to the position given in the drawing (see figure 1), one can accept up to 5 cm fluctuation from the given position
• the bands must be blue
• check that there is a length indicator mark every meter, ensure that the distance between two marks is really 1 m, and check at 3 places
• check for the presence of the manufacturer name and the manufacturing date and month in letters 2.5 cm high, at least one every 6 meter on a roll and twice on a tarpaulin
• measure the width of the tarpaulin or the roll at 3 different places. Measurements must be minimum 3.96 m up to 4.04 metre.
• measure the length on the two edges and in the middle between the two central blue bands: it should be 6 metre for a tarpaulin or 60 m for a roll
• note the differences in the "comments" column of the report form.
• calculate the exact surface of the sample (length by width) and calculate the specific weight (total weight in grams divided by the surface in square meters), it must be between 209 gr/m² and 231 gr/m²
• scratch the white coating of the sheet with the cutter and check that the yarns are black in the two directions, warp and weft: NB. Light grey is not acceptable
• scratch the blue coating of the bands with the cutter and check that the yarns are black in the two directions, warp and weft: NB. Light grey is not acceptable