518 ENGINEERING MATERIALS. CHAP. XV. 



INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE INSPECTION OF THE FABRICATION OF 



STEEL BRIDGES.* 



(1) Acquire a full knowledge of the conditions of the contract, such as the time of delivery, 

 the railway company's actual need of the work, the desired order of shipment, and any special 

 features in connection with delivery such as the position of the girders or truss members on cars 

 at the bridge site. 



(2) Study in advance the plans and specifications and see that all provisions thereof are 

 complied with. These instructions are not be construed as altering the specifications in any way. 



Check every finished member against the drawings for its general dimensions and for the 

 section of each piece of material forming a component part of the member. 



(3) Endeavor to maintain pleasant relations with foremen and the workmen and by fairness, 

 decisiveness and good sense interest them in the successful completion of the work. 



(4) Attend constantly to the work, making inspection during the progress of the work in the 

 shop, striving to keep up with the output in order that errors may be corrected before the work 

 leaves the shop. 



Attend the weighing of material whenever practicable, especially that purchased on weight 

 basis. Check the accuracy of the scales with test weights or by other sufficient means. 



Conduct the inspection so as not to interfere unnecessarily with the routine operations of the 

 shop. 



(5) When unusual circumstances require an explanation of the plans or some variation from 

 the specified procedure, take the necessary action promptly. 



(6) Study the field connections, paying particular attention to clearances and making nota- 

 tions on the drawings so that they may be checked rapidly. 



(7) Check all bevels and field rivet holes. 



(8) Give careful attention to the quality of the workmanship, the condition of the plain 

 material, accuracy of punching, care in assembling, alignment of rivets, tightness of rivets, ac- 

 curacy of finishing of machined joints, painting and general finish. 



(9) Make sure that reamed holes are truly cylindrical and that drillings are not allowed to 

 remain between assembled parts. 



(10) Watch for bends, kinks, and twists in the finished members and make certain that when 

 leaving the shop they are in proper condition for erection. 



(n) Make sure that the webs of girders do not project beyond the flange angles and that the 

 depth of web below the flange angles complies with the specification. 



(12) Allow only the material rolled and accepted for the work to be used therein. 



(13) Have the fabricated material shipped in the correct order for erection and in accordance 

 with instructions, as far as practicable. 



(14) Measure the width of each column and the lengths of all girders between columns when 

 they are to be placed consecutively in a long row so as to insure that the columns and girders will 

 not " build out " in erection, so as to exceed the calculated length. 



(15) Check " rights " and " lefts " and make sure that the proper number of each is shipped. 



(16) Check base plates of girders before riveting and make sure that the camber is not 

 reversed. 



(17) Check the space provided for driving field rivets, allowing sufficient space for the 

 penumatic riveter. 



(18) Examine field connections after riveting to insure proper fitting and ease of erection. 



(19) Make sure that shop splices are properly fitted and that matched and milled surfaces 

 to transmit bearing are in close contact during riveting as specified. 



(20) Examine and measure bored pinholes carefully to insure proper dimensions and spacing 

 and smoothness of finish. 



(21) Measure the spacing center to center of the end connections for sections of I-beam 

 floors or any similar construction in which the calculated spacing is liable to be exceeded because 

 of the tendency of such work to " grow " as it is assembled. 



(22) Make sure that stringers connecting to floor'oeams beneath the flange have sufficient 

 clearance to care for their possible over-run in depth. 



(23) Have the assembling of trusses and girder spans required by the specifications carefully 

 done and in any case insure the accuracy of field connections. If a large number of duplicate 

 parts are to be made, the number of parts to be assembled should be governed by the workmanship. 

 If errors are found, a sufficient number of parts should be assembled to make it reasonably certain 

 that such errors have been eliminated. 



Have through girder spans with I-beam floors partially assembled and at least one bracket 

 bolted in its final position. 



* American Railway Engineering Association, Adopted, Vol. 14, 1913, and Vol. 15, 1914. 





