INSTRUCTIONS RELATING TO FOREST PRODUCTS. 25 



WORKING PLANS. 

 Importance. 



The success of a technical investigation is often determined by the 

 care exercised in planning the details of the work. Work under a 

 project will not begin until a plan has been prepared by the member 

 of the Service assigned to the investigation and approved by the 

 proper officers. If a detailed plan can not be made at the outset, an 

 outline describing the essential features of the investigation will be 

 prepared and approved. Such outlines will be termed " Preliminary 

 plans ". 

 Scope. 



As far as possible working plans will contain detailed instructions 

 for collecting material and conducting the investigation. The dis- 

 cussion under each topic should be full and accompanied by any 

 sketches or drawings which will assist in making the ideas of the 

 writer clear and specific. 

 Designation. 



Working plans will be given the title and number of the project 

 under which they are prepared. When a working plan covers only 

 a part of a proposed project, successive plans will be prepared and 

 designated numerically (as Part 1. Part 2, etc.). When a working 

 plan is revised, the revision will be designated alphabetically, as 

 Working Plan 100, 

 Approval. 



Unless otherwise specified in the instructions transmitting the an- 

 imal program of investigative work to each unit of the Branch, all 

 working plans for technical investigations will be approved by the 

 director of the Forest Products Laboratory or the chief of Indus- 

 trial Investigations, in accordance with the nature of the investiga- 

 tion. In specific cases, designated in the instructions of the assist- 

 ant forester, working plans will be submitted to him for approval. 

 Review by officers and committees. 



Before any working plan is approved, the executive officer will ob- 

 tain the judgment of the members of the Branch or of other branches 

 who are most experienced in the kind of investigation proposed or 

 otherwise best qualified to act. on the completeness of the plan, the 

 choice of methods and materials to be used, the accuracy of the data 

 to be obtained and any other features of the plan which affect the 

 value of the entire investigation. At the Forest Products Labora- 

 tory every working plan will be submitted to a committee of experts 

 designated by the director to pass upon all plans within specified 

 fields of investigation. The judgment of any other members of the 

 Branch wherever employed who are qualified for any particular rea- 

 son to pass upon certain features of the work will also be obtained. 

 Working plans for projects under Industrial Investigations will be 

 submitted to the Forest Products Laboratory for comment and 

 criticism before they are approved by the chiei of office. Working 

 plans prepared at the Laboratory which involve problems in the 

 field of Industrial Investigations will be submitted to the chief of 

 that office for review before they are approved. Plans which have 

 a bearing upon the work of otheV branches will be referred to them 

 for criticism and suggestions before final approval. It is essential 

 that the judgment of any members of the Service whose opinion 



