Mine Health and Safety Act, 1996 (Act No. 29 of 1996)

A weighing facility, just as any other organisation, should have a clearly defined organisational structure. Responsibilities of each member of the facility's staff should be in writing and understood by all In this way, confusion regarding tasks that need to be performed can be avoided.

The specific organisational structure of the facility will vary, depending on the facility's function. Two functions that relate to quality should be assigned in every facility:

The size and nature of the facility may preclude assignment of a full-time position to these functions; however, a facility member should be assigned these duties and it should be understood that they are to have top priority.

The quality assurance coordinator's functions will depend on the size and nature of the facility. This professional has overall responsibility for assuring that reported data meet established standards for precision and accuracy and that these results can be supported scientifically by the various quality control checks performed with the analysis. One of the major functions of this individual is to perform audits of the quality control system and to implement changes that eliminate recurring errors, The quality assurance coordinator should not be under the direct supervision of management responsible for day-to-day weighing facility's operation. In this way, conflicts between the facility's dual responsibilities of providing analytical results in a rapid fashion while maintaining quality can be avoided. The quality assurance coordinator should also serve as a resource person for chemists or managers on questions or problems related to quality assurance and should have a working knowledge of statistics, including quality control charting, and experimental design.

The sample clerk's functions will also vary, depending on the size and function of the facility. As a minimum, the sample clerk is responsible for the receipt and log-in of samples. Field samples should be stored in a secure location under proper conditions (temperature, etc.) until analysis. Logging and tracking of samples in the facility is important so that the history of these samples can be documented and processed in a timely manner. The sample clerk may also be given the responsibility of maintaining chain of custody documentation.