Photo By Mikia Muhammad | Defense Logistics Agency Product Testing Center color scientists Ardra Farally (left)...... read more read more
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PHILADELPHIA - The human eye is capable of seeing up to 10 million colors, but most people cannot distinguish between all of them. Two fabric shade evaluators at the Defense Logistics Agency Product Testing Center in Philadelphia are among the fraction of the population who can.
Ardra Farally and Jamie Hieber conduct color science testing on fabric the military buys for uniforms and other items through DLA Troop Support’s clothing and textiles supply chain.
Color scientists work with C&T specialists to test fabric shades against standards the military services provide, both before and after items are produced.
Product Testing Center Manager Paul Conrad, who oversees the center’s color science laboratory, said getting the right color for military fabrics is critical.
“In the military, shade evaluation is very important. Samples are tested under specified lighting conditions,” Conrad said. “Per contract requirements, fabric the military buys has to be evaluated by this laboratory to meet the standards and tolerances. If it doesn’t meet it, the contractor can’t ship it.”
Farally and Hieber have a natural ability for superior color sight that enables them to perform these shade evaluations. That ability is tested through a specialized test.
“The Farnsworth Munsell 100 Hue Test is specifically set up to check the color acuity in people who work in almost any field that deals [with] color,” Hieber said. “What it does is determine how good your color acuity is.”
People being evaluated in the test are presented four boxes of 84 colored tiles from red to blue, blue to green, green to red and red to yellow and must identify the hues within two minutes per box. Each tile is numbered on the back. The tiles are scrambled during the test and the test taker is scored based on the number of errors made.
The lower the score, the better a person’s color acuity, Hieber explained. She and Farally are tested every six months.
“[With a score of] 100 or less, you’re considered to have normal color vision. These ladies score consistently at zero or four. They’re very good at what they do,” Conrad said.
In addition to having this ability, DLA color science employees must hold a degree in chemistry and undergo a year of extensive on-the-job training before they can begin evaluating materials. Staffing in the color science laboratory is maintained through a master-apprentice cycle of training, Farally said.
“When I came in seven years ago, Jamie was and is the expert,” Farally said of Hieber, who has worked for DLA for 22 years. “She taught me how to describe what I’m seeing.”
Being able to accurately convey errors is important to customers, Farally said.
“We need to be able to say [the shade test] failed, and this is why,” she said. “It’s redder than the standard [or] it’s greener than the standard. That’s information back to them so that they know where the error is and they know how to correct it.”
With a goal of evaluating samples within 24 to 48 hours, Farally and Hieber analyze hundreds of thousands of yards of fabric to meet military service-specific tolerances and standards for dress and utility uniforms, accessories, and other uniform items.
While the product testing center uses state-of-the-art equipment for testing fabrics, Farally and Hieber are the human eyes who review what technology may miss.
“We’re the final step in the shade evaluation process,” Farally said. “We’re just that last look at it to make sure that what the government is procuring is what they actually ordered and what they actually want.”
| Date Taken: | 10.12.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 10.17.2012 11:27 |
| Story ID: | 96310 |
| Location: | PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 281 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, DLA color scientists in Philadelphia ensure military fabrics make the grade, by Mikia Muhammad, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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