AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF QUALITY FORGING production is that the forging, having been shown to be made from the specified material, heat treated as prescribed and demonstrated to meet the mechanical property requirements, is free from material/process related conditions that might adversely affect its performance during use, in other words that the forging is sound and is what it appears to be. It should be recognized that some potential service pitfalls can be mitigated by the use of appropriate nondestructive examination methods, while others cannot. For example, magnetic particle examination of the critical surfaces of a crankshaft is most valuable in finding indications that could lead to a fatigue failure, but no nondestructive examination of the original plate would warn of a potential brittle fracture problem stemming from a badly designed deck hatch corner in the deck of a ship whose hull plates were being operated close to or below their transition temperature.