The acronym MESC stands for ''Material and Equipment Standards and Code''. It is a
tool of the materials
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
for
standardisation and handling of materials used in business. It was created in 1932 for internal use by
Shell, but later on licensed to every company who wished to pay for it.
The system is a catalogue of specifications in the English
language, to allow
buyers to purchase standardised materials all over the world.
When MESC was initially introduced, materials were allocated a unique 7-digit number. This was increased to ten digits in 1946.
[McDonald, K]
Materials Management Programme in Shell
accessed 26 December 2016 The system has a numerical "coding schedule" of 10 digits to code the materials. It consists of groups, sub- and sub-sub-groups of 2 digits each, and a "Buying description" of 3 digits. Local coding is allowed for every company. The last digit for central coded materials is a 1, the last digit for local coded materials is a 9. With a single 10 digit code materials can be purchased all over the world, independent of the
manufacturer or
brand.
Typical example: Somewhere in the world a buyer purchases 500 metre cable coded 68.68.61.301.1 He knows he gets a telecommunication cable, 110 volt,
polythene isolated,
lead sheathed and
steelwire armed, PVC served, colour green, with conductors of high-conductivity solid plain annealed copper wire, polythene insulated and polythene inner sheath, grouped 1x4x0,8 mm according to a strict specification and known measures.
It does not matter whether the buyer works on a Shell refinery in
Oman or a
BP plant in
Rotterdam Europort, it only depends on the local market which supplier will supply the cable.
A cable coded 68.68.61.301.9 would be the same cable as 68.68.61.301.1, but with local requirements, e.g. according to the local colour standard.
The loose-leaf paper version of the MESC consisted of approximately 2 metre books.
References
{{reflist
External links
MESC-catalogus by Shell ISO direction to Shell standards DEP and MESC
Procurement
Shell plc