Phil,
   This is true.

Good point PhilThomas , on the eye exam.
Something like 12%(?) of men are color blind and many either do not know it or are embarrassed to admit it.

Okay but, are you familiar with EB's method of tracking filler metal used by the welders back in the day and I say this because I don't know what method they're using these days?

It was a crude system to say the least and they didn't use the portable electrode ovens with SMAW E8018 or E11018...
Nonetheless, it did work! For example: At the beginning of each shift the welders gather around their designated rally location within the yard which was usually @ or very near one of the entrances on the boat their foreman was assigned to... From that location the foremen passed out what we called chits which were approximately 3"X5" in triplicate (Foreman keeping 1 copy) which included the job # and filler metal designation required as well as the location of the job usually by the frame # and deck level either port or starboard, aft or, forward of the primary compartment or within it also... Unless one was assigned to the superstructure or outside somewhere on the hull itself or working with the riggers welding pad eyes to equipment that was ready to be installed in the boat... The best gig was being assigned to any one of the fabricating shops throughout the yard where it was all gravy work...

Once you were given your work chit, you would then go to the designated tool/supply shack you were working from that knew ahead of time that you would be assigned to them... Usually there were one or two people working in the shack so you handed them the chit and if the process was SMAW, they would load up a custom wooden dual compartment rod carrier with one compartment used to hold the fresh filler as I used to call it, and the other compartment used to collect the stubs which they darn sure checked to make sure you had the correct amount when you came back to either refill, or to turn in what was left of the 1 to 5 lbs. of electrodes given to you each trip you went to the tool shack for... The maximum amount one could get each trip of any low hydrogen SMAW electrodes was 5 lbs... And the maximum time allowed for the electrodes to be exposed was 4 hours so if you still had electrodes left over in your container just before the 4 hour mark, you were expected to stop what you were working on and go return whatever rod that was left over before the 4 hour limit...

Your foremen kept track of the time from radio comm from the tool shack relaying the exact time any of his/her welders were given the lo hi electrodes, and they would remind you to go to the shack if they noticed you were still welding @ your assigned location... At the end of the shift you would hand in your copy of the paper chit back to your foreman and if the job was incomplete, he/she would give you back the same chit the next day and if you were pulled off the job for whatever reason, an entirely new supply chit had to be written up for that specific job for whoever else took your place... Similar procedures were used in many of the new construction, and maintenance shutdown sites of various power plants I worked at throughout the East coast...

The only time one would not have to leave the boat in order to get filler metal or tools was early in the construction process of building those boats when they had ample room to locate the rod ovens inside the boat... But once the equipment started being installed the ovens were taken off the boats and one had to take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes just to refill depending on the location they were assigned... An imperfect system that could be exploited if one wanted to but for the most part it wasn't... And if anyone violated the procedures, they would be written up the 1st time followed by a one day suspension if they repeated doing so again... And if they continued to disregard procedures, they were suspended for 1 week followed by termination if they were dumb enough or intentionally wanted to be fired from EB for whatever reason... The only reason why they had to gradually discipline the welders for each infraction was because of the MTC (Metal Trades Council) which were most of the unions representing the labor in the shipyard otherwise they would have been run off the 1st time...

Now if you needed a peening hammer, a right angle grinder or any other pneumatic tool that you didn't have in your toolbox, or needed a welding mirror, a carbon arc gouging torch or anything else you needed to borrow for the job...Depending on how many were required, you had to give the tool shack whatever number of brass tool chits you were initially given to use once you passed your probationary period of employment @ the yard, and if you wanted your chits back, you had to return the tool you borrowed no excuses... If you needed tempil crayons, lens, brushes, EB green tape, etc., you were given a triplicate paper supply chit and the tool shack would've filled the order for you. If you didn't have your temp sticks in your possession while you were working either in or outside the boat, you would be immediately written up followed by a similar  progression of discipline I described earlier and if one of the Navy brass caught you without your temp sticks, you would be automatically suspended for a week with no pay... If you were caught with your "pants down" as we used to call it by "The Father of the Nuclear Navy" the late Rear Admiral Hymie Rickover R.I.P., you were escorted out the gate never to return and believe me he had the clout to do just that! 

Yes indeed! Ole Hymie was one tough little fella who wasn't afraid to chop anyone down to his size, and then let them know in no uncertain terms that he either was happy with the work, or just plain disgusted with what was going on in the yard because of the incompetent supervision and lack of discipline... And you would know fairly soon after one of his many visits as to whether or not he was one of the two by whether or not altered or new procedures were being implemented shortly thereafter... If you were around where he would visit and was in a happy mood, he would be very jovial and grateful for all of the good work that was going on and he went around to everyone expressing his appreciation for our efforts and that's the main reason why in my book, he definitely earned my respect... Even though he promoted fear for their jobs to all of the supervision once they knew he was in the yard and they took it out on us afterwards, it was soooo darn funny to witness them freak out and stumble over each other... Because when he came to do a unannounced inspection, you knew for sure just from the look in all of managements faces who were not happy at all when Hymie stopped by... Sort of like the faces of impending doom.

Respectfully,
Henry