The laboratory for the experiment was set up to allow for the participants to easily inspect the castings at a height comparable to what was found in foundries where actual visual inspection of castings occurs.
The experiment was conducted in two laboratories in Black Engineering on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, IA.
One laboratory was used for the administration of the MFFT and the other was used for the inspection of the castings.
A series of 49 castings were placed around the perimeter of one lab, grouped by casting type.