1 INTRODUCTION Corrosion is a natural process, by which a modified material decomposes to a more elementary state or decomposes (Gundiler et al, 2000). The process causes unwanted characteristics in the product which can range from a change in appearance to failure of structures. The effect of corrosion, as addressed by Ahmad (2006), costs governments many billions, as industry has developed many ways to combat corrosion. The fight against corrosion can be carried out through two methods, by design and by inhibition. This report examines in sections 2 and 3 examples of corrosion control mechanisms from the perspective of active and then passive responses. Issues relating to economic combinations of alloy, environment and corrosion control are addressed in section 4. 2 EXAMPLES OF CORROSION CONTROL MECHANISMS In preparation for implementation in an environment, materials must go through many refinement steps. Corrosion protection and design considerations can be illustrated in many ways. Roberge (2005) emphasized that the designer must understand that materials have a certain life expectancy, in particular he underlined the points on proactive design (see appendix 2). There are many types of active corrosion management. Most active corrosion management applications can be separated into two groups based on their composition, inorganic or organic. Organic inhibitors have a hydrocarbon base and are useful for generating film coatings, while inorganic inhibitors are made from a wide variety of chemicals. (NPL, 2003) Active corrosion prevention is considered permanent protection. Applied prior to installation, active corrosion management requires continuous operation to protect the material and is designed to last its entire life cycle......half of paper......approximately 1 mm - 2 mm per year, which can be achieved using multiple corrosion protection methods. 5 CONCLUSION Overall the costs of a project using a combination of corrosion management techniques are much lower than those resulting from an inadequate corrosion management plan. In the past, corrosion control has been relegated to the last stage of design, as discussed by Ahmad (2006). By having a broader understanding of corrosion we can see that many fundamental steps should be taken in the design and that there are a number of economic choices that can be made. Appendices 1 and 3 show a corrosion control checklist and passive design considerations. Both types of corrosion control incorporate practices that will increase the useful life of a product. Both passive and active corrosion management should be used in design, building more efficient and more durable structures.