[EricH]

A proposal that might work:

Discuss with the ASB the restrictions you're under (particularly emphasizing the 6 weeks AND the FRC robot budget constraints, I think they'll be interested in those). Note that while 1 week is long enough for some items, say team T-shirts, for critical robot parts you need a faster turnaround, say 1 business day.

Then propose the following: Have one ASB approver designated for robotics, with a list of "normal" purchase types (metal, wheels, motors, etc.), locations (AndyMark, VEX, McMaster...), and let's just say a reasonable cost ceiling per order. For any purchase on the "normal" list, that person ought to be able to approve it QUICKLY (say, 1-2 business days), provided that a reason is noted on the request for funds, if the team is in build or competition season. For any purchase not on the "normal" list (let's just say, a drill press) or over a certain dollar amount, the approver may request more information from the team and/or a full review.

In essence, you're requesting a "fast-track" approval for certain items in a certain timeframe, and any item not in that list or larger-than-normal amounts of such items are subject to extra scrutiny. And you're asking that one of the approving parties be a point-of-contact, and thus relatively familiar with what the team tends to purchase, so that person can spot "funny" items even more easily.

I don't know for sure if they'd go for it, but it's worth a shot.