Methodology and Analysis of the ILCs Provided by INRIM from 2016 to 2018
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CASE REPORT
Methodology and Analysis of the ILCs Provided by INRIM from 2016 to 2018 F. Galliana* , L. Iacomini and D. Torchio Department of Applied Metrology and Engineering, National Institute of Metrological Research, Strada delle Cacce 91, 10135 Turin, Italy Received: 16 September 2019 / Accepted: 25 April 2020 Metrology Society of India 2020
Abstract: To assess the technical competence of calibration laboratories, national accreditation bodies (NABs) take into account the results of national and/or international proficiencies testing (PTs) including the inter-laboratory comparisons (ILCs). As the Italian NAB stopped acting as PT provider since 2015 due to the result of a peer assessment by the European co-operation for accreditation, the National Institute of Metrological Research (INRIM) reorganized itself and reoriented part of its activity to become a ILCs provider, thus supporting the calibration laboratories. This paper describes how INRIM has been organized as ILCs provider to guarantee the accreditation activity continuation and gives information about the main typologies of the provided ILCs and details on the analysis of the ILCs results in different metrological areas. From 2016 to 2018, INRIM provided 114 ILCs, in the areas of acoustics ultrasonic and vibration, electricity and magnetism, length (L), mass (M) and thermometry (T), involving 138 laboratories, for which 375 ILC reports were issued. Keywords: Inter-laboratory comparison; PT provider; Measurement protocol; ILC report; Measurement uncertainty 1. Introduction The technical surveillance of calibration laboratories accredited according to [1] is important for the competitiveness of modern countries. In an effective technical surveillance, the execution of inter-laboratory comparisons (ILCs) is of great importance. In an ILC, the measurements of a surveyed laboratory are compared with the measurements of a reference laboratory to establish whether they are compatible. ILCs are therefore useful to establish the competence of secondary laboratories, operators skill, equipment suitability and the correctness of the dissemination process from national standards, normally maintained at the National Measurement Institutes (NMIs) [2–7]. With ILCs, the measurements compatibility can be verified among different laboratories or of different measurement methods. It is also possible to establish the equivalence of national standards among NMIs [8]. NMIs and secondary laboratories are at the top of the measurement system of each modern industrialized country. Each step of this chain must be under control to assure that final products are reliable. This control can be made also by
*Corresponding author, E-mail: [email protected]
means of ILCs that therefore are a strategic mean to assure the reliability of measurement systems supporting the hightech industry.
2. The Italian Framework According to [9], the Italian NAB ACCREDIA, as signatory of the multilateral EA agreement,1 must demonstrate evaluating in an accreditation process, the laboratories’
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