Excerpt from Measurement Philosophy of the Pilot Program for Mass Calibration

Pilot Program incorporates, in each participating facility, the calibration procedures currently in use at the National Bureau of Standards which provide both a means to recog nize and to utilize the maximum capabilities of the mass measurement processes.

The Mass Measurement Pilot Program, at the present stage of development, requires the participating facility to either have, or have access to, a pair of kilogram mass standards and suitable sensitivity weights which have been recently calibrated by nbs. The calibra tion of duplicates, subdivisions, and multiples of the kilogram are accomplished by using the equipment of the facility to make the observations in accordance with the prescribed procedures. The raw data is transmitted to nbs via teletype or other convenient means of communication. The data will be processed using an appropriate computer program. The monitoring function incorporated in the analysis will test the values obtained for the performance parameters against the appropriate parameters which represent the performance of the facility which produced the data. The mass values and appropriate uncertainties for the weights being calibrated are returned to the facility via teletype in a format suitable for inclusion in a report of calibration. The analysis sheets, which include, in addition to the statistical eavluation, a listing of supplementary information such as the equipment used, the operator, the weighing designs used and also a copy of all of the raw data listed essentially in the order it was taken, are forwarded by mail for evaluation and use as substantiating documentation. At the present time, the program is in limited operation at three facilities over a restricted range of nominal mass values. The success of the operation, to date, has been most gratifying.

The programs for data analysis, incorporated in the Pilot Program, strive to provide a service matched to the unique requirements of the total mass measurement process and to extract from the resulting data all possible information concerning the process performance. The procedures are designed to calibrate most ordered sets of mass standards, with few if any, extra observations over those required by other calibration procedures, and in addition, one obtains the statistical information necessary to assess the performance of the particular process that was used. The analysis of the data provides parameters relative to both short and long term process variability and it is possible to compute in advance, and verify the appropriateness of the uncertainty to be associated with each mass value determined. Facilities that can demonstrate a continuous in control operation through the use of the Pilot Program are, in essence, extensions of the nbs facilities and, as such, require only minimal calibration support.

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