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JULY 2006
NCSLIs 45th Anniversary Special Commemorative Edition
Washington DC 2005
Tampa 2003
Toronto 2000 Salt Lake City 2004
Nashville 2006
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3a
CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES
FROM NIST, William Jeffrey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4a
FROM BIPM, Andrew Wallard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5a
FROM ILAC, Daniel Pierre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6a
METROLOGY TRENDS FOR THE FUTUREA VIEW FROM AN NMI
Belinda Collins, Director, Technology Services, NIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7a
A MEASUREMENT MFGR LOOKS TO THE FUTURE OF METROLOGY
NCSL John Herniman, EMG Quality V.P., Agilent Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9a
International CELEBRATING NCSLI AT FORTY-FIVE YEARS YOUNG: AN INSTITUTIONAL
AND ORGANISATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE FUTURE
1961 2006 Andrew Wallard, Director, BIPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11a
A CONCISE HISTORY OF U.S. LABORATORY ACCREDITATION
Peter Unger, President, A2LA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13a
A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF NCSLI-A PHOTOESSAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15a
Special 45th THE VISION OF HARVEY LANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23a
Anniversary NBS ACCEPTS NCSLI SPONSORSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24a
AN NCSLI HISTORY GALLERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25a
Commemorative THE WILLIAM WILDHACK AWARD AND ROSTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29a
Edition NCSLI MILESTONES2001 TO 2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30a
GALLERY OF NCSLI PRESIDENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31a
July 2006 THE NCSLI ORGANIZATION CHART, 1962 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33a
THE NCSLI ORGANIZATION CHART 2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34a
EDITOR:
John L. Minck AN HONOR ROLL OF CONTRIBUTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35a
642 Towle Place FOUNDING MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36a
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Phone and Fax (650) 493-3955
E-mail: or *********
Associate Editor:
Chris Franks, Agilent Technologies-Retired Editor's Message
Layout and Production:
Rebecca Johnson, Acorn Publishing A Year in the Life of NCSLI
PUBLISHER: What is NCSL International? It is one year of professional challenges
NCSL International and personal friendships. 45 Times!
2995 Wilderness Place, Suite 107
Boulder, CO 80301-5404 So here is a problem for you. Try to think of a SINGLE photo which John Minck
(303) 440-3339, FAX (303) 440-3384 will represent the essence of the global operations and reach of Editor
E-mail: NCSLI! I'll give you 1 minute.
BOARD OF REVIEWERS Not so easy is it? I thought of the front lawn shot of our business office. I thought of the
Dave Abell Larry Nielsen friendly gatherings of our annual conference receptions. Of the crowded technical sessions.
Chris Franks Richard Pettit Of the networking that our members were experiencing throughout the exhibit floor. Of the
Jack Ferris Derek Porter technical and business interactions with major global standards organizations. I thought of
Jeff Gust Dave Agy
the dozens of our regional meetings around the world.
Georgia Harris Roxanne Robinson
Carol Hockert Doug Sugg
As I began the early plans for this 45th anniversary issue, I decided to browse through the
Roger Burton Jesse Morse
last 20 issues of the newsletter going back to 2001. I found it very difficult to portray the
Harry Moody Terry Conder
global activities of NCSLI in just a few photos. So I concluded that perhaps a "photo
Belinda Collins Tom Wunsch
essay" might do a better job in recounting just how important our work is in this global
Malcolm Smith Lonnie Spires
metrology environment. It's a direct steal from "A Day in the Life of America." The story
starts on page 15a.
On the cover: Most convention city photos cour-
tesy of their local convention bureaus.
Toronto picture credit of Tourism Toronto.
So happy 45th birthday NCLSI. Youve done well for middle age.
Continued on page 28a
2a
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
Serving the World of Measurement NCSLI has developed relationships with other pertinent organiza-
for 45 Years tions around the world, such as ILAC, where we supported our Past
President and Wildhack Award winner Anthony Anderson for two
As NCSL International celebrates its 45th terms as the Chair of the ILAC Laboratory Committee. NCSLI has
anniversary, it is important for us to take a established relationships with EUROMET, the organization of
moment to reflect on the accomplishments of European National Measurement Institutes, and EUROLAB, the
our organization. professional organization for European Test Laboratories. We now
have EUROMET and EUROLAB representatives on our Board of
Jeff Gust One of our organizations earliest historical doc- Directors, and NCSLI is represented at their annual General
NCSLI President uments states: The Conception of an associa- Assemblies.
tion of standards laboratories was presented to
a group of people active in the precision measurements field at a NCSLIs most significant accomplishment of the last five years is
special meeting in Boulder, Colorado, subsequent to the final meet- the formalization of a relationship with the International Bureau of
ing of the 1960 Conference on Standards and Electronic Weights and Measures (BIPM), in which the Director of the BIPM,
Measurements at the National Bureau of Standards Boulder Professor Andrew Wallard, has become the BIPM representative to
Laboratories. Some of the original topics of discussion were: the NCSLI Board of Directors.
Obtaining and/or training measurement specialists In addition to our international activities, the leadership of NCSLI
Dissemination of information pertaining to measurement tech- has maintained a close relationship with NIST, with the Executive
niques and to the operational management problems of measure- Vice President, President, and Past President meeting annually with
ment activities NIST senior leadership.
Establishment and acceptance of recognized capabilities of labo-
ratories active in the measurements fields NCSLI has worked hard to represent our membership by forming
consensus positions of the membership through development of
Some of the big issues in 1960 that drove the establishment of the position papers on Laboratory Accreditation, Registration, and
National Conference of Standards Laboratories are still some of the Certification and SI Units.
big issues for us today. NCSLI has played a major role in each of
these activities, using our annual workshops as a place to provide NCSLI has also realized several initiatives in the last five years to
training and dissemination of information on measurement tech- increase member benefits. We have relocated our business office in
niques. The acceptance of recognized capabilities of laboratories is order provide services such as a training facility for our members to
now called Laboratory Accreditation. NCSLI has developed many use. The NCSLI website has been improved greatly to become a
documents pertaining to the concept of Laboratory Accreditation, vital resource for measurement professionals. We have added
and presently Roxanne Robinson, Vice President of the American Tutorials to our annual workshop and symposium to provide addi-
Association for Laboratory Accreditation, is a member of the tional opportunities for training. As of March 2006, we have
NCSLI Board of Directors. launched MEASURE, a new technical magazine that provides our
membership with practical and up-to-date information on calibration
Since many of the major accomplishments of our organization have techniques, uncertainty analysis, measurement standards and labora-
been covered in previous anniversary publications such as our 40th tory accreditation.
anniversary newsletter, I would like to focus on our more recent his-
tory. In the years since our 40th anniversary, the world has become a NCSLI has accomplished a great deal in the last five years; howev-
smaller place. Almost every member of NCSLI has witnessed the er, none of this would have been possible without the efforts of
effects of globalization firsthand. Many companies have merged every person who volunteers their time to NCSLI and every organi-
into a few large organizations. Other businesses have moved parts zation that supports these volunteers. We come together, giving of
of their operations to other countries. For NCSLI to remain a vigor- ourselves to improve the world of measurement, doing our small
ous organization, we have had to react accordingly. part to make the world a better place in which to live.
In order to best serve the interests of our membership, NCSL Happy 45th Anniversary NCSL International
International has put forth significant effort in making our organiza-
tion truly representative of the measurement needs of the world. Jeff C. Gust
Since 2001, NCSLI has held our Board of Directors meetings in President
Canada and Mexico, and our Executive Board has met with Senior
Staff at the INMS in Canada and CENAM in Mexico.
3a
CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES
4a
5a
6a
METROLOGY TRENDS FOR THE FUTURE
A VIEW FROM AN NMI
The areas that NIST is choosing for concentration are familiar to all
of us from the daily newspaper, internet and TV. The first area, nan-
otechnology, involves the measurement science needed to enable
Belinda L. Collins, Ph.D. nanotechnology from discovery to manufacture. NIST has just creat-
Director, Technology Services ed its Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology to foster devel-
National Institute of Standards and opment of measurements and standards in support of nano-manu-
Technology facturing and other technologies at the nanoscale. We are partnering
with industry on appropriate user facilities at NIST/Gaithersburg,
What might the next five years and beyond hold for NIST and other including the Advanced Measurement Laboratory, and at
National Measurement Institutes (NMIs) - and the entire measure- NIST/Boulder and elsewhere to strengthen and deepen our research
ment community world-wide? focus.
We can be certain of one thing: there will be change! We can expect The subject of new, reliable energy sources, including hydrogen
change not only in what we provide, but also in the ways in which fuels, is also of great public interest at this time. NIST recognizes
we provide measurements and metrology services. We can antici- that creating a viable hydrogen economy will require new measure-
pate changes in measurement capabilities - and the need to provide ments and standards, as well as the supporting technologies required
ever new capabilities to address such issues as nanoscale measure- to improve the efficiency, durability, and manufacture of hydrogen
ments. fuel cells. Standards and calibrations are needed for pipeline safety
and reliability, as well as for the legal metrology infrastructure
We have already seen some convergence of unrelated scientific dis- essential for commercial sales of hydrogen fuel. Ensuring that con-
ciplines, and can expect further combinations of biology, chemistry, sumers actually receive the labeled amount of hydrogen fuel is com-
and physics applied to emerging technologies and industries, includ- plex and every bit as challenging as for petroleum products.
ing nanotechnology and biotechnology. These will pose new ques-
tions about how to measure their combined impact on the perform- The biotechnology and healthcare industries are hot areas that are
ance and safety of existing and new materials. badly in need of sound metrology to underpin advances in disease
treatments, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture, to name only a few
Need will drive change in the ways in which we listen to, learn opportunities for NMIs. NIST is partnering with National Institutes
from, and work with colleagues in industry, academia, and govern- of Health and the bio-imaging industry to improve molecular imag-
ment agencies. At the same time, not every NMI will be able to ing for understanding bioprocesses and for assessing the behavior of
make every measurement needed by its own economy, so we should biomaterials in the body. This effort is essential for developing the
expect increased collaboration among NMIs and with industry labo- measurement foundation for converting pictures of biological mate-
ratories. We can anticipate, and work towards, greater synergy rials and systems into data that can be used reliably for diagnosis
among the key players to create the standards needed to support the and analysis.
global economy.
At the other end of the bio-spectrum is the need for measurement
In the following pages, I'll describe some ideas emerging from my, data and procedures for biometrics for identifying individuals, help-
albeit imperfect and cloudy, crystal ball. We can revisit all this in ing us to protect our borders and moving people through check-
2011 to see how on target these predictions were! points more efficiently. NIST has already developed expertise in
face recognition and fingerprints but the development of new
Measurement Science standards and test methods will be required to use this technology
effectively.
I'm going to begin with advances in measurement science and deliv-
ery, starting with the NMI at which I've spent my career. NIST The 20th century was dominated by advances in computing power,
recently revised its mission statement as follows: and we can anticipate continuing advances as we move forward in
the 21st century. NIST is poised to conduct revolutionary research
To promote U.S. innovation and competitiveness by advancing in quantum information science; to develop new measurement tools
measurement science, standards and technology in ways that and methods that can be applied to new, ultra powerful computers;
enhance economic security and improve our quality of life. and to achieve "unbreakable" codes to protect financial and other
transactions.
This mission focuses us squarely on metrology and standards. It is
coupled with a long-range planning effort that concentrates on This is accompanied by society's need for the measurement science
advancing measurement science to support innovation and competi- and technologies essential for providing the cyber security that is
tiveness. Concomitant efforts will include creation and dissemina- required for protecting the nation's productivity and infrastructure
tion of physical standards and input into the documentary standards including transportation systems, financial systems, power grids,
needed to support emerging technologies. etc. Earlier NIST research in encryption technologies is estimated to
have saved these and other industries as much as $1B, but many
more threats to cyber security remain to be addressed.
7a
Although not all NMIs explicitly support the construction and build- The NIST report will help to focus stakeholder attention on systemic
ing industries, NIST has a mandate to develop the measurements and issues that undermine the performance and utility of the whole sys-
standards for providing structural safety in hurricanes, fires, earth- tem, catalyze further efforts to identify measurement needs and sys-
quakes and other disasters. This continuing effort calls for improve- temic problems that weren't identified initially, and enable efficient
ments in the modeling of measurements of extreme winds coupled use of both public and private sector resources to resolve measure-
with fire and smoke, as well as development of innovative tech- ment problems.
niques for earthquake-resistant design and construction.
The analysis of all the data gathered in the USMS effort promises to
We have worked collaboratively with Japan for more than 20 years provide a wealth of information that will assist NIST and other
on the measurements and standards needed to improve construction NMIs around the world as we plan to accomplish the measurements
to resist fires and earthquakes - and to enhance human safety in the and standards that will facilitate innovative technologies over the
built environment. This collaboration has benefited people through- next five years and beyond!
out the world as building codes have been enhanced to address
issues of seismic safety and fire resistance. Collaboration to address measurement challenges
NIST has long supported manufacturing innovation through meas- We should see much more enhanced collaboration in the years
urements and standards for better supply chain integration. These ahead. Others, such as Andrew Wallard, Director of the BIPM, have
ongoing efforts center on better exchange of product designs and talked about collaboration among NMIs, but what about collabora-
data through improved standards and test methods (ensuring compat- tion within an economy among different types of laboratories?
ibility with international standards). Along with other research insti-
tutions and NMIs, NIST has worked to embed our research findings NIST has just initiated such collaboration with the Oak Ridge
and technologies into the standards needed by industry to create National Laboratory (ORNL) to promote measurement accuracy for
tomorrow's products and systems. We will continue these joint nuclear medicine imaging driven by the need for calibrations of
endeavors to ensure that industry standards are accepted globally. short-lived atomic species. In this effort, NIST scientists will use the
NIST/ORNL Nuclear Medicine Calibration Laboratory to prepare
These advances in measurement science and standards recognize the and measure radioactivity standards used for Positron Emission
need for NIST and other NMIs to focus on new types and approach- Tomography (PET). PET is a non-invasive technique that helps doc-
es to the measurements and standards to support competitiveness and tors diagnose diseases (such as cancer), plan medical treatment, and
innovation! measure the efficacy of therapies. In this procedure, a low-dose
radiopharmaceutical (such as glucose molecules with radioactive
Learning from our customers and stakeholders particles attached) is injected and metabolized in the part of the body
to be imaged by the PET scanner.
The foregoing concepts have arisen from the practitioners of meas-
urement science, but additional ideas stem from customer needs and As the scanning technology has improved and image analysis has
requirements. To assess these, NIST recently embarked on an ambi- become more sophisticated, demand has grown for more precise
tious review of the U.S. Measurement System (USMS) to determine determination of the administered dose. The NIST/ORNL program
how we can effectively address the multiplying needs for ever-more- will for the first time provide direct traceability of these radioactivity
exacting and more reliable measurement tools and associated servic- measurements to national standards. The NIST program will be car-
es to support innovation. NIST is working with stakeholders across ried out regionally because the short half-lives of most PET radio-
the U.S. to identify unmet or emerging needs for measurements to pharmaceuticals prevent shipment of standard test samples over long
support emerging technologies of all types - from nanotechnology to distances. We anticipate the need for additional such partnerships in
biotechnology to energy to information technology and beyond. the future!
Technological innovation sustains U.S. competitiveness in the world NIST has also had excellent success in collaborating with others in
while underpinning national security and defense. It has accounted several unique NIST facilities, including the NIST Center for
for half of our economic growth, with productivity in "high tech" Neutron Research. We anticipate expanding this center to provide an
manufacturing growing three times as fast as for manufacturing as a additional cold source and new generation of world-class instru-
whole. Measurements are needed to support innovation and growth. ments to conduct research into protein structures and functions as
Test-equipment manufacturers, standards developers, product certi- well as trace chemical analysis.
fiers, accredited laboratories and all participants in the measurement
system at the national level will have to address these issues. Another opportunity for collaborative research is with the national
synchrotron light source at Brookhaven national lab where joint
NIST has surveyed the USMS from different cross-cutting perspec- work in imaging and analysis of chemical, electronic and structural
tives, including specific sectors, technologies, SI Units, and disci- properties will support the development of innovative materials
plines to explore measurement needs and the state of the entire U.S.
measurement system. We plan to report specific industry measure- NIST has previously discussed the capabilities of the Advanced
ment needs, analysis of trends and commonalities among specific Measurement Laboratory (AML) with NCSLI members; suffice it to
innovation-limiting measurement needs, findings on the state of the say that the AML is being extensively used to support not only
system, and any identified systemic problems, with recommenda- metrology for nanotechnology, but for all technologies requiring pre-
tions for follow-up actions that will achieve solutions. cision control over the environment in which the measurements are
made.
Continued on page 22a
8a
A MEASUREMENT MANUFACTURER LOOKS TO
THE FUTURE OF METROLOGY
Preserving the Truth in Times of Continuous Change
If technology would stand still, metrology could ultimately prevail
over all the problems that contribute to the risk of measurement
error. Yet, the evolution of technology continues to accelerate, intro-
ducing both new challenges and new solutions to the world of meas-
John Herniman urement. Over the last few years, the most noticeable change has
V.P. Quality, EMG been in the blurring of the lines between the analog and digital
Agilent Technologies worlds. As the size, cost and power consumption of digital compo-
nents has dropped, the speed of those same components has
We all operate amidst the turmoil and challenges driven by industri- increased even more dramatically. Measurement hardware that once
al globalization, technology evolution, and regulatory expansion. could be realized only in analog form can now be implemented digi-
Fortunately, we can feel pride and stability in being affiliated with tally with processing bandwidths that fully address major sets of
calibration laboratories that have unwaveringly addressed "metrolo- measurement requirements.
gy," the art and science of identifying, measuring, maintaining, and
reporting the truth. Some measurement errors such as logarithmic amplifier accuracy in
spectrum analyzer IF sections - errors that metrology once had to
Market-driving forces that disrupt processes, redistribute staffing, address - have been eliminated since that function is now performed
alter geographical deployment, change hardware and software archi- by Pentium-class processors. Still, the perfect digital measuring
tectures, and mandate compliance to complex standards have direct instrument - a single super-fast ADC with enough linearity and reso-
effects on the business condition of a worldwide OEM supplier of lution to cover any application - is yet to be achieved. Instead, com-
measurement technology. These forces also significantly impact the bined analog/digital solutions are often still required to measure and
hardware, software, and intellectual property (IP) an OEM must characterize some phenomena.
provide to customers so that they too can successfully contend with
the same forces in the context of their own business environments. The use of digital technology has enabled manufacturers to squeeze
ever greater performance out of hardware components. These are
The geographic diversification of manufacturing and R&D for many characterized during design and manufacture, and compensation for
companies has created a challenge in maintaining quality and con- their behavior (even drift) is included in normal instrument opera-
sistency. "New products designed in one country may be prototyped tion. As a result, customers can now buy more measurement capa-
in another and manufactured in yet another or even on another con- bility for their money because some hardware is now replaced with
tinent," said our Pat Byrne, president of Agilent Technologies' software algorithms, increasing performance and reliability while
Electronic Measurements Group. "The push to take advantage of the simultaneously driving down manufacturing costs.
rich diversity of talent across the globe has increased our depend-
ence upon robust measurement tools and techniques to ensure that The move to software-intensive architectures introduced challenges
the performance inherent in designs from the country of origin are of its own, of course. Just as you can no longer adjust the mixture in
maintained across the world at the end of the production line." the carburetor of your automobile (most have long since gone to
microprocessor-controlled fuel injection), you no longer find
As financial operating margins have thinned, companies involved in "screwdriver tweaks" in your measurement instruments. The speci-
research or manufacturing are relying upon metrology to "remove fied performance of the instruments depends on providing real-time
all doubt" as they make decisions on product performance, reliabili- compensation for component drift or aging. Adjusting the actual
ty and predictability. Calibration labs, whether internal parts of a performance (if verified as inadequate) requires complex closed-
company or external service providers, serve a critical need in loop iterative calculations to characterize the components and
reducing the risk of product and process failure and thereby in change the measurement loop calculations.
assuring the financial health of the companies they serve.
The robust measurements used to verify the overall performance of
Product reliability and accuracy must meet market expectations for today's instrument must be able to feed back the results into an auto-
a company to maintain the loyalty of its customers. In addition, and mated routine that uses them to make the necessary algorithmic
process reliability must meet internal expectations for a company to adjustments. What once could be adjusted in a calibration lab with
maintain its profitability and the loyalty of its stockholders. It is perhaps a scope and a screwdriver must now be done under auto-
with this knowledge that metrologists and calibration laboratory per- mated control using external lab standards. On the plus side, though,
sonnel can strive to maintain the robust tools and techniques needed no amount of manual tweaking could approach the instrument per-
to characterize the ever-broadening set of truths to be addressed. formance made possible by today's microprocessor-controlled archi-
The tools and techniques must be portable, delivering consistent tectures.
results worldwide.
The increased performance of today's instruments manifests itself in
other changes in the typical calibration lab. OEMs gain a competi-
tive advantage by squeezing more performance out of hardware and
9a
thereby tightening the instrument specifications. As the specs tighten The advent of international standards like ISO/IEC 17025 or the
and the feature sets increase - due in large part to digital signal pro- mandate of compliance with standards such as ANSI/NCSL Z540
cessing - the process of completing a "performance verification" have helped to unify terminology and document conditions under
often entails an increasing number of tests and test points. Manual which calibrations are made. Convergence on the ISO Guide for
calibration procedures that formerly were reasonable have grown to Expression of Measurement Uncertainty (GUM) has had the benefit
be untenable for many modern instruments. In particular, "general of stating under which conditions measurement uncertainty calcula-
purpose" instruments have extremely broad sets of functionality, all tions are to be performed, and in what manner they are to be per-
of which must be verified in the absence of specific advance knowl- formed if they are to be considered "in compliance."
edge of how the product will be used. Automatic calibration routines
are virtually mandated if the performance verification is to be com- Accreditation bodies worldwide need our support in maintaining the
pleted with high confidence in reasonable time. credibility of our industry. No one wants to bear the burden of
bureaucratic oversight, but we cannot afford to devalue in any way
This is especially important for mission-critical instruments, which our hard-earned accreditations by allowing slipshod enforcement of
cannot be removed from service for extended periods without the underlying standards. Even the most carefully written regula-
adversely impacting costs, schedules or both. Should something tions or standards leave room for interpretation, so it falls to the
drift out of alignment, the automated routines can be used to provide metrology community to provide some level of self-policing to
the necessary data for adjustment, and the instrument can be ensure that robust process control is maintained, and that "softer
returned to duty with minimal delay. For those reasons, every instru- services" such as uncertainty calculations are developed and used in
ment introduced by Agilent must have calibration procedures that appropriate fashion.
can be supported in our Service Centers at the time of introduction,
with full traceability to SI units. In addition, we are making the That, of course, places an additional burden on anyone developing
required engineering investments to make those procedures avail- automated calibration routines because uncertainty calculations are
able to equipment owners who prefer not to (or simply cannot) take complex. They depend heavily on the equipment being used as lab
advantage of our support services. Robust, automatic routines for standards and, in many cases, on the internal operating conditions of
both calibration and adjustment are critical tools for calibration labs both the lab standards and the instrument under test. The ultimate is,
that support modern instrumentation for equipment owners interest- of course, dynamic measurement uncertainty calculation, which
ed in minimizing turnaround time and overall support costs. requires point-by-point computation as the calibration process pro-
ceeds. While this is made possible by automatic calibration routines,
Perhaps the largest visible change in recent years has been the surge it is computationally intensive and requires careful development -
toward Web-based business. Web technology plays a critical role in but in the end it provides the highest confidence in pass/fail results.
providing global transportability of tools, manufacturer's intellectual It also provides the highest degree of flexibility when choosing
property, and information. Current software tools can be down- between various lab standards without compromising results.
loaded from secure web sites, licenses for the use of IP can be pur-
chased and delivered online, and data reports can be transmitted Equipment suppliers and calibration software providers must work
electronically and formatted to fit specific customer needs if they to present their products using industry-accepted standards for com-
are to be printed. munication and computation to allow for the broadest possible set of
lab standards and tools. Object-oriented design techniques can be
Identical tools can be deployed worldwide, identical judgments can used in both hardware and software to provide standard interfaces
be applied in determining pass/fail, and identical techniques can be and minimize interactions. This makes it possible to substitute lab
used to adjust or repair instruments that do not pass with the standards when needed, while still maintaining the highest level of
required margin. Whether operating on two systems, in two build- calibration quality. Technology does not stand still, but much can be
ings, or across two continents, consistency is the key to credibility, done to standardize on equipment and techniques that will minimize
and the entire metrology business is founded upon credibility. the expense when a calibration lab must install a new measurement
Automation in calibration can provide the same benefits automation capability. Change is inevitable, but we can control the cost of evo-
pays in a manufacturing operation - speed, repeatability, and consis- lution through careful adherence to software and hardware stan-
tent accuracy. Calibration results can be more readily used to dards.
improve business results.
Another common question is, "What does the future hold?" Pat
"But who checks the checker?" is a common question we get. Bryne's answer was, "Instruments will continue to get smarter and
Equipment suppliers strive for the highest possible performance and include an ever-increasing amount of digital signal processing. As
reliability, but things change; components age, environmental condi- that relates to metrology, that's good, because tasks performed digi-
tions vary, and unintentional abuse may occur. Calibration labs exist tally have great repeatability and are not subject to traditional cali-
to ensure that the equipment in question can be compared to certi- bration." However, as product functionality increases - for example
fied standards, and automated tools may ensure that comparison can digital I/Q modulation - some of the new "money specs" (those that
be consistently performed. But who checks to make sure the tools matter most to end customers) can easily become more complex and
are correctly applied, or that uncertainty analyses are properly per- require more exotic techniques for verification. Fortunately, the ver-
formed, or that the end customer can indeed be confident his service ification and adjustment software, along with other pertinent IP, can
provider has removed all doubt? be easily moved from the equipment supplier to calibration labs in
electronic form. Upgrades and repairs, coupled with targeted train-
In large part, that role has been taken on by certifying and regulato- ing, can all be delivered over the Web, making it possible to main-
ry agencies. tain a state of readiness that has never before been available when
such deliveries had to be made via snail mail, printed manual, or
classroom chalkboard.
Continued on page 37a
10a
CELEBRATING NCSLI AT FORTY FIVE YEARS
YOUNG: AN INSTITUTIONAL AND ORGANISATIONAL
PERSPECTIVE ON THE FUTURE
have brought an appreciation of structures and international issues. I
don't, however, imagine--even remotely--that today's young scien-
tists think any more about them than I did. And maybe realism, or
Andrew Wallard, skepticism, suggests to me that neither do many of the metrologists
Director of the International in NCSLI member laboratories as they work away at providing
Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) traceable calibrations for customers. So if this article accomplishes
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