Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

5522: Calibration Certificate Evaluation

This 2.5 hour webinar will introduce concepts necessary to successfully implement ISO/IEC 17025 compliant calibration certificates within the laboratory and evaluate service provider certificates for compliance.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this 2.5 hour session, using notes and reference materials, participants will be able to:

  • IDENTIFY ISO/IEC 17025 or NIST HB 143 criteria related to the evaluation of calibration certificates (Sections 4.6 and 5.10);
  • DESCRIBE common nonconformities that can occur when reporting measurement results, including SI unit and symbol errors;
  • EMPLOY template job aids, checklists and other tools that can be used to successfully complete a calibration certificate evaluation;
  • ANALYZE “real world” certificate examples to discover nonconformities and propose appropriate corrective, preventive, and improvement actions.

Materials & Supplies:

None

Prerequisite(s):

There are no prerequisites for this webinar.

Pre-Work:

This webinar pre-work is estimated to take about 3 hours to complete, which is longer than many other OWM webinars. Pre-work deadlines are firm. Failure to meet any of the pre-work deadlines will result in being withdrawn from the class.

Part A:

  1. Select one (1) calibration certificate that has been recently issued by your laboratory. The record can be for an internal or external calibration.
  2. The instructors will use software to redact any information that could identify the customer or your laboratory (e.g., censor or obscure text for legal or security purposes). Participants may also redact the information before the record is submitted to the instructor (if you have the capability to do so electronically)(Preferred).
  3. SUBMIT the sample calibration certificate – PDF file – to the instructors by the deadline (December 14, 2017).
  4. Read and review the following resources (remember to record this as pre-work time):
    1. ISO/IEC 17025 (NIST HB 143, NIST HB 150) Section 4.6 Purchasing Services and Supplies and Section 5.10 Reporting the Results;
    2. NIST SOP 1 - Preparation of Test/Calibration Certificates;
    3. NIST Calibration Certificate and Test Report Review Template (Job Aid);
    4. NIST SP 811 - Checklist for Reviewing Manuscripts, which can also be found in the full publication at SP-811; and
    5. Your laboratory management system policy & procedure for issuing Calibration Certificates and procuring calibration services (e.g., the review process for calibration certificates when the calibration item is returned to the laboratory).

Part B:

  1. The instructors will combine the redacted sample laboratory calibration certificates and email the packet to all registered webinar participants (~ Friday, January 5, 2018).
  2. Evaluate each certificate against:
    • a. Section 5.10 and record your analysis results on the Calibration Review Template form, including all nonconformities. Use the Word file (docx), which will allow you to record information in the table cells.
    • b. NIST SP 811 checklist for unit and symbol errors. Record your observations.
    • c. Mark-up each sample certificate with 5.10 or Unit & Symbol issues (e.g., by hand and scan to PDF OR using software such as Adobe Acrobat Pro).
    • d. Record ideas for possible corrective, preventive, and improvement actions.
  3. Record the total pre-work time (minutes) for both Part A and B and send it to the instructors when you submit the assignment via email.
  4. SUBMIT the pre-work assignment and time estimate electronically – PDF – to the instructors by the deadline date.
  5. A COMPLETE pre-work assignment will contain:
    • a. Pre-work time estimate (minutes);
    • b. Completed Calibration Certificate and Test Report Review Template;
    • c. Completed SP 811 Checklist per sample certificate (or use summary table);
    • d. “Marked-up” case study certificates that contain your edits;
    • e. Participant notes on unit & symbol issues and suggested action items (e.g., CA, PA, and IA).

Pre-Work Deadline:

  • PART A: SUBMIT the sample calibration certificate – PDF file – to the instructors by COB, Friday December 14, 2017 (elizabeth.gentry [at] nist.gov (elizabeth[dot]gentry[at]nist[dot]gov)  AND val.miller [at] nist.gov (val[dot]miller[at]nist[dot]gov)).
  • PART B: SUBMIT the pre-work assignment and time estimate electronically – PDF – to the instructors by the COB, on Friday, January 19, 2018 (elizabeth.gentry [at] nist.gov (elizabeth[dot]gentry[at]nist[dot]gov)  AND val.miller [at] nist.gov (val[dot]miller[at]nist[dot]gov)). Please include your Last Name and Laboratory Name in the file name (e.g., Jones-MD-5494-Calibration Cert Eval pre-work 2018-01-19)."

Minimum Requirement(s):

Successful Completion includes completing the pre-work assignments, full attendance, and full participation in the session activities and discussions.

Audience:

Laboratory personnel who have responsibilities for developing, implementing, and/or improving the quality management system in their laboratory as well as those who are seeking OWM recognition and/or accreditation or improvements to support recognition/accreditation. This webinar is also useful for administrative or management staff who help define the lab procedures or ensure items are filed/located appropriately for the laboratory. The concepts covered in the class are especially useful for other program applications, but the focus and activities are on laboratory procedures and applications. This course is available for non weights and measures participants.

Cost:

The current fee for webinars is $199 and is due by Monday, January 22, 2018. Confirmed participants will be provided with payment instructions. Registration fees for State weights and measures regulatory officials and metrologists are funded by NIST OWM.

Instructor(s):

Elizabeth Gentry and Val Miller
Office of Weights and Measures,
Phone: (301) 975 - 3690 / (301) 975 - 3602
Email: elizabeth.gentry [at] nist.gov (elizabeth[dot]gentry[at]nist[dot]gov) / val.miller [at] nist.gov (val[dot]miller[at]nist[dot]gov)

Technology Requirement(s):

The webinar will be a live stream, so participants must have a constant connection during the webinar (hard-wired is preferred).

1.  Operating System (browser) configurations:

  • Windows XP (Explorer 8, 9, 10, 11; Mozilla Firefox; Google Chrome)
  • Windows Vista (Internet Explorer or Firefox)
  • Windows 7, 8, or 10 (Mozilla Firefox; Google Chrome; Internet Explorer)
  • Apple Mac OS 10.5x (Mozilla Firefox; Apple Safari; Google Chrome)
  • Ubuntu Linux (Firefox only)

2.  Media players

3.  Optional: If you have never attended an Adobe Connect meeting before:

Sponsors

NIST Office of Weights and Measures

Created August 29, 2017, Updated July 23, 2020