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.

EVENTS

2059 Basic Uncertainty Concepts

Share

This 2-hour webinar provides a very basic introduction to uncertainty calculations and reporting using the 8-step process published in NIST SOP 29 (NISTIR 6969), beginning with some definitions and concepts from the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) and includes some simple calculations. NOTE: The content is similar to what is covered in the Fundamentals of Metrology seminar and is a useful precursor or review for content covered during the course and includes calculations and an integrated application quiz. The session ends with an optional 30-minute session for Questions and Answers.

Class Information section banner

At the end of this session, using SOP 29 and course notes, participants will be able to:

  • DEFINE: standard uncertainty, expanded uncertainty, coverage factor, Type A methods, Type B methods;  
  • DESCRIBE the importance of knowing and evaluating measurement uncertainty; ;
  • Be able to: SPECIFY, IDENTIFY, QUANTIFY, CONVERT, COMBINE, EXPAND, EVALUATE, and REPORT uncertainties for a simple scenario;
  • EXPLAIN the concepts of uncertainty and its relationship to metrological traceability;
  • IDENTIFY documentation requirements for uncertainty calculations within a calibration laboratory; and
  • IMPLEMENT an uncertainty budget based on concepts presented in NISTIR 6969, SOP 29 and the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement.

Laboratory metrology staff and administrators who are new to uncertainty calculations or who would like to review the 8-step process of SOP 29.  The session would also be useful for metrology staff who will be conducting on-the-job-training for new staff members.

Successful Completion includes completing pre- and post-work assignments, full attendance and participation in the session activities and discussion, including the integrated quiz/calculations.

The current registration fee for webinars is $350, and participants will be sent payment instructions when their training request is confirmed. Payment deadline is 30 calendar days before the class. Registration fees for State weights and measures metrologists are funded by NIST OWM.

The webinar will be a live stream, so participants must have a constant connection during the webinar (a hard-wired connection is highly recommended and not a wireless connection).

  • Operating System (browser) configurations:
    • Windows
      • Windows 11 and 10
      • Google Chrome (latest)
      • Mozilla Firefox (latest)
      • Edge-Chromium (latest)
    • MacOS
      • MacOS 13.0, 14.0 and 15.0
      • Apple Safari (latest)
      • Google Chrome (latest)
      • Mozilla Firefox (latest)
      • Microsoft Edge - Chromium (latest)
    • Linux
      • Ubuntu 18.04; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
      • No application support is available for Linux. Users on Linux can attend meetings in a browser.
        • Google Chrome
    • ChromeOS
      • Google Chrome (latest)
        • Mozilla Firefox (latest)
        • Microsoft Edge - Chromium (latest)
  • Mobile Devices
  • Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Audio
    • Before the webinar – Participants are responsible for verifying and testing their computer for proper VOIP performance (speaker and mic). If connection via VOIP is not possible for participant, a request can be made to enable conference calling capabilities. Failing to test audio capabilities could prevent participation in the webinar.

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

* Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat and Adobe Connect are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

None.

Micheal Hicks and Tobias Herman
Email: micheal.hicks [at] nist.gov (micheal[dot]hicks[at]nist[dot]gov)

Staff Photo of Micheal Hicks
Micheal Hicks
Tobias Herman Headshot for OWM
Tobias Herman
Banner for Pre event training faqs

There are no prerequisites for this webinar. Knowledge of basic mathematics and statistics is expected and must be used for successful completion.

Read NISTIR 6969, SOP 29

Pre-Work Deadline: Must be completed prior to webinar.

Banner for post event training faqs

Submit Student Notes (Highlights, Applications, and Application Quiz).

Post-Work Deadline: Post-work must be submitted to instructors by Thursday, June 4, 2026.

Sponsors

NIST Office of Weights and Measures

You will need a government-issued photo ID (e.g., passport or driver's license) when you check into the Visitors Center at the entrance of NIST and if bringing a vehicle onto the NIST campus, a vehicle registration card.

PLEASE NOTE: Effective July 21, 2014, under the REAL ID Act of 2005 (https://www.dhs.gov/real-id/real-id-frequently-asked-questions), agencies, including NIST, can only accept a state-issued driver's license or identification card for access to federal facilities if issued by states that are REAL ID compliant or have an extension. NIST currently accepts other forms of federally issued identification in lieu of a state-issued driver's license, such as a valid passport, passport card, DOD's Common Access Card (CAC), Veterans ID, Federal Agency HSPD-12 IDs, Military Dependents ID, Transportation Workers Identification Credential (TWIC), and TSA Trusted Traveler ID. See Visitor Information for the latest information.

Metrology, Weights and measures, Standards, Documentary standards and Standards education
Created February 13, 2025, Updated July 10, 2025
Was this page helpful?