OWM OJT and Mentoring Resources (for State Labs)

This website was created in support of an interim Office of Weights and Measures course: “Fundamentals of Metrology and LAP Problem Preparation” during 2020 due to the closure of onsite NIST seminars and the impact to State weights and measures programs.  Each student registering and attending this course is required to have a laboratory metrologist on staff who will serve as an on-site mentor before and during the seminar.

Mentoring requirements in support of students attending this interim training are available here.  These “requirements” may also provide useful guidelines in laboratory administrative procedures for anyone doing mentoring/training of new staff even if not participating in this interim training. Developing the knowledge, skills, and abilities as a “trainer” is supplemental to those needed to perform good measurement in the laboratory and care should be considered when assigning staff to train and mentor others, making sure they have the aptitude and passion for helping and guiding others to learn metrology.

The following materials and resources were developed and are being provided on one page to support on-the-job training and mentoring for State Weights and Measures laboratories.  Materials may be useful for other laboratories as well and are not restricted in their use.

Sample FORMs:

Laboratory Auditing Program (LAP) Problems

State laboratory staff conducting training or mentoring new staff need to be familiar with OWM Training Requirements in Handbook 143, Table 2 as well as the requirements for the Fundamentals of Metrology LAP Problems (Zip File with Instructions and All Resources/Forms).  For Mass Echelon I, the LAP problems are published within NISTIR 5672:2019, Advanced Mass Calibration and Measurement Assurance Program for State Calibration Laboratories (2019 Ed).

Recorded Adobe Sessions (Training and Lab Metrology Info Hours)

Recorded training sessions are available on “train the trainer” topics as well as on-the-job training.  These sessions were conducted by OWM staff and are available.  Because some of these items were completed prior to several updates in the latest valid procedures, any noted differences should always be referenced to the latest valid methods.  Some of the reference materials and slides used in these recorded sessions are posted in the next section.  These sessions are only available to State laboratory staff. Please contact OWM for links and password details.
 

Materials Used in Training Sessions (All slides and handouts in PDF)

Note: Validate all resources prior to use.

2016 Regional Measurement Assurance Program, Laboratory Staffing Requirements PPT Slides (G. Harris)

2017 Best Practices LMIH Session – SODOTO Method Slides and Reference Paper (Robert Rogers, NC)

2017 Best Practices LMIH Session – Slides (Jim Gownley, PA)

2017 Best Practices LMIH Session – Sample Metrology Exercises (Benj FitzPatrick, MN)

2017 Best Practices LMIH Session – KS Sample Training Plan (G. Harris shared for KS)

2017 Designing and Implementing OJT for State W&M Webinar Slides (G. Harris)

2020 OJT and Mentoring for State Laboratories – Webinar Slides (G. Harris)

Additional Learning Resources (Validate Resources and References)

Note: Validate all resources prior to use.

SOP 18/19 Video (Job Aid posted with SOP 18 and SOP 19)

Basic Mass CD-ROM (Downloadable Files – Run on Computer, See Instructions and Files)

Create Your Own Mass SOP Equations (Excel file used in OWM Seminars – create and use to validate the lab spreadsheets; do the same thing for other measurement areas)

Set of Sample Training Forms (Amy Smith, FL)

Sample OJT Worksheet (Gary Brown, AK)

Sample Reading Assignments (Lisa Corn, TX)

SOP 8 Modified Substitution with Learning Objectives (2019-05-06)

SOP 19 Volume Transfer Graduated Provers with Learning Objectives (2019-07-16)

Additional Helpful References

Sample 4 Step Process (Shareable checklist from Association for Training Development)

Converting Technical Content to Training Material, Georgia L. Harris, Dana Leaman, NCSLI Conference Paper and Presentation (2010).

NCSLI Recommended Practice (RP) 17 – Documenting Metrology Education, Training, and On-the-Job Training (2007). Free to Members via download; Available for Purchase $80 (as of 2020).  (Note: This document was provided to participants in the 2016 RMAP notebook with NCSLI permission as a training resource, so it should already be available in State laboratories.)