Dictionary · Quality & Accreditation
Calibration and measurement capability (CMC)
The smallest uncertainty of measurement a laboratory can achieve within its accredited scope when performing more or less routine calibrations of nearly ideal devices — the uncertainty published in its scope of accreditation.
Related terms
More from Quality & Accreditation
Validation
Verification where the specified requirements are shown to be adequate for an intended use — demonstrating a procedure is fit for its purpose.
VIM (JCGM 200:2012) 2.45
Guard band
An interval applied between the tolerance limit and the acceptance limit to control the risk of false accept or false reject given measurement uncertainty — commonly the expanded uncertainty U, per ILAC-G8.
ILAC-G8:09/2019
Interlaboratory comparison
Organization, performance, and evaluation of measurements on the same or similar items by two or more laboratories under predetermined conditions.
ISO/IEC 17043:2023
Process measurement assurance
A program of intermediate checks using check standards and control charts to demonstrate that a measurement process remains in statistical control between calibrations, as described in NIST SOP 30.
NIST SOP 30 (2019)
Decision rule
A documented rule describing how measurement uncertainty is accounted for when stating conformity with a specified requirement — required by ISO/IEC 17025:2017 when a laboratory reports pass/fail.
ISO/IEC 17025:2017, 3.7
Test accuracy ratio (TAR)
The legacy ratio of unit-under-test tolerance to the accuracy specification of the standard used. Superseded in rigorous work by the test uncertainty ratio, which accounts for the whole measurement process.
Industry practice