Dictionary · Quality & Accreditation
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.
Related terms
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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.
ILAC-P14:09/2020
Proficiency testing
Evaluation of participant performance against pre-established criteria by means of interlaboratory comparisons — an ISO/IEC 17025 requirement for demonstrating ongoing competence.
ISO/IEC 17043:2023
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
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 Superseded in rigorous work by the test uncertainty ratio, which accounts for the whole measurement process.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
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
Check standard
A stable artifact or instrument measured regularly within a measurement assurance program; its control chart reveals drift, shifts, or loss of statistical control of the process.
NIST SOP 30 / GLP 1