TC8 - Traceability in Metrology - Aims

Aims of IMEKO TC8 "Traceability in Metrology":

The aim of TC8  is to provide a forum for an international interchange of opinions among experts in the relevant field.

The TC8 organizes international scientific events such as symposia, workshops, round table sessions and activities on traceability, calibration procedures, intercomparisons, uncertainty evaluation and other related quantities in close cooperation with the international legal metrology organizations, in order:

  1. to share knowledge and experience which could permit to achieve comparability and compatibility among the measurements and calibrations carried out in all the world;
  2. to develop projects among groups from different countries, and to support measurements and calibrations for mutual recognition between National Metrology Institutes (MRA) or Accreditation Bodies;
  3. to homogenize criteria, procedures and uncertainty evaluation to facilitate technical information exchange.  

 

Main fields of interests:

  • Basic terms and definitions related to traceability
  • Traceability requirements for national metrology institutes
  • Statement and evaluation of traceability
  • interlaboratory comparisons
  • New fields and needs for traceability

 

In order to reach the aims and meet todays requirements the TC created 4 sub committees:

1) classic traceability and its application today

Traceability, is the backbone of metrology: being a property of a measurement result that links it to a reference. It guarantees that measurements carried out in different places and different times are comparable and needs to be fully established and implemented in all measurement fields, including emerging sectors like diagnostics, genomics, digitalization, or quantum technologies. There are many cases where traceability is not straight forward and specific paths must be conceived and put in place.

2)  traceability in digitalization

Although traceability is the backbone of metrology, the term sounds outdated. But a new survey amongst IMEKO colleagues from all over the world has shown that there are new topics which came into focus due to digitalization.

25 of the 57 responding IMEKO members have already experienced changes (with respect to traceability), and only 7% expect daily work not being affected in any way in the near future. All others need and could be supported on time.

IMEKO TC8 sub-committee 2 "traceability in digitalization " shall discuss and highlight, amongst others, the following topics:

• Automated use of "horizontal traceability"-information provided by digital certificates
• Traceability of virtual devices highlighting the use and need for virtual standards, reference implementations and (golden) reference data sets
• Traceability of/in sensor networks – e. g. to clarify questions like: Does each sensor need to be traceable to classify a network as traceable as a whole?
• Traceability of self-learning and AI systems-When and how can a system being able to change settings on its own be considered/classified as traceable?
The work will be harmonized, and the results will be discussed with IMEKO TC 6 "Digitalization".

3)  special issues 

e. g. vanishing standards during calibration/testing in chemistry

4)   interdisciplinary Traceability

what do we have in common, what can we learn from oneanother; redefinition of the system of unites (SI) and effects on traceability.

 

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