Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Vol. 18, Issue 1 The Newsletter of the Measurement Quality Division, American Society for Quality Winter 2004
in the main exhibit area instead of the regular spot near Advertising & Article Info.................................. 2
the exhibit entrance. The booth location and a number Chris Grachanen-CCT & Website Updates....... 3
of other factors attracted a lot more traffic and publicity CCT Exam Pass Lists .................................... 4, 5
Editor’s Note....................................................... 8
We got a lot of inquiries on the CCT exam and the Jay Bucher-Metrology Handbook Update.........8
Interest is very high in the CCT exam and exam primer/ William McCullough-Standards Activity..........10
refresher courses. Some booth visitors were ready to Joint Division Conference-Call for Papers......11
purchase The Metrology Handbook, and we had to tell Canada INMS NRC CMM Workshop ..............12
them that they could pre-order it through the ASQ Jack Gale-Zero Sigma ..................................... 13
displayed at different locations during the conference. MQD January CC Meeting Minutes ..............15
arship Award application forms at both the MQD and MSC Photos...................................................... 17
NCSLI booths. We solicited “Call for Papers” for our MQD Officers List............................................. 18
The Standard
Vol. 18, Issue 1 The Newsletter of the Measurement Quality Division, American Society for Quality Winter 2004
should Metrology Education be, i.e., should metrology tioned room that formerly housed rows of main frames,
curricula be limited to the training in the manual as- and with plenty of power, as well as several peripheral
pects of calibration and repair procedures, or rather smaller rooms, has been assigned to the program.
should it encompass a broad spectrum of physical and While the necessary modifications cannot be accom-
chemical disciplines and with a heavy emphasis on the plished in time for this Spring semester, the facility will
mathematical approaches of dimensional analysis, surely be ready by next Fall.
error analysis, and the design of experiments?” The Rev. Norman F. McFarland, retired Bishop of
I am very much afraid that this has not come about, Orange (Calif.), is in my opinion a superb writer. His
and I have become the monologist that I feared I might many homilies have covered many topics, both liturgi-
become. Dear readers, it was my intention to become cal and secular. With his permission, I have excerpted
the moderator of your discussions or the discussion from one he published in his Diocesan Newspaper of
leader of a Colloquium-in-Print if you prefer. Most July, 2003, the following fragment. I feel that the
assuredly, I did not intend to become the monologist of thought contained therein gives considerable credit-
a periodic column—but it appears that I have. ableness to my consistent insistence that metrologists
need to be educated academically rather than trained
Now for the latest update on the California State
vocationally or created by fiat as many are.
University—Dominguez Hills Program. As I have
explained in past issues, the program is designed to be “Mediocrity Won’t Cut It”
offered on-campus, on-site, and on-line. To date, —“We hold these truths to be self-evident,” wrote
because of lack of space on the campus, the program the author o f the Declaration of Independence, “that all
has been available only on-line. So far this has been men are created equal…”
no particular problem, but a problem has been loom-
ing—how do you teach laboratory dependent subjects “’The only problem,’” a professor of mine was fond
on line? Good news! Dr. Watson informed me during of saying, “’is that most of them stay that way.’”
one of our “power lunches” that Dr. Zia Khwaja, one of “Thomas Jefferson, I feel, would have appreciated
his instructors in his graduate quality program, has that laconic observation. While directing his enormous
recently received a grant to develop just such a sys- talents and energies to the cause of freedom and the
tem. Furthermore, it is not a “blue sky, hair-brained” proposition that ‘all men are created equal, that they
idea, as he has been experimenting with an interactive are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable
on-line laboratory instructional system for some time. rights,’ he nevertheless would not have been inclined
This grant will enable him to put the finishing touches to confuse the ethic of equal opportunity with an ethic
on it, fine tune it, and package it for use by others. of equal results. Not with his intellect, and certainly not
On December 19, 2003, a delivery truck pulled up from his experience.
in front of my house with two surprise packages: a “For the history of the American Revolution—in
Guildline Dauphine Potentiometer, Model 9444, s/n which Jefferson played so large a role—was not written
22173 and a Guildline Standard Volt Ratio Box in oil by your average run-of-the-mill taxpayer. It was the
bath, Model 9700A, s/n 23338. These had been the unusual coming together of a few men of broad vision
personal property of Mr. Carl Quinn, the now-retired and extraordinary genius, of masterful and articulate
long-time Vice-President of SIMCO Electronics. He leadership, that gave expression and direction to the
was donating them to our program and didn’t know how ideals and principles of a new American identity. And
to get them there. The following Monday, my son and insofar as this new identity has, during the ensuing two
I took them over to Carson and delivered them to and a quarter centuries, achieved the promise of its
Dr. Watson. As old as they are, they are in perfect noble conception, we can be grateful for the dedica-
condition and are superb teaching tools. We estimated tion, inspiration, and leadership of men and women of
for tax purposes that together they are worth $25- like stature. In a word: the greatness of this country did
30,000. This was a very generous and well appreci- not derive from a well of mediocrity. If America is a
ated donation. haven for the common man, it is only because distinctly
That trip to the campus afforded us an opportunity uncommon men and women have made it so.”—
to see the rooms just that week assigned to the In metrology in particular “Mediocrity Won’t Cut It.”
measurement science program. The university is just In every scientific, technical, and commercial activity in
now completing an extensive building program, and the entire world, measurements of some sort are
several administrative functions that have been oper- involved; and valid efficacious measurements are vital
ating in less that adequate quarters have moved to to the results as well as to the health, safety, and well
their new locations. These moves included the central being of every being on this planet. Somewhere well
computer facility. The large, central, well-air-condi- up in the measurement chain, a truly professional,
Winter 2004 The Standard Page 8
Phil Painchaud
1110 West Dorothy Drive
Brea, CA. 92821-2017
Voice: 714-529-6604
Fax: 714-529-1109
E-Mail: painchaud4@cs.com
or olepappy@juno.com
More late breaking news! Note: See the MQD conference call minutes from
January 15th on page 17 for more details.
Congratulations to Phil Stein who has
been elected as an ASQ National
Director for 2004-2006!
Winter 2004 The Standard Page 9
either for steel or for rubber. Often, five ‘shots’ are taken before putting it into the budget.
on the standard or on the unknown and the average is Learn this well, and you will be miles ahead of your
reported. This is because a single shot will often give colleagues in understanding.
unreliable results. Keep firmly in mind here: the data
reported are means of small groups (called subgroups)
of measurements of size j. P.G. Stein Consultants
400 Oak Street
Now what is the sd of these data? Well, since each
Pennington, NJ 08534-3316
datum is in fact a mean or average, we need to
Voice: 609-737-9144
calculate the sd differently than we do when the data
are individual measurements. Cell: 908-672-1480
Fax: 609-737-9411
If the sd of a set of individual measurements is E-mail: pstein@measurement.com
represented by the symbol σ, then the sd of a set of
www.measurement.com
averages (called the standard error of the mean) is σ/
√j, where j is the number of data in each subgroup.
The most common mistake made in metrology in
this area is when calculating the results of a repeatabil-
ity study. Usually, the spread of the data is represented
by the sd when the individual measurements are used Standards Committee
Activity
as data. Sometimes, as with the above-mentioned
hardness measurements, the data are averages. When
this is true, the correct spread to report for repeatability
is the standard error of the mean. If the subgroup size
in the data is 5, divide the calculated sd by the square
root of 5.
The US Technical Advisory Group to TC 176 is
There’s one further subtlety to discuss here. My
proceeding with what promises to be minor changes to
repeatability studies are usually done on individual
ISO 9001. There should be more on this after the
data. For example, I can measure the repeatability of a
March TAG meeting at San Francisco.
voltage measurement or a hardness test by taking 30
shots. For data analysis, I take the average of those 30 ISO 17025 required a technical change. The state-
and the sd based on 30 degrees of freedom. The ment at 1.6 that by complying with the requirements of
answers yielded by this study are the correct values of 17025 they will meet the requirement of ISO 9001/
the best estimate of the value and of the spread, and 9002 turns out to be a technical overstatement. It
these are the statistics that should be reported as the appears that they will only meet the principles.
result of this study. On the NCSLI side of the measurement world,
Now when it comes time to write an uncertainty changes are under way to ANSI/NCSL Z540-1. Last
budget for whatever measurement I‘m making, I have year the NCSLI 174 committee assigned a work group
to look at how the measurement data are reported to the task to bring Z540-1 up to date. In a very short time
the user. If, for example, I measure and report voltage, three exploratory documents were prepared by the
I will likely make only one measurement for the cus- team, lead by Del Caldwell. At the Measurement
tomer. Science Conference (MSC) a consensus document
was presented to 174 for their review. The review is to
The repeatability influence to be put in the budget is
be completed by March 1st of this year, and from those
based on 30 measurements during the study, but I am
comments a draft is to be prepared and presented to
only making one measurement for the customer. Re-
174 at the Salt Lake NCSLI conference.
port the sd of the repeatability study on the budget line
for repeatability.
For hardness, though, what is reported to the cus- Bill McCullough
tomer are the means of subgroups of size j. Report the McCullough Consulting
standard error of the mean for subgroups of that size on 1936 June Cr.
the budget line for repeatability – in other words divide Carson City, NV 89706
the repeatability study sd value by the square root of j billmccullough@gbis.com
Winter 2004 The Standard Page 11
ZERO SIGMA:
by Jack Gale
The phone call comes in, or better yet, the instrument shows up on the loading dock. Your shipping clerk looks
at it and gets a technician; the tech scratches his head and calls the manager. You run a Google™ on the
nameplate and find out what the thing does. Now it’s time to call the client and ask why they sent it in, because
you can’t calibrate this instrument!
Whether your lab is in-house or commercial, somebody will eventually bring something to you that your lab
won’t be capable of calibrating. The customers will always continue to challenge your capabilities and make you
feel inadequate. There is no little blue pill for this. Calibration clients will purchase new equipment and find out later
if their calibration vendor is up to the task. Every lab has a collection of these stories to share…
♦ “I bought it, so you should be able to calibrate it.”
♦ “You calibrate everything else I have, so you have to do this.”
♦ “The last guy did my gage blocks with a micrometer right here at my facility. Why can’t you?”
♦ “Just go out and buy a standard so you can get this done.”
So, now it falls upon somebody to explain the logistical, ethical or financial reasons why this instrument won’t
be calibrated today. This is a very touchy subject, as all labs, regardless if they are internal or commercial
operations, want to satisfy the customers. Most customers are not aware that it takes more than “buying a
standard” to become capable of performing a calibration. Making the customer understand these issues will go
a long way in cementing a business relationship rather than sinking it to the bottom of the river.
These notes explain the reasons behind some capability shortcomings in the hope the customer will better
understand:
Legal and Regulatory Requirements: Some fields have legal or regulatory requirements that prevent us from
providing service to some equipment. We are prohibited from calibrating some weighing and volumetric equipment
(produce scales, gas pumps, etc.) used to measure quantity for commerce because these functions are either
administered by the states or require state licensing.
Breadth of Accredited Scope: Some customers wish that our A2LA scope of accreditation were broader, as
do we. Some of the additional costs and efforts to include new areas into our accredited scope include extensive
uncertainty determinations, documentation upgrades, locating accredited vendors and proficiency providers and
the additional costs associated with the assessment procedure. We must weigh these factors against the demand
before undertaking any scope expansion. We will continue to review customer needs and keep customers aware
of any planned scope expansions.
Return on Investment: Just like a manufacturer, we must consider the return on our invested capital,
expenses and time before undertaking a new capability. Some equipment is rare, and it is not feasible for many
independent labs to invest in these capabilities for just a few calibration events per year. We will work with our
customers to locate a qualified vendor for their equipment.
Access to Required Standards and Procedures: Some equipment OEMs will not release the standards,
procedures, software or parts for outside parties to service or calibrate their equipment. They either are protecting
a monopoly on the calibration of this equipment or seek to protect proprietary information by not releasing any
information other than the user’s manual.
Not Geographically Supported: Some equipment may have a large installed base but not prevalent in the
geographic regions we serve. Just as our lab would have trouble calibrating oil-field equipment, it would be likely
not to expect a lot of fiber optic capability in Wyoming.
Industry Structure: Some niches within the metrology field have been traditionally served by specialty firms
and typically can provide this narrow array of services at a lower cost than a wide-scale metrology lab. Commercial
scale houses and clean room vendors are just two examples of business segments better served by specialists.
Winter 2004 The Standard Page 14
Employee and Safety Concerns: We have declined to serve certain segments or needs because we have
determined it is not in the best interests of our people and our business to serve that area. We may decide to not
calibrate radiological equipment (radiacs) or work in environmentally hazardous areas.
Lack of the “Universal Black Box” Calibrator: While the capabilities of standards have improved, there are
no “one piece does it all” calibrators that can handle the scope and range of products in the market. The use of
near state-of-the-art technology on the production floor and the limitless variety of options offered frequently
causes mismatches between instruments and standards. If every range or band requires another major
investment in standards, this segment may be best left to the equipment manufacturer.
♦ Ability to Provide On-site Service: Labs will vary in what services they are willing to offer at the customer’s
location. Each lab decides which standards and operations they can perform on site based upon their skills, their
equipment, and the environment. You sometimes have to work hard to explain that you would rather get a root
canal than put the 1 ppm standard into the trunk of a car.
Once you have an understanding with your client, now is the time to adopt the “Can-Do” attitude and find a
solution to their problem. Discuss the subcontracting options they have to obtain a calibration, and find out what
you can do to fill the gap with a capable colleague. Most of your clients will value your judgment and assistance
in helping them find a solution that works for both parties.
Jack Gale
Essco Calibration Laboratory
14 Alpha Road
Chelmsford, MA 01824 “ Every man owes part of his time and money to the
business or industry in which he is engaged. No
Voice: 1-800-325-2201
man has a moral right to withhold his support from
E-Mail: jgale@esscolab.com
an organization that is striving to improve conditions
www.esscolab.com within his sphere.”
-Theodore Roosevelt
Quality Expo
April 19-21, 2004 Novi (Detroit) MI 888-267-3794 www.quality.reedexpo.com
Detroit
September 23-24,
MQD Heath, OH 330-328-4400 emc3solu@aol.com
2004
Winter 2004 The Standard Page 15
Attending were:
M1 Standards/Standards Update - Bill McCullough
Dilip Shah – at MSC
Z-540 M1 subcommittee is considering the fate of
Chris Grachanen – via teleconference M1 (possibly a new update). Comments are due by
Mark Schoenlein – via teleconference March 4th, with plan of action due by NCSL Interna-
tional Conference 2004. MQD has deferred motion on
Jay Bucher – via teleconference
M1 until next meeting. (Good discussion about the
Bill McCullough – at MSC merits of ISO 10012-2003)
Norm Belecki – via teleconference
Phil Stein – at MSC MQD Conference - Hershal Brewer
Graeme Payne – via teleconference There was a lot of excitement at MSC about the
Dan Harper – at MSC upcoming MQD Conference (especially about educa-
tion day). The call for papers was well received, and a
Hershal Brewer – at MSC number of folks have expressed interest in submitting
Phil Painchaud – at MSC (tentative deadline for paper submittal is May 31,
Tatiana Hornikova – Guest at MSC 2004). There is a need to establish a review committee
with chair for paper selection as well as a conference
Earl Paazik – Guest at MSC facility committee (efforts to be coordinated via e-mails
and MQD Sharepoint site). Dilip will be working on a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between MQD
and 1) USAF 2) Inspection Division for the conference.
Last Teleconference - Jay Bucher
Read minutes from the October 29th teleconfer-
Financial Report - Mark Schoenlein
ence. Motion to approve minutes as read--approved.
Working on end of year totals (Dilip to submit final
numbers to Mark--numbers expected not to differ much
Chair Report From MSC - Dilip Shah from those presented in Fall, 2003, issue of The
The Metrology Handbook has been well publicized Standard). $3k U.S. per year obligation for Joe Simmons
at the MSC with lots of inquiries. Scholarship fund noted.
Applications for the Joe Simmons Scholarship were
available at MSC. Joe Simmons Scholarship - Norm Belecki
Received many compliments on the latest edition of Pat Simmons has compiled a listing of Metrology
The Standard. The Standard was distributed at the Education institutes for sending out scholarship appli-
MQD booth at MSC. cations (scheduled to be sent out by May 1, 2004).
The MQD conference has put out the call for papers Applications for the Joe Simmons Scholarship were
at MSC. available at MSC. Action plan needs to be set in place
for awarding the scholarship at NCSL International
A lot of traffic was generated at the MQD booth by
2004 Conference. Work still needs to be done for
publicity from the CCT exam and The Metrology Hand-
getting IRS tax-free, non-profit status.
book.
Program Chair
Hershal C. Brewer
Accreditation Officer
5360 Workman Mill Road
Whittier, CA 90601
Voice (562) 699-0541, ext. 3309/Fax (562) 692-2845
Mobile (949) 632-8762
E-mail: hbrewer@iasonline.org
Winter 2004 The Standard Page 19
REGIONAL COUNCILORS
Region 1 Region 8 ext. 3714, FAX (402) 293-2035, E-
Joseph Califano, Hemagen Diagnos- Open mail: tmyers@scholars.bell
tics, Inc., 40 Bear Hill Road, Waltham, Region 9 Region 14
MA 02154 • (417) 890-3766, FAX (617) Dr. Henrik S. Nielson, HN Metrology Keith Bennett, Transcat • (713) 465-
890-3748 Consulting, Inc., 5230 Nob Lane, India- 4395, E-mail: kbennett@transcat.com
Region 2 napolis, IN 46226 • (317) 849-9577, E- Region 15
Karl F. Speitel, 14 Kalleston Drive, mail: hsnielson@worldnet.att.net Bryan Miller, 417 Robinhood Dr., Flo-
Pittsford, NY 14534 • (716) 385-1838 Region 10 rence, AL 35633 • (256) 764-2733,
Region 3 Mark Schoenlein, Owens-Illinois Plas- FAX (256) 764-2733, E-mail:
Eduardo M. Heidelberg , Carter tics Group, One SeaGate 29L-PP, To- milleb@mindspring.com
Wallace, 61 Kendall Dr., Parlin, NJ ledo, OH 43666 • (419) 247-7285, FAX Region 25
08859 • (609) 655-6521, FAX (609) (419) 247-8770, E-mail: mark. Open
655-6736 schoenlein@us.o-i.com
Region 4 Region 11
Alex Lau, Imperial Oil, 111 St. Clair Raymond Perham, Michelin Tire Corp.,
Ave. W., Toronto, Ont., Canada M5W- Rt 4 Antioch Church, P.O. Box 2846, Please notify the editor of any
1K3 • (416) 968-4654, FAX (416) 968- Greenville, SC 29605 • (864) 458-1425,
errors or changes so that this list
5560, E-mail: alex.lau@esso.com FAX (864) 458-1807, E-mail:
can be updated.
Region 5 ray.perham@us.michelin.com, or
Richard A. Litts, 100 Evergreen home E-mail: r.perham007@aol.com
Dr.,Downingtown, PA • E-mail: Region 12
ralitts@aol.com Donald Ermer, University of Wiscon-
Region 6 sin Madison, 240 Mechanical Engineer-
Open ing Bldg., 1513 University Avenue,
Region 7 Madison, WI 53706-1572 • (608) 262-
Rolf B.F. Schumacher, Coast Quality 2557
Metrology Systems, Inc., 35 Vista Del Region 13
Ponto, San Clemente, CA 92672-3122 Thomas A. Myers, Bellevue Univer-
• (949) 492-6321, FAX (949) 492-6321 sity, PMP, CQM, 1000 Galvin Rd. S.,
Bellevue, NE 68123 • 1-800-756-7920
REGIONAL MAP
The Standard
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
The Newsletter of the
PAID
Measurement Quality Division
Milwaukee, WI
Permit No. 5419
American Society for Quality
P. O. Box 3005
Milwaukee, WI 53201-3005