Measurement Assurance Program

Golas DB (1998) NIST radiopharmaceutical standard reference materials and the NEI/NIST radiopharmaceutical measurement assurance program. Appl. Radiat Isot 49/4 329-334. 

States National Bureau of Standards Calibration Statistics (NBS), later the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), introduced a measurement quality control concept called measurement assurance, and developed measurement assurance programs, or MAPs, for high-level calibration processes. 

Belanger BC (1983) Measurement assurance programs Part I General introduction. NBS Special Publication 676-I... 

Extension into physical metrology is less obvious, but has no conceptual barrier. The direct approach could be applied if proficiency tests were conducted by a reference laboratory distributing to device producers, preparing lots of material measures and calibrants such as gage blocks, masses, or thermometers. Distribution of such material measures is already a feature of most measurement assurance programs in physical metrology. Use of the indirect approach would have units randomly selected from production and sent to a reference laboratory. This could prove, in some cases, more economical than direct proficiency testing of the producers of the devices. 

Wherever possible, calibrated sources produced by DuPont are directly calibrated against standards certified by the National Bureau of Standards (NBA) using instruments in DuPont laboratories. DuPont participates in a Measurement Assurance Program organised by the Atomic Industrial Forum and NBA. 

A measurement assurance program that supports the validity of the uncertainty budget. Such a program might include such activities as operator training, periodic instrument calibrations, maintenance of laboratory environments within specified limits, and so on. 

C. Croakin, Measurement Assurance Programs Part II Development arul Implementation, NBS Special Piibl 676-11, U.S. Department of Commerce National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC, 1985. 

Belanger, B., Measurement Assurance Programs, Part I General Introduction, NBS Special Publ. No. 676-1 (1984)... 

Eckerle, K. L., et al.. Measurement assurance program transmittance standards for spectrophotometric linearity testing Preparation and calibration. J. Res. Nat. Bureau Standards 88(1), 25-36 (1983). 

The individual scientist is the key to the production of quality data and must have technical competence and a dedication to quality work. Passive following of good laboratory practices and good measurement practices is not enough. Involvement in their development is required if the quality assurance program is to be credible. Standard operations procedures (SOPs) do not minimize the need for technical competence. Analysts exhibit varying degrees of proficiency when... 

Numerous radon and radon decay measurements in houses are now being made by a large number of private and governmental organizations. In order to assure valid and consistent measurements, it is important that proven methods be used following standardized procedures. To address this need, EPA issued "Interim Indoor Radon and Radon Decay Product Measurement Protocols" and established a Radon/Radon Progeny Measurement Proficiency program. 

Singletary, H.M., Starner, K., and Howard, E., Implementation Strategy for The Radon/Radon Progeny Measurement Proficiency Evaluation and Qualtiy Assurance Program, EPA 5201.-86-03, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. (February 1986). 

Ozone and ozone precursor concentrations at nonurban locations in the eastern United States were studied extensively. The three parts of the study were field measurements, a quality assurance program, and an airborne monitoring program. The main objective of the study was to establish a data base for nonurban ozone and precursor concentrations. Simultaneous statistical summaries of the concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and nonmethane hydrocarbons were also provided. Another objective was to search for relationships between ozone concentrations and nitrogen dioxide and nonmethane hydrocarbon concentrations. 

For these reasons, artifacts must be limited as part of a quality assurance program. As defined by the American Chemical Society Committee on Environmental Improvement (26), the objective of a quality assurance program is to reduce measurement errors to agreed upon limits and to assure that the results have a high probability of being acceptable quality. ... 

Quality control and assurance programs for engraftment testing should be sunilar to those for other types of identity testing. Assays may require as little as Ing of genomic DNA. Thus strict measures to prevent contamination of pre-PCR areas with genomic DNA and PCR products are important. 

EPA measurement protocols, sampling methods and guidelines, quality assurance, and EPA s Radon Measurement Proficiency Program. 

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