Is ISO 10012-2 equivalent to Z540-1 section II

[Michelle]

Iso10012-2

still looking for a copy of this standard....really hate to purchase if it's not necessary. Can anyone tell me if it's the same as the Z540-1 section II????

Please help

 

[Graeme]

Michelle,

I am not sure what you mean by "Z540-1 section II". Here is what I am aware of:

• ANSI/NCSL Z540-1, "American National Standard for Calibration: Calibration Laboratories and Measuring and Test Equipment - General Requirements"; which sort of combines ISO Guide 25 (obsolete), ISO 9002:1994 (obsolete) and MIL-STD-45662A (obsolete) into a standard that comes close to meeting about 2/3 of the requirements of ISO 17025:1999.
• ANSI/NCSL Z540-2, "U. S. Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement", which is the US "legal equivalent" of the ISO Guide to Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM). Dry, boring, confusing, laden with math, and absolutely necessary for a calibration lab.
• ISO 10012-1-1992, "Quality Assurance Requirements for Measuring Equipment - Part 1: Metrological Confirmation System for Measuring Equipment", which defines genreral calibration reqiurements for the cal lab itself.
• ISO 10012-2-1997, "Quality Assurance Requirements for Measuring Equipment - Part 2: Guidelines for Control of Measurement Processes", which can apply to control of any measurement process but is intended mostly for calibration labs.

None of these are "equivalent". Both 10012-1 and 10012-2 can be used for additional guidance to aid in meeting the requirements of Z540-1, but in no way can they replace it. And none of those three cover anything that is in Z540-2! Does that answer your question?

Both of the NCSL standards can be purchased from NCSL ( www.ncsli.org ). Both of the ISO standards can be purchased from ASQ ( www.asq.org ) or ANSI ( www.ansi.org ). As with ALL standards documents, these are copyrighted publications that are the intellectual property of international or national organizations, and must be purchased in exactly the same way as any other book or magazine.

Also of interest to some is ANSI/ASQC M1-1996, "American National Standard for Calibration Systems", which describes the two prioncipal methods og managing a calibration system and the requirements for each.

 

[Ryan Wilde]

Re: Iso10012-2

Michelle said:

still looking for a copy of this standard....really hate to purchase if it's not necessary. Can anyone tell me if it's the same as the Z540-1 section II????

Please help

Actually, Z540-1 section II is based on MIL-STD-45662A, and includes the items that the government requires for contracts that are not addressed by ISO Guide 25.

From what I understand from a few people I've met on the commitee that wrote 10012-2, it was written mainly for use by internal laboratories. It is not nearly as stringent as 17025 or Z540-1, but does have some elements not addressed by either of the other standards. The elements that it adds really make little to no sense for an external laboratory, but great sense for internal laboratories. It has no requirements for competency, however, and in my opinion, is a weak document.

Ryan

 

[Graeme]

memory defect corrected

to whoever may have noticed before I fixed it - I got the descriptions two standards confused in the reply I posted yesterday. It has now been fixed, after checking the documents at the office instead of relying on brain lapses at home ... late at night.

gcp