Technical terms

Below you find the explanation of some (technical) terms:

Certification

Granting certificates (labels) when meeting certain defined quality standards.

Traceability

To be sure of the uncertainty of the standard (popular saying ‘accuracy’), the concept of traceability is important.

In the Netherlands, the national standards are maintained at the Dutch measurement institute. This institute manages and maintains the existing Dutch measurement standards and develops new measurement standards and reference materials. These standards are, in turn, compared with the international standards (Systeme International). The sequential comparisons with higher standards to the highest (international) standard are called traceability. The person who calibrates must be able to demonstrate that its standard is compared via a continuous chain with the (inter) national standard.

(Legal) Calibration

Establish (by RVA accredited metrology laboratory) if an instrument fully meets the requirements that apply to the particular instrument in the application. In deviation adjustment to within the rules. Authentication of the instrument as calibrated. The above is only for length, area, volume (volume) and mass.

Adjustment

Adjusting equipment so that the measuring deviation from the standard is lower than the allowable deviation for the application.

Calibration

Knowledge is power.

To know if properly measured, the instrument can be periodically compared with a measuring device whose uncertainty is known.

Comparing an instrument with another instrument (also known as ‘standard’) whose uncertainty is known is called calibration.

Measure

Measurement in the strict sense is the determination of the size or the extent of something on the basis of observation and expressed as a numerical value, or in a unit with a given dimension.

Validate

Demonstrate that the measuring equipment / measuring method is suitable for the application.