313

MEETING REPORT

Accred Qual Assur (1999) 4 :313Q Springer-Verlag 1999

Hans Andersson

The 20th Nordic Confer-

ence on Metrology and

Calibration

Stenungsund, Sweden,

15–18 November 1998

About the Conference

This annual conference is arranged by theNorwegian Society of Chartered Engi-neers (NIF). It is the main meeting pointfor people working in Nordic industrialand public metrology laboratories, and itattracts some 200 participants each year.The venue changes regularly betweenconference facilities in Norway, Denmarkand Sweden. The 20th conference washeld on 15–18 November at Stenungsbad-en Yacht Club, Stenungsund, near Go-thenburg in Sweden.

The main aim of the conference is topresent participants with informationabout state-of-the-art metrology and de-velopments in the field. Aspects of thevalue for application and practical use inindustry are emphasised. The meeting,and exchange of views and experience, ofspecialists from different areas and withdifferent needs and interests is an addi-tional and important aim of the confer-ence.

The two and a half days comprisesome 30–35 lectures, consisting of plenarylectures and lectures in three paralleltechnical sessions. There is an exhibitionof measurement equipment, and suppliersalso have a special session for presenta-tion of new equipment. An importantpart of the conference is the planning andpresentation of a continually running pro-gramme of inter-comparative measure-ments where interested laboratories mayparticipate. The conference also has aposter session. A prize is awarded to ayoung researcher in the field of metrolo-gy.

Plenary lectures

Due to the increasing need for traceablechemical measurements, in this year’sconference a full day of the parallel ses-sions was devoted to chemical metrology,and Prof. Paul De Bièvre from theIRMM was invited to start the conferencewith a keynote lecture on the role andprogress of metrology in chemistry. Hepointed out that toxic substances and en-vironmental pollution are issues of inter-national interest which have to be con-trolled on a common basis of traceablemeasurements. He also drew attention tothe IMEP rounds of inter-comparisons asa valuable tool for analysing and estab-lishing traceability in chemical analysis.

The new standard ISO 17025 statingthe quality requirements for laboratoriesis near finalisation. It will be a globalstandard written for the needs of labora-tories and not specifically for accredita-tion purposes, as EN 45001, and hopeful-ly it will constitute an improvement bothwith regard to efficiency and relevance. Itwill have a considerable impact on thework in calibration laboratories. Thechairman of the drafting committee, Prof.Jarl Forstén of VTT was invited to pres-ent an overview of the main features ofthe new standard.

As an introduction to the round ofinter-comparisons, Dr. Kim Carneiro, thepast chairman of EUROMET, lecturedabout the importance and use of inter-comparisons as technical evidence of thequality of measurement results. Otherfields covered by the plenary lectureswere statistical analysis, automation ofmeasurements and education issues.

Technical sessions

The nine lectures of the session on quali-ty in chemical analysis were to a large ex-tent devoted to problems of traceabilityand determination of uncertainty in var-ious parts of this vast field, e.g. air quali-ty, steel analysis and clinical analysis inhospitals. The general impression wasthat there is a growing awareness of thisissue and that considerable progress hasbeen achieved in the last few years.

Another main session was that ofelectrical measurement techniques. The11 lectures covered areas such as ACmeasurements and transfer standards,measurements in high-voltage transmis-sion lines, and measurement of transientsas lightning and flicker. There were alsosome lectures about the implementationof new national standards for resistance,and for time and frequency in Norway.

Other themes that were discussedwere mechanical, physical, and tempera-ture and humidity measurements. Oneimportant point in mass calibration is theimplementation of the OIML R111 rec-ommendation for legal metrology.

Inter-comparisons run by theconference

During the conference the inter-compari-sons of the last year were presented andthere was a workshop where groups fromdifferent fields discussed and agreed uponinter-comparison projects for the comingyear. These projects, some 10–15 peryear, cover most of the fields of physicalmetrology. They are performed in a sim-ple fashion, essentially on a self-cost ba-sis. They serve as an important platformfor learning and for building confidencebetween Nordic laboratories.

Next conference, in the year 2000

The 1999 conference will be held in Osloat a conference site in the new Garde-moen international airport. For the firsttime the conference language will beEnglish in order to attract internationalparticipants and lecturers, and the pro-gramme will run for two full days. Infor-mation about the conference can seen befound at the home page of NIF:www.nif.no

Hans AnderssonThe Swedish National Testing andResearch Institute, P. O. Box 857,SE-50115 Borås, Swedene-mail: hans.andersson@sp.seTel.: c46-33-165221Fax: c46-33-165010