Safety Column
John Bell Metrology Lab Manager Missouri Department of Agriculture Safe from Litigation in Weights & Measures
When we think of safety we often think of safety from physical harm, but in this article, I am going to discuss safety from lawsuits. Specifically, how do we as Weights and Measure regulators do our best to avoid litigation. Litigation can be costly both from a monetary perspective but also in the possibility of losing employees and/or programs due to the outcome of a case. I believe as a metrologist we need to take a close look at the seven elements of traceability to reduce our risk to lawsuits. These seven elements provide objective evidence to other individuals that a task was completed and how it was done. Evidence we may need to defend ourselves from a legal perspective.
The seven elements of traceability are as follows: 1.Traceability to the SI (Internation system of units) 2.Unbroken Chain of Comparisons 3.Calibration program for standards and equipment 4.Documented Measurement Uncertainty 5.Documented and Validated Procedures
6.Technical Competence 7.Measurement Assurance
Let’s start with traceability to the international system of units or SI. The results from testing a device will need to have the ability to be converted to the SI unit of measurement. NIST Handbook SP811 can help with converting units of measurement especially in parts of the world that use the Imperial system. SI units may assist in anchoring your defense to a globally recognized measurement rather than proprietary or arbitrary metrics.
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