MME 1208
TECHNICAL ENGLISH-II
yücel birol
What is a standard?
● A standard is a document that provides
requirements, specifications, guidelines or
characteristics that can be used consistently to
ensure that materials, products, processes and
services are fit for their purpose.
● These requirements are sometimes
complemented by a description of the process,
products or services.
● Standards are the result of a consensus and are
approved by a recognized body.
What are the benefits of
standards?
● Standards ensure that products and services are
safe, reliable and of good quality.
● For business, they are strategic tools that reduce
costs by minimizing waste and errors and
increasing productivity.
● They help companies to access new markets,
level the playing field for developing countries
and facilitate free and fair global trade.
What is standardization?
● Standardization is the process of formulating,
issuing and implementing standards
primary aims of standardization
Fitness for purpose
● Fitness for purpose is the ability of the process,
product or service to fulfil a defined purpose under
specific conditions.
● Any product, process or service is intended to meet
the needs of the user.
● It is difficult for the users to always spell out the
desirable quality of the process, product or service.
● Standards help by identifying the optimum
parameters for the performance of a process,
product or service (e.g. product standards) and the
method for evaluating product conformity (such as
test method standards and quality control standards).
primary aims of standardization
Interchangeability
● The suitability for a process, product or service to
be used in place of another to fulfil a relevant
requirement is called interchangeability.
● Through a deliberate standardization process, it is
possible to make processes, products or services
interchangeable, even if they are created in
different countries.
● For example, shaving blades of different brands
may be designed to be used in the same razor,
injection needles of different sizes and brands may
be designed to fit the same hypodermic syringe.
primary aims of standardization
Variety reduction
● While a large number of varieties for a particular
process, product or service may be helpful to
consumers and enable them to select the most
appropriate, this large number of varieties requires
large inventories, resulting in high costs to
manufacturers.
● Variety reduction is one of the aims of standardization
for the selection, inter alia, of the optimum number of
sizes, ratings, grades, compositions and practices to
meet prevailing needs.
● Balancing between too many and too few varieties is in
the best interest of both manufacturers and
consumers.
primary aims of standardization
Compatibility
● Parallel developments of processes, products or
services, which are required to be used in
combination, pose problems if they are not
compatible.
● One of the aims of standardization is
compatibility, namely, suitability of processes,
products or services to be used together under
specific conditions to fulfil the relevant
requirements, without causing unnecessary
interaction.
primary aims of standardization
Guarding against factors that affect the health and safety
of consumers
Safety of the process, product or service is of great
importance if, under certain conditions, the use of the
process, product or service may pose a threat to human
life or property. Therefore, identification of processes,
products or services and their safety parameters, not only
under normal use but under possible misuse, is one of the
important requirements of standardization. For example, If
an electrical appliance is manufactured, it should be well
insulated to be free from electrical hazards: electric irons,
for example, should be designed so as to guard their user
against electrical shock from any part of the iron.
primary aims of standardization
Environmental protection
● Environmental protection is an important aim of
standardization: the focus here is on preserving
nature from damage that may be caused during
the manufacture of a product or during its use or
disposal after use.
● For example, the domestic use of a washing
machine should generate only a minimum of
pollutants.
primary aims of standardization
Better utilization of resources
Achievement of maximum overall economy through better
utilization of resources such as capital, human effort and
materials is an important aim of standardization.
In manufacturing organizations, it is this aspect of
standardization of materials, components and production
methods that makes it possible to reduce waste and
to carry out mass production in an economic way.
For example, in construction and civil engineering, the use
of the appropriate quantities of cement and steel to
achieve a required strength are recommended in building
standards and codes of practices.
primary aims of standardization
Better communication and understanding
● Whenever the transfer of goods and services is
involved, standards spell out what means of
communication are to be used between different
parties.
● Since standards contain information that is recorded
in a precise and documented form, they contribute
towards better communication and understanding in
a large variety of settings.
● In public places such as airports, railway stations and
highways for instance, standardized signs play an
important role.
primary aims of standardization
Transfer of technology
● Standards act as a good vehicle for technology
transfer.
● Since standards incorporate the results of
advances in science, technology and
experience, they reflect the state of the art in
technical development.
● As standardization is a dynamic process,
standards are updated as new technologies are
developed.
primary aims of standardization
Removal of trade barriers
● Restrictions on the export of processes, products
or services by the introduction of some technical
barriers to trade, such as arbitrary product
requirements, are being viewed with great
concern.
● Standards prevent such non-tariff barriers to
trade by harmonizing requirements in a manner
that promotes fair competition.
● Purchasers can be convinced about the quality
level of a product that has been manufactured
according to a recognized standard.
Benefits of standardization
By its very definition, standardization is aimed at
achieving maximum overall economy.
Standards provide benefits to different sectors of
society. Some of the benefits of standardization are:
For manufacturers, standards:
● Rationalize the manufacturing process.
● Eliminate or reduce wasteful material or labour.
● Reduce inventories of both raw material and
finished products.
● Reduce the cost of manufacture
Benefits of standardization
For customers, standards:
● Assure the quality of goods purchased and services
received.
● Provide better value for money.
● Are convenient for settling disputes, if any, with
suppliers.
For traders, standards:
● Provide a workable basis for acceptance or rejection
of goods or consequential disputes, if any.
● Minimize delays, correspondence, etc., resulting from
inaccurate or incomplete specification of materials or
products.
Benefits of standardization
For technologists, standards:
Provide starting points for research and
development for further improvement of goods and
services.
Attributes of a standard
A standard generally has three attributes:
● Level: such as at the company, national or international
level.
● Subject: such as engineering, food, textile or
management.
● Aspect: such as specification, testing and analysis,
packaging and labelling (more than one aspect may be
covered in a single standard: a standard may include
specification of items such as the product, its sampling and
inspection, related tests and analysis, packaging and
labelling).
For example the term “Indian Standard Specification of Biscuits”, means
that the standard is a national standard (level), in the food area (subject),
and provides specifications(aspect) for the biscuits
Types of Standards
● Vocabulary standards, e.g. glossaries, signs and
symbols;
● Basic standards, such as units of measures;
● Product standards that cover specifications for
dimensions, performance, health, safety,
environmental protection and documentation;
● Standards for inspection, test methods and
analysis;
● Standards that focus on organization, such as for
logistics, maintenance, inventory management,
quality management, project management and
production management
vocabulary standards
Vocabulary standards cover glossaries and definitions of
terms. These standards provide uniformity and cohesion for
interpreting terms used in various other standards.
Sometimes, a short glossary of terms with their definitions is
included in the subject standard itself. But whenever a
separate glossary on a given subject exists in a standard
form, a mere reference to it in the subject standard is
considered adequate.
For example International Standard ISO 9000:2000 covers
vocabulary of most of the quality management related
terms; these are repeated as a “normative reference” in
other standards such as ISO 9001:2000 (Quality management
systems—Requirements).
vocabulary standards
basic standards
The basic units of the SI system (Système international
d’unités or International system of units) was defined and
adopted by CGPM (Conférence générale des poids et
mesures). The seven basic units of the SI system are:
Length
metre (m)
Mass
kilogram (kg)
Time
second (s)
Electric current
ampere (A)
Temperature
kelvin (k)
Substance
mole (mol)
Luminous intensity
candela (cd)
The IEC, ISO and the International Organization for Legal
Metrology (OIML) have published a number of standards and
recommendations relating to measurement.
product standards
For products, standards that contain specifications
are the most common: they cover in a comprehensive
manner the requirements for a material or product.
These specifications provide the user with
comprehensive guidance for producing, processing,
selling, purchasing and using the product.
These standards may include requirements for
dimensions, performance, packaging, labelling,
methods of sampling and test methods.
Alternatively, these requirements may be defined in
separate standards.
product standards
Specification standards contain three categories of requirements:
● obligatory requirements (essential characteristics that are
needed to ensure the usefulness of a product),
● optional or recommendatory requirements (which help to
improve the serviceability of a product or to meet the specific
requirements of a particular type of customer) and
● informative requirements.
Product and material standards can be used as the basis for
contracts in commercial dealings. National or third party product
certifications can only be awarded if these product standards are
used. International standards organizations such as ISO, IEC,
CODEX, the European Union (through its product regulations) and
various NSBs regularly issue new product standards or revise existing
ones to keep pace with market requirements and changing
technologies.
Standards on sampling, inspection,
test methods, grading,packaging,
labelling, supply and delivery
● Methods for sampling and inspection are quite often incorporated
into specification standards. Sometimes these may be indicated
in a separate document and then referred to in the specification
standard. For example, there are separate standards for the
sampling of bulk commodities such as iron ore, coal and cereals.
● Methods for testing and analysis are also quite often incorporated
into specification standards. However, when extensive details
about test methods are to be given, these standards are
published as independent standards. For example, a separate
series of ISO standards and national standards is available on the
testing of water, petroleum products, dairy products, electrical
appliances, paints and textiles.
Standards on sampling, inspection,
test methods, grading, packaging,
labelling, supply and delivery
● Methods for grading and classification are sometimes dealt with
within the body of the specifications for the materials or
products. For many bulk materials like coal and metallic ores,
separate methods of grading and classification are available:
grades are generally given as Grade A, Grade B, etc. or Class 1,
Class 2, etc. To express the hierarchy of individual grades.
● Packaging and labelling requirements are generally not a part of
specification standards and separate standards exist for them. A
large number of standards have been published for packaging
material (paper, cardboard, etc.) and other packages such as
cans, tins, drums, barrels and containers. These standards also
describe the methods used for testing the packages considered.
Standards on sampling, inspection,
test methods, grading,packaging,
labelling, supply and delivery
Supply and delivery conditions are also quite often a part of
specification standards.
When these conditions are of a more technical nature (e.g.
concerning sampling, inspection, packaging or labelling) they
are generally included in the specification type of standards.
Nonetheless, independent standards on supply and delivery
conditions are also available that deal mainly with contractual
obligations.
Standards on organization
Beyond dealing with products, test methods, sampling,
inspection and packaging, national and international
standards have been developed that cover various
management techniques, which include:
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Inventory management
Production management
Banking transaction documentation
Information technology
Logistics
Quality management systems (ISO 9000 series)
Environmental management systems (ISO 14000 series)
information sources on standards
The world of standards contains a lot more than
simply product specifications and methods of tests.
Some standards or standards-related documents are
as good as textbooks on their subjects and include
codes of practice such as building codes or other
important descriptions.
a useful link to standards:
http://www.iso.org
ISO standards
Popular ISO standards
ISO standards
Standards catalogue
Standards catalogue
Standards catalogue
Standards catalogue
ISO standards
information sources on standards
National standards bodies (NSB-TSE)
The first step for obtaining information on standards
is to contact the NSB in your country, which will
generally have a standards information centre.
NSBs keep a collection of their own standards, and
they will generally have collections of national
standards of other countries, of regional and of
international standards.
For example, the Bureau of Indian Standards has in
its library more than 60,000 standards, including
standards issued by international bodies, other NSBs
and standards of societies and associations.
information sources on standards
At standards information centres of NSBs, you will
usually be able to consult catalogues of standards
from various standards bodies to see which of them
apply to your product or any other information
relating to standards, which you may need.
An NSB will be able to sell you its own standards and
it will frequently be licensed to sell you standards
from other standardizing bodies.
If it does not have the standard you need, you may
request the NSB in your country to order the
standard for you from the relevant NSB.
Turkish Standards Institute
www.tse.org.tr
information sources on standards
The Internet
If you do not have easy physical access to your NSB
and if you wish to obtain foreign or international
standards directly from the relevant standards body,
you can use the Internet to search for and obtain
standards.
The World Standards Services Network (WSSN) is a
network of websites of standards organizations
around the world. Through the websites of its
members, WSSN provides
information on international, regional and national
standardization and related activities and services
(website http://www.wssn.net).
ASTM standards
sample standards
sample standards
sample standards
What is calibration?
Calibration is the activity of checking, by
comparison with a standard, the accuracy of a
measuring instrument of any type.
It may also include adjustment of the instrument to
bring it into alignment with the standard.
Even the most precise measurement instrument is
of no use if you cannot be sure that it is reading
accurately – or, more realistically, that you know
what the error of measurement is.
How is calibration performed?
By checking the instrument against known reference
standards that have themselves been calibrated
according to agreed International Standards – the
system of SI units – for example the Volt; Ampere;
Watt; metre; litre.
(These standards have replaced the “National
Standards” that were for many years the
traceability requirement).
How do we know that our
calibration is “traceable”?
By using a calibration laboratory that is accredited
to international standard ISO17025:2005.
ISO17025 requires laboratories to demonstrate
competence in both the technical aspects of the
measurements and in the quality assurance aspects
that ensure that you will get the service that you
ask for if you have specific requirements, or will
ensure that you get a useful and valid certificate
and set of results if you wish to leave the detailed
requirements to the laboratory.
How often should the
instruments be calibrated?
This depends on how important the measurements
being made are to your product or service; the degree
of wear and tear that the instrument will experience in
service; the stability of the instrument itself and a
review of the calibration records that already exist to
determine whether adjustment has been needed
previously. OTC recommends a starting periodicity of 12
months for most instruments with an increase in
calibration frequency (to 6 or 9 months) if
adjustment is required, and a reduction in periodicity
to 2 years after a sequence of annual calibrations has
shown that adjustment has not been needed.
Why is calibration so important?
There are three main reasons for having instruments
calibrated:
● To ensure readings from an instrument are
consistent with other measurements.
● To determine the accuracy of the instrument
readings.
● To establish the reliability of the instrument i.e.
that it can be trusted.
Why is calibration so important?
Calibration defines the accuracy and quality of
measurements recorded using a piece of equipment.
Over time there is a tendency for results and
accuracy to ‘drift’ particularly when using particular
technologies or measuring particular parameters
such as temperature and humidity.
To be confident in the results being measured there
is an ongoing need to service and maintain the
calibration of equipment throughout its lifetime for
reliable, accurate and repeatable measurements.
Why is calibration so important?
The goal of calibration is to minimise any
measurement uncertainty by ensuring the accuracy
of test equipment.
Calibration quantifies and controls errors or
uncertainties within measurement processes to an
acceptable level.
Calibration
is
vitally
important
wherever
measurements are important, it enables users and
businesses to have confidence in the results that
they monitor record and subsequently control.
Traceability: relating your
measurements to others
The results of measurements are most useful if they
relate to similar measurements, perhaps made at a
different time, a different place, by a different
person with a different instrument.
Such measurements allow manufacturing processes
to be kept in control from one day to the next and
from one factory to another.
Manufacturers and exporters require such
measurements to know that they will satisfy their
clients’ specifications.
Traceability: relating your
measurements to others
Most countries have a system of accreditation for
calibration laboratories.
Accreditation is the recognition by an official
accreditation body of a laboratory’s competence to
calibrate, test, or measure an instrument or
product.
The assessment is made against criteria laid down by
international standards.
These laboratories are accredited to ISO Guide 25
Requirements for Technical competence of
Calibration and testing laboratories.
Uncertainty: how accurate are
your measurements?
Ultimately all measurements are used to help make
decisions, and poor quality measurements result in poor
quality decisions. The uncertainty in a measurement is a
numerical estimate of the spread of values that could
reasonably be attributed to the quantity. It is a measure of
the quality of a measurement and provides the means to
assess and minimise the risk and possible consequences of
poor decisions.
For example we may want to determine whether the
diameter of a lawn mower shaft is too big, too small or just
right. Our aim is to balance the cost of rejecting good shafts
and of customer complaints if we were to accept faulty
shafts, against the cost of an accurate but over engineered
measurement system.
Uncertainty: how accurate are
your measurements?
When making these decisions the uncertainty in the
measurement is as important as the measurement itself.
A measurement with a stated uncertainty can be
compared to others
The uncertainty reported on your certificate is
information necessary for you to calculate the
uncertainty in your measurements.
Measurements are traceable when they can be
related to a recognised measurement system, through
an unbroken chain of comparisons, each with stated
uncertainties
Reliability: can I trust the instrument?
Many measuring instruments read directly in terms of the SI
units, and have a specified accuracy greater than needed for
most tasks. With such an instrument, where corrections and
uncertainties are negligible, the user simply wants to know
that the instrument is reliable. Unfortunately a large number
of instruments are not. Approximately one in six of all of the
instruments sent for calibration are judged to be unreliable
or unfit for purpose in some way.
Reliability is judged primarily by the absence of any
behaviour that would indicate that the instrument is or may
be faulty.
A calibration certificate will be issued only if an
instrument is found to be reliable, and will satisfy its
intended purpose.
Achieving Traceability in your
measurements
Many quantities of practical interest such as colour,
loudness and comfort are difficult to define because
they relate to human attributes.
Others such as viscosity, flammability, and thermal
conductivity are sensitive to the conditions under which
the measurement is made, and it may not be possible to
trace these measurements to the SI units.
For these reasons the international measurement
community establishes documentary standards
(procedures) that define how such quantities are to be
measured so as to provide the means for comparing the
quality of goods or ensuring that safety and health
requirements are satisfied.
Achieving Traceability in your
measurements
To make a traceable measurement three elements are
required:
•An appropriate and recognised definition of how the quantity
should be measured,
•A calibrated measuring instrument, and
•Competent staff who are able to interpret the standard or
procedure, and use the instrument.
Traceability is ensured only if these three factors are
present in the measurement process
Accreditation to ISO Guide 25 has specific requirements for
technical competence and is distinct from certification to the
ISO 9000 series quality systems, which are simply
management tools.
Adjustment: what a calibration is not
Calibration does not usually involve the adjustment of
an instrument so that it reads ‘true’. Indeed
adjustments made as a part of a calibration often
detract from the reliability of an instrument because
they may destroy or weaken the instrument’s history of
stability. The adjustment may also prevent the
calibration from being used retrospectively. When
Measurement Standards Laboratory (MSL) adjusts an
instrument it normally issues a calibration report with
both the ‘as received’ and ‘after adjustment’ values.
Adjustments may completely invalidate an earlier
calibration.
What a calibration certificate contains
Your calibration certificate must contain certain information
if it is to fulfil its purpose of supporting traceable
measurements. This information, which is listed in ISO Guide
25, can be divided into several categories (see appendix for
more details):
it establishes the identity and credibility of the calibrating
laboratory;
it uniquely identifies the instrument and its owner;
it identifies the measurements made; and
it is an unambiguous statement of the results, including an
uncertainty statement.
In some cases the information contained in your certificate
might seem obvious but ISO Guide 25 grew out of the
experience that stating the obvious is the only reliable policy.