Online Estimating Measurement Uncertainty Course

Overview

Estimating Measurement Uncertainty is the discipline of optimizing the uncertainty and cost of the measurements we make in the company. Without a systematic approach and the right tools, we are bound to make our measurements too good, too poor or too expensive – and we will not even know it!

Just the Facts

• The seminar focuses on the concept of uncertainty, where the uncertainty comes from and how you can control it.
• If you are comfortable using a calculator with a square root function, you have the mathematical background needed to get the full benefit of this seminar.
• There is no statistical theory, endless crunching of numbers or partial derivatives to worry about.
• You will learn how to use the knowledge you already have about your measuring processes to develop uncertainty budgets that can be used as a management tool to help you make informed decisions.
• You will learn how to start with a rough uncertainty estimate that can be generated in 5 minutes and refine it only to the extent it makes sense for your purpose.
• The seminar is based on the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) and ISO 14253-2.

Abstract

Estimating Measurement Uncertainty is a basic activity in measurement laboratories and on production lines in modern industry. ISO 9000, QS 9000 and ISO/TS 16949 have put increased focus on this issue with new, specific requirements. Accounting for the measurement uncertainty is also a prerequisite for a calibration laboratory to gain accreditation to ISO 17025.

The official ISO document Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) is a reference type document containing much theory and advanced mathematics, which makes it very difficult to apply at an industrial level.

The training seminar teaches you uncertainty estimation based on the PUMA method, documented in ISO 14253-2, which is a simplified, iterative method based on GUM. The PUMA method is much more straightforward and easier to apply than GUM itself. The training seminar focuses on the physical understanding of the measurement task, allowing you to formulate the uncertainty based on knowledge you already have about your measurement process, and makes only very limited use of complex mathematical and statistical tools.

The training seminar also teaches the use of uncertainty budgets to optimize measurement processes in terms of uncertainty and cost. This is a very powerful aspect of the seminar, which can lead to significant savings.

Target Audience

Metrologists, Quality Engineers, Manufacturing Engineers, Quality and Metrology Managers, Auditors, Assessors etc. who are involved in quality assurance, metrology, calibration and ensuring process capability.

Course Goals and Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, you will be able to:

• Estimate uncertainty based on the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement for the measuring processes you know and understand.
• Use the GUM based PUMA method for uncertainty estimation.
• Identify the major uncertainty components for the measurement processes you know and understand.
• Optimize your measurement processes both in terms of uncertainty and cost based on the information in the uncertainty budget.

Training Method

The seminar consists of a mixture of lectures, examples and quizzes. An ongoing example gives you an opportunity to go through all the steps involved in estimating the uncertainty of a measurement process, documenting the uncertainty budget and going through the considerations for optimizing the measurement process, balancing the cost and effort involved in the measurement process against the resulting uncertainty. You will have opportunity to ask questions and see the questions and answers from other students through the training interface. The seminar is designed to give you as much valuable information as possible in as short a time as possible.

Talking head video style lecture:

Screencast video style lecture:

Content

The seminar covers the following topics:

• The concept of uncertainty.
• The difference between error and uncertainty.
• When to correct for a known error and what happens if you don’t.
• The philosophy in the GUM method and why it makes sense.
• Uncertainty budgeting – identifying and combining uncertainty contributors – when is the budget good enough?
• The tool box – type A and type B evaluations. When to use which type.
• How to translate available information to standard uncertainties.
• Optimization of measurement processes:
  • what to do if the uncertainty is too high
  • how to identify cost savings in measurement processes.
• Examples and exercises.

Summary

The list price for the course is US$ 199 and you can find it here: Estimating Measurement Uncertainty Online Course.