ASTM_E_2093_-_12.pdf

Designation:E209312Standard Guide forOptimizing,Controlling and Assessing Test MethodUncertainties from Multiple Workstations in the SameLaboratory Organization1This standard is issued under the fixed designation E2093;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 This guide describes a protocol for optimizing,controlling,and reporting test method uncertainties from mul-tiple workstations in the same laboratory organization.It doesnot apply when different test methods,dissimilar instruments,or different parts of the same laboratory organization functionindependently to validate or verify the accuracy of a specificanalytical measurement.1.2 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2E135 Terminology Relating to Analytical Chemistry forMetals,Ores,and Related MaterialsE350 Test Methods for Chemical Analysis of Carbon Steel,Low-Alloy Steel,Silicon Electrical Steel,Ingot Iron,andWrought IronE415 Test Method for Atomic Emission Vacuum Spectro-metric Analysis of Carbon and Low-Alloy SteelE1329 Practice for Verification and Use of Control Charts inSpectrochemical AnalysisE1601 Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study toEvaluate the Performance of an Analytical MethodE2027 Practice for Conducting Proficiency Tests in theChemical Analysis of Metals,Ores,and Related Materials2.2 ISO Standards:3ISO/IEC 17025 General Requirements for the Competenceof Calibration and Testing LaboratoriesISO 9000 Quality Management and Quality System Ele-ments2.3 Other Standards:Measurement Systems Analysis Reference Manual43.Terminology3.1 DefinitionsFor definitions of terms used in this guide,refer to Terminology E135.3.2 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:3.2.1 workstation,na combination of people and equip-ment that executes a specific test method using a singlespecified measuring device to quantify one or more parameters,with each report value having an established estimated uncer-tainty that complies with the data quality objectives of thelaboratory organization.4.Significance and Use4.1 Many competent analytical laboratories comply withaccepted quality system requirements.When using standardtest methods,their test results on the same sample should agreewith those from other similar laboratories within the reproduc-ibility estimates index(R)published in the standard.Repro-ducibility estimates are generated as part of the interlaboratorystudies(ILS),of the type described in Practice E1601.Com-petent laboratories participate in proficiency tests,such asthose conducted in accordance with Practice E2027,to confirmthat they perform consistently over time.In both ILS andproficiency testing protocols,it is generally assumed that onlyone work station is used to generate the data.1This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E01 on AnalyticalChemistry for Metals,Ores,and Related Materials and is the direct responsibility ofSubcommittee E01.22 on Laboratory Quality.Current edition approved June 1,2012.Published July 2012.Originally approvedin 2000.Last previous edition approved in 2005 as E2093 05.DOI:10.1520/E2093-12.2For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.3Available from American National Standards Institute(ANSI),25 W.43rd St.,4th Floor,New York,NY 10036,www.ansi.org or from International Organizationfor Standardization(ISO)at www.iso.ch.4Measurement Systems Analysis Reference Manual,Copyright 1990,1995,Chrysler Corporation,Ford Motor Company,and General Motors Corporation,available from AIAG,26200 Lahser Rd.,Suite 200,Southfield,MI 480347100,www.aiag.org.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 4.2 Many laboratories have workloads,or logisticalrequirements,or both,that dictate the use of multiple workstations.Some have multiple stations in the same area(centrallaboratory format).Other stations are scattered throughout afacility(at-line laboratory format)and in some cases may evenreside at different facilities.Often,analysis reports do notidentify the workstation used for the testing,even if worksta-tions differ in their testing uncertainties.Problems can arise ifclients mistakenly attribute variation in report values to processrather than workstation variability.These problems can beminimized if the laboratory organization de