ASTM_E_2653_-_15.pdf

Designation:E265315An American National StandardStandard Practice forConducting an Interlaboratory Study to Determine PrecisionEstimates for a Fire Test Method with Fewer Than SixParticipating Laboratories1This standard is issued under the fixed designation E2653;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 practice describes the techniques for planning,conducting,analyzing,and treating results of an interlaboratorystudy(ILS)for estimating the precision of a fire test methodwhen fewer than six laboratories are available to meet therecommended minimum requirements of Practice E691.Dataobtained from an interlaboratory study are useful in identifyingvariables that require modifications for improving test methodperformance and precision.1.2 Precision estimates developed using this practice willnot be statistically equivalent to precision estimates producedby Practice E691 because a small number of laboratories areused.The smaller number of participating laboratories willseriously reduce the value of precision estimates reported bythis practice.However,under circumstances where only alimited number of laboratories are available to participate in anILS,precision estimates developed by this practice will pro-vide the user with useful information concerning precision fora test method.1.3 A minimum of three qualified laboratories is requiredfor conducting an ILS using this practice.If six or morelaboratories are available to participate in an ILS for a givenfire test method,Practice E691 shall be used for conducting theILS.1.4 Since the primary purpose of this practice is the devel-opment of the information needed for a precision statement,theexperimental design in this practice will not be optimum forevaluating all materials,test methods,or as a tool for individuallaboratory analysis.1.5 Because of the reduced number of participating labora-tories a Laboratory Monitor shall be used in the ILS.SeeStandard Guide E2335.1.6 Field of ApplicationThis practice is concerned withtest methods that yield numerical values or a series ofnumerical values for different fire-test response properties.Thenumerical values mentioned above are typically the result ofcalculations from a set of measurements.1.7 This practice includes design information suitable foruse with the development of interlaboratory studies for testmethods that have categorization(go-no-go)allocation testresults.However,it does not provide a recommended statisticalpractice for evaluating the go-no-go data.1.8 This fire standard cannot be used to provide quantitativemeasures.1.9 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:2E176 Terminology of Fire StandardsE177 Practice for Use of the Terms Precision and Bias inASTM Test MethodsE178 Practice for Dealing With Outlying ObservationsE456 Terminology Relating to Quality and StatisticsE691 Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study toDetermine the Precision of a Test MethodE1169 Practice for Conducting Ruggedness TestsE2335 Guide for Laboratory Monitors3.Terminology3.1 DefinitionsFor formal definitions of statistical terms,see Terminology E456.For formal definitions of fire terms,seeTerminology E176.3.2 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:1This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E05 on FireStandards and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E05.31 on Terminologyand Services/Functions.Current edition approved July 1,2015.Published August 2015.Originallyapproved in 2008.Last previous edition approved in 2014 as E2653-14.DOI:10.1520/E2653-15.2For 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.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 3.2.1 protocol,nin this practice,directions given to thelaboratories for conducting the interlaboratory study(ILS).3.2.2 repeatability(ofresultsandmeasurements),nquantitative expression of the random variability associatedwith successive measurements of the same measurand carriedout subject to all of the following conditions:the samemeasurement procedure,the same observer,the same measur-ing instrument,used under the same conditions,the samelocation,and repetition over a short period of time.3.2.2.1 DiscussionRepeatability deals with results in asingle laboratory while reproduci