Dear Reader,

Welcome to the seventh KCDB Newsletter.

A new text-based search engine was implemented on the BIPM website on 6 March 2007, allowing it to become one of the world's reference portals for metrology, as explained at:

 The BIPM metrology portal by Dr Janet Miles, BIPM Webmaster.

The KCDB Office took the opportunity of the availability of such software at the BIPM to offer a new means of searching the database and also to make significant changes in the design of the KCDB website.
We outline this major event in the present issue of the KCDB Newsletter, and also give some updates related to the CIPM MRA, the JCRB, and the contents of the KCDB.

Visits to the KCDB website

Between February 2006 and March 2007, the total number of monthly external connections to the KCDB website has increased from 10 300 to 18 200. Details on the number of visits are given for the two main parts of the website (key and supplementary comparisons, and CMCs) in the Figure below.

Number of visits to the KCDB website

As previously noted, the database which holds information on key and supplementary comparisons was basically made "by the NMIs for the NMIs", and it seems that we have now attracted this audience as the number of visits remains stable.

The number of visits to information on CMCs has increased continuously since the creation of the KCDB. It reached an average level of one visit every five minutes in March 2007.

Redesign of the KCDB website

The graph shown above seems to indicate that the process put in place by the launch of the CIPM MRA has become of interest to users other than our traditional audience, namely metrologists in the NMIs. We know that the communities of regulators and accreditors have an interest in the KCDB website, and the rise in the number of visits to the CMC data is evidence that this interest is growing. In addition, it seems that more recently it has attracted the attention of several commercial and industrial companies who wish to take advantage of the mutual recognition of calibration and measurement certificates issued by NMIs for establishing their traceability.

We suspect, however, that the majority of our new users are not acquainted with the CIPM MRA wording and experience difficulties in this regard. For instance, the expression "key comparison database" and the acronym "KCDB" are generic terms, used to cover a complete and complex web application. The terms "Appendix A", "Appendix B" and "Appendix C", although well suited to a document, such as the text of the CIPM MRA itself, are not so easy to understand for a website.

Some users have also commented that searching for information on CMCs using the software in place was sometimes difficult: one had first to select a metrology area, and then items presented under the format chosen for the Classification of Services drawn up for that metrology area. These items may be instruments, such as in dimensional metrology, or quantities, such as in electricity. This can be confusing and led the visitor to simply download one or another global .pdf file from among those proposed, without using the search engine that would have delivered a well-targeted answer.

We therefore knew that we should improve the ease of use of the website, so we took a number of actions which led to a new design for the KCDB website, including the access to a new text-based search engine. This was made publicly available on the Internet on 6 March 2007.

The current BIPM KCDB home page.

The main features of the new KCDB website are as follows:

The list of participants ("Appendix A of the CIPM MRA") is made available in the form of searchable html pages kept on the main BIPM website.

The KCDB home page gives access to two independent websites: the "Key and supplementary comparisons" website ("Appendix B of the CIPM MRA"), and the "Calibration and Measurement Capabilities - CMCs" website ("Appendix C of the CIPM MRA"). The word "Appendix" is mentioned in a very discreet manner, and only in the home page.

The KCDB home page also gives access to a number of useful links, including statistics, a "Find my NMI", a glossary, and the KCDB Newsletters page.

Use of a new search engine on the KCDB

As reported previously, the BIPM studied the advantages of implementing a search facility that would be able to interpret a text-based inquiry. Several such search engines, all commercially available, were compared, and the BIPM purchased such software in December 2005. Our new search engine was implemented on the main BIPM website and on the KCDB, and publicly launched on 6 March 2007. It takes the form of free-text boxes available from the comparisons and the CMCs websites, in which the user types words. The previous directed search facilities are also maintained for sake of continuity, especially the possibility of downloading .pdf files of reports on comparisons or full lists of CMCs declared by a given country and covering a given metrology area.

The BIPM new search engine as implemented on the KCDB

The BIPM search engine is a powerful tool with the advantages of full-text searching, and dynamically generated tables of contents based on each search results page, which allow an easy means of refining the search query, as shown by clicking here.

In the following we show some characteristics of the new BIPM search engine through a number of illustrative examples which the reader is encouraged to try.

Relevance of the results

The search engine parameters are chosen so that the answers are appropriate (minimization of the noise) and no appropriate answers are missing (minimization of gaps in the information). For instance, the query 'AC-DC' in the database of CMCs returns about 1000 answers, all relevant to AC-DC voltage and current transfer at all frequencies.

Refining results

The links generated dynamically on the left of the screen can be used to refine the search by selecting or deleting one or several item(s) among the proposed lists. It is always possible to come back to the previous screen by clicking again on the same link. In the example 'AC-DC', it is possible to choose an RMO or an NMI, and measurements at radio-frequencies for instance.
Note that this type of surfing requires only a few clicks, and no a-priori knowledge.

Finding comparisons corresponding to a specified theme

It is now possible to search for comparisons involving a specified theme: 'natural gas' for instance returns key and supplementary comparisons in Chemistry and Fluid Flow.

Making statistics

All types of statistics based on numbers of CMCs or on comparisons corresponding to specified properties are now facilitated. For instance, searching for 'key' and refining by selecting the statuses 'Report in progress' and 'Measurements completed' returns those key comparisons that are about to be finished. Another example may be 'Electricity and Magnetism United States' which would return all CMCs declared by that country and relevant to that metrology area.

Approximation, exact wording search

An approximation of two letters on the entry is allowed. It follows that the plural is automatically taken into account: the queries 'flowmeter' and 'flowmeters' are thus equivalent. Exact wording search is possible by using quotes: the queries ' "VNIIM" ' and ' "VNIIMS" ' (two Russian metrology institutes) are not equivalent.

Vocabulary, use of acronyms

A vocabulary is implemented on the search engine, which makes it possible to find information relevant to synonyms of the entry. It is intended to be especially useful when acronyms are searched: for instance 'DVM' for digital voltmeters. The vocabulary will be expanded in the light of experience, so please alert us if you have suggestions for new terms.

Searching a given Certified Reference Material or a given NMI service

Though the KCDB is by no means a catalogue of Certified Reference Materials (CRMs), a number of CMCs, especially in Chemistry, are based on the use of CRMs for dissemination of traceability. It is now possible to call for a given CRM, for instance 'CASS-4', and access all measurements that this particular CRM supports (in this case, a number of analytes measured in sea water by Canada). It is also possible to have a direct access to a specified NMI service known by its identifier, for instance 'PTB 94a' available from the German NMI.

Current status of the participation in the CIPM MRA

The CIPM MRA has now been signed by representatives of 67 institutes from 45 Member States, 20 Associates of the CGPM, and two international organizations, and covers a further 113 institutes designated by the signatory or other appropriate official bodies as holders of specific national standards.

 The full list of participants in the CIPM MRA is presented as searchable html pages on the BIPM website.

The BIPM invites the Directors of signatory NMIs to complete the form of request for information on designated institutes, available from the BIPM website, in order to complete the information on the domains of metrology covered by individual designate institutes.

As of May 2007 there are 55 laboratories authorized to use the CIPM MRA Logo in the measurement and calibration certificates of their services listed in the KCDB. Others who wish to use it can do so by application to the BIPM.

Key and supplementary comparisons

The key and supplementary comparisons database now covers 586 key comparisons (78 from the BIPM, 302 from the CCs, and 206 from RMOs) and 155 supplementary comparisons, which correspond to 44 new comparisons registered over the last six months.

Number of key comparisons (in blue) and of supplementary comparisons (in pink) registered in the KCDB: evolution over the last three years and a half

Distribution of key comparisons according to the conducting body

Among the 586 key comparisons that are registered:
 -89 correspond to exercises prior to the implementation of the CIPM MRA, and will never have results published in the KCDB (they were "Approved for provisional equivalence"), and
 -257 have their Final Reports approved and posted in the KCDB, providing a total of about 800 graphs of equivalence displayed in the KCDB.

The results of 57 RMO key comparisons (against 45 at the time of the KCDB Newsletter No 6) - 22 conducted by APMP, 3 by COOMET, 30 by EUROMET, and 2 by SIM - are published in the KCDB. Linkage has also been carried out for eight bilateral key comparisons subsequent to full-scale CC key comparisons; their results are added on the appropriate graphs of equivalence. In addition, BIPM key comparison results are regularly updated.

The CCTF key comparison on the computation of Coordinated Universal Time UTC, CCTF-K001.UTC, was identified as "CCTF-K2001.UTC" until March 2007. The change of identifier is a decision of the CCTF at its 17th meeting held in September 2006.

  Latest KC results published

  Participation in key and supplementary comparisons (updated on 30 May 2007)

Calibration and Measurement Capabilities (CMCs)

On 28 May 2007, a total of 19 518 CMCs were published in the KCDB:
 -12 255 in General Physics;
 -3 463 in Ionizing Radiation; and
 -3 800 in Chemistry.
The detailed distribution of the number of CMCs published by metrology area and by country is given here.

Number of CMCs recorded registered in the KCDB: evolution over the last five years.

  Latest CMCs published

Deletion and re-instatement of CMCs on their compliance with an approved QS

The detailed situation regarding deletion and re-instatement of CMCs linked to approved Quality Systems (QS) was given in the KCDB Newsletter No 6 for the month of December 2006. Since then, no other CMCs were greyed-out from the KCDB, but some of them were re-instated, among which a number of CMCs in Chemistry declared by Canada, and all CMCs from Ukraine and Russia that had been deleted in November 2006.

The present situation of deletion/re-instatement is given in page 5 of the statistics file available from the KCDB website. In summary, a total of about one thousand CMCs were deleted from the KCDB between July 2005 and November 2006 because they were not covered by an appropriate QS. This procedure is now ended, and already 600 of them have been re-instated. From now on, all new entries will necessarily satisfy the QS conditions, leading to full confidence in the international recognition of calibration and measurement certificates corresponding to Appendix C entries.

EUROMET - EURAMET
On 11 January 2007, EURAMET (European Association of National Metrology Institutes) was founded in Berlin as an association of public utility under German law, with two purposes:
1 - To be a legal entity that can contract with the European Commission (e.g. to receive funds for a joint European Research Programme).
2 - To act as the new European RMO replacing EUROMET.
Step 1 happened immediately after the inauguration of EURAMET. Step 2 will happen on 1 July 2007 when EUROMET transfers all its functions and responsibilities to EURAMET. At that date, EUROMET will cease to exist and EURAMET will be the follow up RMO.
Feedback from the 18th JCRB meeting

The 18th meeting of the JCRB was held in Muldersdrift, South Africa on 3-4 May 2007. Twenty-six representatives from five Regional Metrology Organizations and the BIPM were in attendance to discuss a number of issues related to the evolution and implementation of the CIPM MRA.

Early on the meeting, the Director of the BIPM, Prof. Andrew Wallard, announced that the BIPM expects to have its Quality System (QS) reviewed by an international panel of quality experts in early 2008. This evaluation will be conducted using the guidelines provided by the document, Review of CMCs and the Monitoring and Reporting of the Operation of Quality Systems by International Intergovernmental Organizations, which was first used in October 2006 to evaluate the QS of the IAEA.

Another important topic discussed during the meeting was the new definition of the term "Calibration and Measurement Capability" (CMC). The term CMC is currently defined in the document Definitions of Terms Used in the CIPM MRA (Document JCRB 8/18) but, analogously, ILAC defined the term "Best Measurement Capability" (BMC) in its own literature. ILAC and the BIPM have agreed that these terms are essentially identical, but historically, the use and interpretation of the two terms has created confusion in the metrology and accreditation communities alike. In an effort to eliminate the confusion, ILAC and the CIPM have been working to develop a new common definition that can be embraced by both communities. The work accomplished during the JCRB meeting moves the new definition one step closer to reality and it is now expected that a final text will be available by November 2007 in time for approval by the CIPM and the ILAC GA.

Among the work to be conducted in the next six months is the development of RMO processes to monitor changes to published CMCs from their NMIs after the results of comparisons become available. Currently, the lack of such processes is creating difficulties for some of the working groups in the RMOs and CIPM Consultative Committees, and the JCRB felt that a common policy on this issue might benefit all. Under the current proposed approach, the new RMO processes will be presented to the JCRB where they will benefit from comments offered by other RMOs. It is expected that after consensus is reached at the JCRB, the new processes will be implemented in the RMOs, thus helping reduce the confusion on this topic.

(Reported by Dr P. Espina, JCRB Executive Secretary)

  Open-access JCRB documents

Workshop on enhancing the participation in the CIPM MRA

The first Workshop on enhancing the participation in the CIPM MRA was held in Muldersdrift, South Africa on 2-3 May 2007. Representatives from six CIPM MRA signatory NMIs [LACOMET (Costa Rica), DZM (Croatia), NIS (Egypt), KazInMetr (Kazakhstan), KEBS (Kenya), and VMI (Viet Nam)] joined representatives from all five Regional Metrology Organizations (RMOs) and the BIPM for two days of information exchange and strategic planning.

The workshop was started by a presentation setting out the expectations for the exercise. This was followed by presentations from each participating NMI in which they discussed the metrology infrastructure in their countries and the role that their NMIs play. The NMI representatives highlighted their participation in RMO and CIPM MRA activities (including any comparison activities), proposed metrology areas where they would like to make their first CMC submissions and enumerated the main roadblocks that they see ahead.

Representatives from the BIPM spoke about CMCs and their review process, the KCDB and the different types of comparisons, and the need for the effective implementation of quality managements systems in accordance to ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO Guide 34 (where applicable). To conclude the presentations, the Director of CENAMEP (Panama), Mr Hernando Flórez, related the experiences of his NMI as they worked to gain acceptance of their CMCs into the BIPM KCDB.

Following the presentations, experts and NMI delegates divided into working groups to develop individual strategies for gaining acceptance of their CMCs into the BIPM KCDB.
The main issues discussed were:
1. the need for comparisons to support the proposed CMCs, and
2. the need for recognition by their RMO of their Quality System covering the CMCs.
The workshop was especially useful in showing how smaller economies might have special requirements that might place special demands on their RMOs and the CIPM MRA system.
The next steps are to be carried out by each NMI in close collaboration with its RMO and the BIPM.

(Reported by Dr P. Espina, JCRB Executive Secretary)

Demonstration of the KCDB at NCSLI

The KCDB website and new search engine will be demonstrated on Wednesday 1st August 2007 in the exhibition hall of the NCSLI Conference (Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States), kindly hosted by NRC (stand No 427).

Future meetings

 18th meeting of the CCU
 to be held at the BIPM, 11 to 13 June 2007

 Meetings of the Working Groups of the CCPR
 to be held at the BIPM, 18 to 20 June 2007

 19th meeting of the CCPR
 to be held at the BIPM, 21 to 22 June 2007

 Meeting of the Working Groups of the CCL
 to be held at the BIPM, 10 to 12 September 2007

 13th meeting of the CCL
 to be held at the BIPM, 13 to 14 September 2007

 19th meeting of the JCRB
 to be held at NRC, Canada, 27 to 28 September 2007

 23rd APMP General Assembly
 to be held in Sydney, Australia, 28 October to 3 November 2007

 96th meeting of the CIPM
 to be held at the BIPM, 7 to 9 November 2007

 23rd CGPM
 12 to 16 November 2007

 Meeting of the CCRI RMO Working Group
 to be held at the BIPM, 29 to 30 November 2007

 Meeting of the JCTLM Executive Committee
 to be held at the BIPM, 14 December 2007