Guide to NIST Certification
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) develops standards to establish conformity and enhance the quality of products. Check out PE Facts to find out if your equipment meets the NIST standards!
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a non-regulatory federal agency under the Department of Commerce. It is the National Measurement Institute for the United States. The NIST's mission is to support and develop measurement standards and technology in order to improve efficiency, facilitate trade, and enhance the quality of life.
NIST's mission is to provide certified standard reference materials (SRM). SRM's are used to confirm how accurate specific measurements are, to complete instrument calibrations, and to encourage the development of new methods of measurement. They are also used to maintain measurement traceability in the U.S. With every SRM, NIST offers a Certificate of Analysis and a Material Safety Data Sheet (if applicable).
NIST only certifies products that have been tested against an SRM and meet the specific requirements for that product. Some typical NIST certified products are timers, sound level meters, calibration weights, tachometers, thermometers, electrical multi-meters, anemometers, clocks, pressure gauges, micrometers, pH meters, and light meters. Almost any product that measures something has an NIST SRM equivalent for manufacturers to compare to. This allows manufacturers to determine whether or not a product is working within the acceptable limits. A product is sold with an NIST certificate once it is tested against the SRM. All certificates have an expiration date to indicate when the product needs to be retested.
A certification from NIST can be an NIST Certificate of Calibration, which means that the product has been tested and approved to be on a certain level of accuracy. NIST Certificate of Compliance is another type of certification from NIST. This certificate means that the product tested was found to be within the stated tolerance but no adjustment on the item is possible. Certificates of compliance are typically given to products such as glass tube thermometers or hydrometers.
NIST Traceable Certificates means that the product being tested was not compared to the NIST SRM but rather tested against another product that has already been compared to an SRM. For example, an NIST SRM thermometer would test another thermometer. The 2 nd thermometer would receive a certificate of compliance according to NIST standards if the proper paperwork is filled out. Traceability requires the establishment of an unbroken chain of comparisons to stated references. According to NIST, it is the responsibility of the provider of the traceable product to support the claim of traceability, but it is up to the user of the product to determine how legitimate the claim is.
NIST certification does not mean that NIST endorses, approves, or recommends any product, manufacturer, supplier or user of any NIST certified equipment.
Why get NIST certification or calibration?
It can be expensive to get NIST certification, and products that are NIST certified can be several hundred dollars more than the exact same product without the certification. However, there are some advantages to getting a certified product. An NIST certified product is guaranteed to have been specially tested to ensure its accuracy. The NIST specifically designs the service of calibration to help achieve the highest possible level of measurement quality, accuracy and productivity for precision instruments.
There are some industries that must follow the requirements of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). There are also some organizations that voluntarily follow the requirements of the ISO so that they can claim their product is ISO compliant. This compliance is usually seen as an indication of an organizations excellence in service or quality. ISO requirements often demand that all testing equipment is NIST certified.
What is ISO?
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a non-governmental organization that is the largest developer of standards globally. Their goal is to develop international standards that enhance product quality, lead to similar levels of workmanship, assist with trade, make the world safer, produce more reliable products and services, and increase the interchangeability of products and services. Following the ISO standards is voluntary since it is non-governmental. They have no right or power to enforce their standards. Regulatory agencies may choose to implement ISO standards and then use their own regulatory powers to enforce them.
By creating a universal standard for international organizations and products, trade becomes much more simple and fair. For example, the ISO has a standard for the configuration and size of bank cards. This allows for easy transactions internationally due to ATM's and credit card machines being the same throughout the world. This type of standardization makes life much easier for consumers and manufacturers alike.
ISO standards are developed when an industry passes on a request for a certain need to the ISO. A committee of experts in that particular field is put together to debate and discuss potential plans. They create a draft of an agreement which is then distributed for further debate. The feedback is taken into account and the draft is revised for a final vote. If the vote passes, the standard is published as an International Standard.
ISO generic standards are their most widespread and popular standards. Generic standards can apply to any organization regardless of how big it is. They can apply to both product producers and service providers. The most far-reaching ISO generic standards are the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 families.
The ISO 9000 is a family of standards concerning quality management. Companies that aim to meet ISO 9000 regulations are striving to meet customer quality demands, increase customer satisfaction, meet all regulatory requirements, and continue to advance their performance in order to accomplish these goals.
The ISO 14000 is a family of standards dealing with environmental management. Organizations that meet these requirements minimize their harmful effects to the environment. They strive to attain continual enhancement of their environmental performance. The main purpose of these standards is to decrease the use of raw materials, improve efficiency, reduce energy consumption, increase use of recoverable resources, and reduce waste.
Commonly Asked Questions
Q.Is it necessary to buy an NIST certified instrument for my application?
A.It depends on the situation and goal you are trying to reach. There is no real difference between an instrument with NIST certification and an instrument without. The only difference is in the paperwork that comes with the instrument. If you need documentation that states that the instrument you receive has been tested prior to shipment, then NIST certification is necessary. Any company that is trying to meet ISO standards needs to get the NIST certification.
Q. Can I buy the certification letter at a later time?
A. No. All certifications must be directly connected to their products. The letter is a certification that the exact product you buy has been tested and/or calibrated to NIST standards.
Please Note: The information contained in this publication is intended for general information purposes only. This publication is not a substitute for review of the applicable government regulations and standards, and should not be construed as legal advice or opinion. Readers with specific questions should refer to the cited regulation or consult with an attorney.
