The Importance of Interlaboratory Comparison in Length Measurement as a Prerequisite for Raising the Accuracy of Measurement and Development of Measurement Traceability

In view of the ever-increasing globalisation of economy, the removal of technical barriers to trade has become a central political task. To establish the preconditions for free trade throughout world, the World Trade Organization adopted agreement encouraging the development of mutual recognition agreements and of international conformity assessment systems. Such agreements are based on mutual confidence and manifest the final result of a continuous and close cooperation programme essentially consisting of three major elements: the harmonization of accreditation criteria and operation procedures, a comprehensive programme of interlaboratory comparisons and peer assessments by an international team of experienced accreditation experts. Gauge block calibration is one of the oldest high precision calibrations made in dimensional metrology. The most accurate measurements of gauge blocks have not changed appreciably in accuracy in the last 70 years. What was changed is the much more widespread necessity of such accuracy. Already, for many decades, the laboratory community has used interlaboratory studies as an external quality control.