Experience gained from a comparative examination of measuring instrument software

摘要

This paper describes an approach to the validation of the guidance document WELMEC 7.2 "Software Guide (Measuring Instruments Directive 2004/22/EC)". The aim of the Guide, which was developed in the EU-funded project "MID-SOFTWARE", is to support a harmonized implementation of the MID with regard to software in measuring instruments. Although the Guide is relatively comprehensive, a residual uncertainty among national metrological institutes and manufacturers is still present and concerns the uniform implementation of the Guide. A comparative examination of measuring instrument software appeared as being the most appropriate way to resolve these concerns. Six European national metrology institutes volunteered to participate in the experiment. Remarkable results were achieved, both with respect to improvements in the Guide and also with respect to general experience. The results proved the suitability of the Guide for its intended purpose. In addition, the experiment provided valuable knowledge about the prerequisites and necessary procedures to perform such types of comparisons. The approach proved to be basically suitable for application in other similar fields. The experiment was restricted as regards the coverage of requirements of the Guide. In particular, more complex IT configurations were not included. It is considered as extremely beneficial to repeat such comparative tests with other measuring instruments in order to increase the validation coverage of the Guide.