A recent study underscored the importance of defining best practices and understanding measurement fundamentals to make informed judgments about a measurement, irrespective of the technology used.
The Coordinate Metrology Society announces the results of its interactive measurement study conducted at the 27th annual Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference (CMSC). The 58-page report titled “How Behavior Impacts Your Measurement” focuses on measurement strategies and behaviors of coordinate metrologists.
The two-day study examined various training and assessment techniques, such as the evaluation of the participant’s prior learning and experience level, questioning methods, practical task monitoring and demonstration. Participants were asked to perform the following three tasks using portable 3D coordinate metrology equipment for data acquisition:
Measure a door using a combination of a laser tracker, retro reflectors and software.
Measure an engine compartment using a combination of an articulating arm, probe and software.
Measure a vehicle using a combination of a laser tracker, probing and laser-scanning system.
The report reveals various results based on 3D measurement tasks executed with little or no instruction. This is compared to the outcome of 3D measurement tasks completed using given procedures, or a participant guiding an operator with methodology to collect the needed measurements.
The results drive home the importance of defining best practices and understanding measurement fundamentals to make informed judgments about a measurement, irrespective of the technology used, notes report co-author Keith Bevan from the National Physical Laboratory. Questioning and planning measurement requirements help reduce the possibility of making poor measurements.
