Probabilistic measurement evaluation for the implementation of the Measuring Instrument Directive

The approval of the European Measuring Instrument Directive (2004) constitutes a noteworthy novelty in legal metrology, since this Directive implements the so called “new approach” to technical normalization and harmonization and moves toward a “global approach” to evaluation and conformity. According to the principles of the new approach regulatory model, the Directive establishes some essential requirements for a wide class of measuring devices, subject to legal control, whilst leaving manufacturer free to develop proper technical solutions for meeting them. Moreover, the conformity of instruments to prescribed requirement may now be ensured through quality assurance procedures, in the context of a quality system. This increase in technical and metrological freedom on the manufactures side may promote innovation, social benefit and costumers’ satisfaction, provided that some recent advances in measurement theory are properly employed.In this paper, after a brief discussion regarding the philosophy of the Directive, a probabilistic approach to conformity assessment is presented. The proposed approach concerns some currently open issues such as measurement uncertainty due to the influence of operating conditions, the assessment and reduction of the risk related to measurement uncertainty in conformity decision and the costs of instrument uncertainty and of non-conformity, for both the manufacturer and the user. The approach is supported by a package of software codes that assists the application of verification procedures, with a user-friendly approach.All these aspects are discussed with reference to the case of water meters, considering both end-of-production acceptance tests and the performance of meters under operation.