Calibration Procedures

NBS Handbook 145, 1986, Handbook for the Quality Assurance of Metrological Measurements, by John K. Taylor, and Henry V. Oppermann is out of print and the majority of content has been updated and published in the publications noted below. HB 145 was developed as a source of calibration procedures for weights and measures laboratories and covered mass, length and volume calibrations for field standards used in the commercial marketplace. The original Table of Contents and several Legacy sections are provided here as reference only. The Good Laboratory Practices (GLPs), Good Measurement Practices (GMPs), and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that have not been updated are available on the linked pages as scanned PDF copies and are dated 1986.

There are many updated GMPs, GLPs, and SOPs in the following publications that were originally published in HB 145; only updated versions are provided here when available. There are also quite a number of new GLPs, GMPs, and SOPs that were not originally part of Handbook 145. However, the organization of the sections and procedures on this and linked pages follows the format of the original Handbook 145, Table of Contents. Individual sections and procedures are provided to enable periodic updates of selected content as needed and to provide downloadable copy for laboratories to review, modify, and implement as needed and as appropriate. It is a good practice to verify that you have the latest version of a procedure by checking this site on a periodic basis.

• Table of Contents (Legacy Handbook 145) PDF
• Section 1, Introduction (Legacy Handbook 145) PDF
• Section 2, Concepts of Accuracy and Precision and Statistical Control (Not Current, Handbook 145) PDF
• Section 3, Quality Assurance in a Metrology Laboratory (Superseded by NIST Handbook 143, Program Handbook and ISO/IEC 17025) PDF
• Section 4, Good Laboratory Practices
• Section 5, Good Measurement Practices
• Section 6, Standard Operating Procedures
• Section 7, Miscellaneous Subjects (Legacy Handbook 145) PDF
• Section 8, Statistical Techniques (Updated in NISTIR 6969, 2019) PDF
• Section 9, Reference Tables (Updated in NISTIR 6969, 2019) PDF
• Section 10, Glossary (Out of date; use the International Vocabulary of Metrology, VIM) PDF
• Section 11, Bibliography (Legacy Handbook 145) PDF

Updated Publications

• NISTIR 6969, 2019, Selected Laboratory and Measurement Practices, and Procedures to Support Basic Mass Calibrations, Georgia L. Harris.
• NISTIR 5672, 2019, Advanced Mass Calibrations and Measurements Assurance Program for the State Calibration Laboratories, Kenneth L. Fraley, Georgia L. Harris.
• NISTIR 7383, 2019, Selected Procedures for Volumetric Calibrations, Georgia L. Harris
• NISTIR 8028, 2014, Selected Laboratory and Measurement Practices and Procedures for Length Calibrations, Jose A. Torres, Georgia L. Harris
• NISTIR 8250, 2019, Calibration Procedures for Weights and Measures Laboratories, Georgia L. Harris

Note: NIST Interagency or Internal Reports (NIST"IR") can be obtained by going to the Weight and Measures Publications page.