Resources

Introduction to quality assurance training resource

The resource has been developed for analytical scientists and those involved with the training of analysts, both in industry and in academia. The material should also be of interest to anyone involved in making chemical or biochemical measurements, even if they do not consider themselves ‘analysts’.

The resource aims to provide an overview of the key topics associated with ensuring the quality of chemical/biochemical measurements. Analytical data are widely used in a diverse range of areas including manufacturing, healthcare, environmental protection and law enforcement. Many branches of chemical and biochemical research also rely, to some extent, on the results from analytical measurements. For example, the synthesis of a new compound or the identification of a new mechanistic route is often critically dependent upon confident knowledge of the starting materials, intermediates and final products. It is only possible to make proper use of analytical data if the analyst and the end-user of the data have confidence that it is reliable and ‘fit for purpose’.

The resource was originally developed under the Valid Analytical Measurement (VAM) programme. Under the 2006-2009 Chemical and Biological Metrology programme, the resource has been revised and significantly extended. Each section contains information in a number of formants:

• web pages
• presentations in a ‘slide show format’
• presentations with notes pages
• presentations in ‘handout’ format.

The ‘Case studies’ section includes a number of questions which will allow students/trainees to explore some of the issues covered in the resource.

We welcome any feedback on the resource. If you have any comments please contact the NMS Helpdesk at LGC.

Clink on the links below to access the sections of the resource.

• What is quality?
• Quality standards and accreditation
• Quality system documentation
• Essential statistics for analytical science
• Introduction to method validation
• Introduction to measurement uncertainty
• Traceability and reference materials
• Quality control
• Proficiency testing
• Case studies
• Bibliography
• Glossary of terms
• Acronyms, abbreviations and symbols

Acknowledgements

The resource was prepared by Charlotte Bailey, Vicki Barwick and Mark Pettengell (LGC). We would like to thank the following LGC staff for reviewing and commenting on the various sections of the resource: John Francis, Gill Holcombe, Peter Roper and Steve Wood. We would also like to thank the members of the Eurachem Education and Training Working Group for their valuable input into the project, in particular Elizabeth Prichard, Kyriacos Tsimillis and Zbigniew Dobkowski.

The preparation of the resource was supported under contract with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) as part of the National Measurement System (NMS) Chemical and Biological Metrology Programme.