Traceability not recorded in this register
A screening question, never a statement that the chain is broken: the register's traceability column is blank or reads "no", and the certificate is where the chain is shown. Where traceability of measurement is required, the standards ask for calibration against standards traceable to international or national standards, with the basis recorded where none exist; ISO/IEC 17025 6.5 asks for an unbroken, documented chain to the SI. The provider, accreditation body, scope reference, reference standard and uncertainty columns are read and shown when the register carries them, not evaluated.
When the finder raises it
Raised as a screening question when the traceability column is blank or "no" for an instrument in service with a recorded calibration source. It never says the chain is broken: the certificate shows it. Read only when the register has a traceability column. The calibration provider, accreditation body, scope reference, reference standard and uncertainty columns are read and shown when present, not evaluated.
A question for the calibration lead
What does the certificate trace to, or what basis was recorded, and should the register say so?
Clauses behind it
4 across the standards| Standard | Clause | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 9001 | ISO 9001 7.1.5 Monitoring and measuring resources | a manufacturer holding ISO 9001 certification |
| ISO/IEC 17025 | ISO/IEC 17025 6.5 Metrological traceability | a testing or calibration laboratory accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 |
| ISO 13485 | ISO 13485 7.6 Control of monitoring and measuring equipment | a medical device maker holding ISO 13485 certification |
| AS9100D | AS9100D 7.1.5 Monitoring and measuring resources | an aerospace supplier holding AS9100 certification |
ISO 9001 7.1.5Monitoring and measuring resourcesWhere monitoring or measurement is used to check that products and services conform, the organization identifies and provides the resources needed for results to be valid and reliable. It makes sure those resources suit the kind of monitoring and measurement done and are maintained so they stay fit for purpose, and it retains documented information as evidence that they are. Where traceability of measurement is required, or the organization judges it essential to confidence in the results, measuring equipment is: calibrated or verified, or both, at set intervals or before use, against standards traceable to international or national ones (and where none exist, the basis used is recorded); identified so its status is known; and protected from adjustment, damage or deterioration that would make its calibration status or later results invalid. If equipment proves unfit for its purpose, the organization judges whether earlier results remain valid and acts as needed.