MUVOT - Establishing an International Vocational Training Program on the Topic of Measurement Uncertainty

Measurement results represent important information, which are necessary for evaluating and improving the quality of manufactured products and to control manufacturing processes. Furthermore, they build the basis for numerous decisions in the field of quality management, process and production automation or product development and design. Knowledge about the acquisition, evaluation and interpretation of measurement data as well as an understanding of the relevant influences on those measurement results are essential for employees working in the field of manufacturing metrology. Measurement results are always afflicted with deviations, due to a variety of causes. It follows that in order to assign a value to the reliability and quality of a measurement result its uncertainty must be determined and considered. However, employees in the field of quality management or metrology are often not familiar with methods for determination and interpretation of measurement uncertainty, because appropriate opportunities for training are missing in current vocational education. This need has led to the creation of the European project MUVoT, which will create a course for advanced vocational training in determining measurement uncertainty. The training course is based on a blended learning concept, combining self-dependent learning via a web-based platform and face-to-face workshops. This allows the adaption of individual knowledge and skills by self-controlled learning of abstract contents whilst the exercises enable the practical application of typical methods, which are generally considered as quite complex by many employees, and thus assure correct understanding. The featured Blended Learning concept facilitates the integration of the training into a workplace setting, thus the idea of Lifelong Learning is promoted in new fields of application. The curriculum and training concept for this newly developed training program have been designed such that the course can be applied internationally. To facilitate this, a harmonized scheme for course structure and contents has been defined albeit with inherent flexibility, allowing the adaptation to specific constraints

Geometrical Product Specification and Verification as toolbox to meet up-to-date technical requirements

The ISO standards for the Geometrical Product Specification and Verification (GPS) define an internationally uniform description language, that allows expressing unambiguously and completely all requirements for the geometry of a product with the corresponding requirements for the inspection process in technical drawings, taking into account current possibilities of measurement and testing technology. The practice shows that the university curricula of the mechanical engineering faculties often include only limited classes on the GPS, mostly as part of curriculum of subjects like Metrology or Fundamentals of Machine Design. This does not allow students to gain enough knowledge on the subject. Currently there is no coherent EU-wide provision for vocational training (VET) in this area. Consortium, members of which are the authors of this paper, is preparing a proposal of an EU project aiming to develop appropriate course