Inside this Issue

Page

Elizabeth Gentry Wins NCSLI

Education and Training Award 1

Tina Butcher Receives the NCWM

Distinguished Service Award 2

Training Excellence: What Does

It Look Like? 3

Calendar 2

This Month in 

History

August 1, 1779 ‐ Francis Scott Key (1779 ‐

1843) was born in Frederick County, Mary‐

land. He wrote the poem Defense of Fort

McHenry, which later became known as the

Star‐Spangled Banner. The poem is based on

the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in

Baltimore Harbor on September 13 ‐ 15,

1814. 

August 5, 1861 ‐ President Abraham Lincoln

signed into law the first federal income tax

on incomes over $800. This was an emer‐

gency wartime measure during the Civil War;

however, the tax was never put into effect.

August 6 ‐ 10, 1787 ‐ During the Constitu‐

tional Convention, the Great Debate occured.

The outcome was the establishment of a

four‐year term of office for the President.

Congress was also granted the right to regu‐

late foreign trade and interstate commerce.

August 14, 1935 ‐ President Franklin Roo‐

sevelt signed the Social Security Act that es‐

tablished a system that guarantees pensions

to those who retire at age 65. This Act also

provides for aid to dependent children, the

blind and others.

1

Volume 3 Issue 5

August 28, 2012

Elizabeth Gentry Wins

NCSLI Education and

Training Award

The National Conference of Standards Laboratories International (NCSLI) Ed‐

ucation and Training award is one of the highest awards of the organization

and is given to an individual or group

of individuals for outstanding leader‐

ship and contributions to the field of

Metrology Education and Training. The

purpose of the award is to provide in‐

centive for and recognition of out‐

standing contributions to the field of

Metrology Education and Training to

support meeting workforce challenges

and, in particular, contributions that

are in consonance with the goals and

purposes of NCSLI. This year, the

award has gone to Elizabeth Gentry,

who is the Metric Coordinator at the

National Institute of Standards and

Technology (NIST), Office of Weights and Measures.

Elizabeth is actively involved in education and outreach activities for both the

metric system and metrology careers at NIST by participating in the annual

“Take our Sons and Daughters to Work Day,” NIST’s “Science: Get Psyched”

efforts with the National Capital Area Girl Scouts,

as well as NIST’s “Summer Institute for Middle

School Science Teachers.” She has created sev‐

eral interactive games (i.e., Metric Estimation

Game and Frog Leap) to give participants (e.g.,

students K to 12+ and adults) hands‐on experi‐

ence to develop their competence in applying

the metric system in measuring, weighing, and in

estimating different quantities. These activities

have been received with outstanding acceptance

by the participants and the programs have been

rated “a perfect idea” for a classroom activity and

an “engaging” and “fun” experience. One new

resource she developed, “The Scale of Things,”

has received outstanding reviews from teachers

for its simple yet informative approach to teach‐

ing students how to relate metric measurements to national landmarks and

everyday items.
Calendar 2012

Registration for training in the NIST Office of

Weights and Measures is handled by Yvonne

Branden at yvonne.branden@nist.gov.

Course descriptions can be viewed on the Office of

Weights and Measures website by clicking on the

name of the course. 

http://www.nist.gov/pml/wmd/calendar.cfm

August 29

U.S. National Work Group on Measuring Systems

for Electric Vehicle Fueling

Web‐based Teleconference

1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST

E‐mail: marc.buttler@nist.gov

August 30 (2 hours)

Webinar ‐ Proficiency Testing Follow Up Actions and

Root Cause Analysis

Class No. 5181

September 6 (2 hours)

Webinar ‐ Conducting an Effective Management

Review

Class No. 5178

September 10 ‐ 13

Central Weights and Measures Association

(CWMA) Interim Meeting

Bettendorf, IA

Contact: Vicky Dempsey at

dempseyv@mcohio.org

September 10 ‐ 13

NEMAP*

Class No. 5154

Portland, ME

Contact: Danny Newcombe at

Danny.Newcombe@maine.gov

September 13 (2 hours)

Webinar ‐ Internal Auditing Best Practices

Class No. 5182

September 16 ‐ 20

Western Weights and Measures Association

(WWMA)

Breckenridge, CO

Contact: Mahesh Albuquerque at

mahesh.albuquerque@state.co.us

September 24 ‐ 26

U.S. National Work Group on Taximeters

NIST

Contact: John Barton at

john.barton@nist.gov

(continued on page 3)

W&M Connection 2 Volume 3 Issue 5

In addition to metric outreach, Elizabeth conducts numerous webinars for the

laboratory metrology community on such topics as Contract Review, Docu‐

ment Control and Record Keeping, Internal Auditing Best Practices, and Con‐

ducting an Effective Management Review.

Finally, she has been integrally involved with the success of NCSLI’s efforts in

education and outreach. Through her leadership, the NCSLI Education and

Outreach Liaison Committee, the Metrology Ambassador educational out‐

reach effort, and the Metrology Careers partnership, together has reached

nearly 30,000 students over the past five years with the message about meas‐

urement science and career opportunities in metrology.

Tina Butcher Receives

the NCWM Distinguished

Service Award

Tina Butcher of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),

Office of Weights and Measures Legal Metrology Devices Group began her

public service in the Pest Management program at the Maryland Depart‐

ment of Agriculture. Pest management experience must have prepared

her well for her illustrious career in weights and measures. In 1983, she

was transferred to Maryland’s Weights and Measures Program where she

spent five years as a field inspector. 

In 1987 she moved on to NIST, Office of Weights and Measures. With that

move, Tina quickly became involved in the NCWM. Among her list of con‐

tributions, she was technical advisor to the Task Force on Energy Allocation

in 1988 and 1989; the Multiple Dimension Measuring Devices Work Group

in the early 1990s; the Task Force on Safety from 1989 to 1991, the Execu‐

tive Committee in 1991, the Liaison Committee in 1993 and 1994; the

Handbook 44 Reorganization Work Group from 1999 to 2001; and the Au‐

tomatic Temperature Compensation Steering Committee in 2008 and 2009.

Her technical advisor service to NCWM

standing committees include the Speci‐

fications and Tolerances Committee

from 1993 to 1998 and again from 2008

forward, and the Professional Develop‐

ment Committee in 2007 and 2008. Tina

is well‐known for her contributions to

the National Type Evaluation Program

(NTEP) over many years. She has been

technical advisor to many NTEP groups

including the Measuring Sector from

1988 to 1995 and from 2008 to 2011;

the Weighing Sector from 1992 to 1997;

the Grain Moisture Meter Sector from

1992 to 1995; the Belt‐Conveyor Scale

Sector in 1997; the NTEP Committee

from 1999 to 2001; the Laws and Regu‐

lations Committee regarding the model NTEP regulation from 1999 to 2002;

the United States/Canada Mutual Recognition Work Group from 1994 to

2000; and the NTEP Long‐Term Business Plan Work Group from 1998 to

2000. Tina was the NTEP Manager from 1994 to 2000 prior to transfer of
September 24 ‐ 27

SWAP*

Class No. 5126

Baton Rouge, LA

Contact: Richert Williams at

richer_w@ldaf.state.la.us

October 1 ‐ 5

47thCIML Meeting, 14thOIML Conference

Bucharest, Romania

Contact: Charles Ehrlich at

Charles.Ehrlich@nist.gov

October 5 ‐ 6

Measuring Sector Meeting

Louisville, KY

Contact: Luanne Groenjes at info@ncwm.net

October 7 ‐ 10

Southern Weights and Measures Association

(SWMA)

Louisville, KY

Contact: Jason Glass at (502) 573‐0282

jason.glass@ky.gov

October 15 ‐ 18

MidMAP*

Class No. 5155

Sioux Falls, SD

Contact: Brad Stover at

brad.stover@state.sd.us

October 15 ‐ 26 (2 week)

Mass Metrology Seminar 

Class No. 5192

October 16 ‐ 17

Northeastern Weights and Measures Association

(NEWMA) Interim Meeting 

TBD

Contact: James Cassidy at

jcassidy@cambridgema.gov

October 18 (2 hours)

Webinar ‐ State Laboratory Annual Submission

Process**

Class No. 5190

November 1 (2 hours)

Webinar ‐ State Laboratory Annual Submission

Process **

Class No. 5191

November 5 ‐ 9 (1 week)

Fundamentals of Metrology

Class No. 5206

December 3 ‐ 7 (1 week)

Intermediate Metrology Seminar

Class No. 5164

(continued on page 4)

W&M Connection 3 Volume 3 Issue 5

its administration to NCWM. In addition to all of these contributions to

NCWM, Tina has made significant contributions at NIST with development

assignments in the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award Program and

in the NIST Director’s Office in 2002 and 2003. She is recipient of the U.S.

Department of Commerce Bronze Medal in 2003. 

Through all of this continuing service, Tina has made significant and lasting

contributions to codes throughout Handbook 44 and was integral in the

creation of code sections such as the Mass Flow Meter Code. She is widely

regarded for her superior technical writing skills and her calm manner that

leads to input from others toward sound decision making. She has also

earned the respect of NCWM members for her ability to inject important

technical and historic information while avoiding personal dictation in the

decisions. Tina’s long‐term service to NCWM and the weights and meas‐

ures community is truly remarkable. Tina’s personal time is devoted to her

family and other activities including the Altar Guild and teaching children’s

classes at her church. She is Co‐Director of her church’s Junior Daughters

of the King Chapter and enjoys volunteering in her daughter, Holly’s, various

sports and school activities. 

Training Excellence: 

WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK

LIKE?

By Georgia L. Harris and Carol T. Hockert

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Office of Weights

and Measures (OWM) has been working the last few years toward compli‐

ance with several educational standards in support of our training program

for the legal metrology and laboratory metrology community. We believe

that complying with some rigorous models will help us provide excellent

training opportunities for our stakeholders. These standards include the

American National Standards Institute/International Association for Con‐

tinuing Education and Training (ANSI/IACET) standard for Continuing Edu‐

cation and Training, the Baldrige Quality Award‐Educational Criteria, and

portions of ISO/IEC 17024 on personnel certification. In fact, the Baldrige

Quality Award criteria are presented in its publications as a framework for

“performance excellence” and references “benchmarking” in several in‐

stances. So, even without becoming an IACET Authorized Provider or re‐

ceiving a Baldrige quality award, we can benchmark our operations against

these documents to assess training excellence and to identify opportunities

for improvement. 

As we got started on the strategic aspects of applying these standards to

our OWM training efforts, we began by asking the question, What does

success look like? We asked our staff, key customer groups, and training

participants, and we got a long list back. We matched up the list of success

factors with the criteria in each of the documentary standards, and it fit

together remarkably well. We didn’t get as complete a list from staff and

stakeholders as were stated in the standards, so we identified a few gaps.

The educational standards included a few additional items that, upon re‐

view, we agreed were important for success, even though they were not

explicitly stated in the feedback we gathered.
W&M Connection 4 Volume 3 Issue 5

2013

January 27 ‐ 30 

National Conference on Weights and Measures

(NCWM) Interim Meeting

Francis Marion Hotel

Charleston, SC

Contact: info@ncwm.net

January 28 ‐ February 1 (5 days)

Volume Seminar

Class No. 5193

February 4 ‐ 7 (4 days)

Advanced Mass Seminar

Class No. 5204

February 11 ‐ 14 (4 days)

Advanced Mass Hands‐On Seminar

Class No. 5205

March 4 ‐ 15 (2 weeks)

Mass Metrology Seminar

Class No. 5207

March 25 ‐ 29 (5 days)

Packaging and Labeling Seminar

Class No. 5224

April 8 ‐ 11

SEMAP*

Class No. 5209

Tifton, GA

April 15 ‐ 19 (5 days)

Fundamentals of Metrology

Class No. 5208

May 6 ‐ 9

Northeatern Weights and Measures Association

(NEWMA)

Saratoga, NY

Contact: James Cassidy at 

jcassidy@cambridgema.gov

May 6 ‐ 9

WRAP*

Class No. 5216

Helena, MT

May 13 ‐ 24 (2 weeks)

Mass Metrology Seminar

Class No. 5217

May 20 ‐ 23

Central Weights and Measures Association

(CWMA)

Overland Park, KS

Contact: Maureen Henzler at 

maureen.henzler@kda.ks.gov

(continued on page 5) 

The rest of this article covers six ideas of what training excellence looks like

in terms of the standards and our efforts at NIST. These concepts are im‐

portant, whether you are a student, managing staff development, or are a

trainer yourself. Some key sections of the documents are highlighted as

notes in case you’d like to explore these documents further. 

A key question for you, as you consider the highlighted areas, How do you

measure success of training? ISO/IEC 17025 for calibration and testing lab‐

oratories requires labs to plan for training needs and evaluate training ef‐

fectiveness. What are your measures of success in your needs assessment

and effectiveness evaluation?

Success means we have an infrastructure to manage training

efforts.

We need a way to identify the organizational structure and which staff is

involved in what aspects of our training efforts. In the Office of Weights

and Measures, we have to coordinate with about eight other NIST groups

to schedule, offer, and conduct one of our courses. Those of us involved in

that coordination need that process documented for consistency and ef‐

fectiveness. We have online calendars for our training and application

processes for students to register for courses. We also have online access

to student transcripts to enable participants to track their prior training

from our office. 

Note: ANSI/IACET Section 1, Organization, 2, Responsibility and Control, 3,

Support Systems, and 9, Maintaining Learner Records. Baldrige Section 1,

Leadership, Category 6, Process Management.

Success means instructors are educational professionals and

subject matter experts.

In the NIST OWM, we have been providing regular professional develop‐

ment opportunities for our staff to become better trainers and to gain ad‐

ditional experience in our subject matter. We have sponsored several Train

the Trainer workshops at NIST in the past three years and have opened up

the training to others here at NIST. We have also been sharing best prac‐

tices on effective activities and assessment methods for our seminars – in‐

cluding the classroom, the laboratory, and via webinar. 

In partnership with the NCWM, additional Train the Trainer courses are

being planned for regional weights and measures trainers. Individual ju‐

risdictions and other organizations can also assure that their trainers are

educational professionals by identifying local developmental opportunities

for those employees that conduct routine training.

Note: ANSI/IACET Section 6, Planning and Instructional Personnel. Baldrige

Section 5, Workforce.

Success means we evaluate training and training programs. 

Course evaluations have long been a part of the OWM training program.

However, they have historically been little more than satisfaction‐level eval‐

uations to ask, “Did you like the training?” Developing a more rigorous

evaluation process for each course and the entire program has been our

effort in the last three years. We have been considering how to better eval‐

uate training efforts through the use of the Kirkpatrick/Phillips evaluation

models. Note that all of the seminar evaluations at NIST consider more

than participant satisfaction levels. A key aspect of the evaluation is
September 9 ‐ 12

NEMAP*

Class No. 5258

Harrisburg, PA

September 16 ‐ 19

MidMAP*

Class No. 5259

Springfield, IL

September 22 ‐ 25

Western Weights and Measures Association

(WWMA)

Kalispell, MT

Contact: Doug Deiman at 

doug.deiman@alaska.gov

September 23 ‐ 26

SWAP*

Class No. 5220

Phoenix, AZ

*Invitation Only

**Limited to State Laboratory Program Participants

W&M Connection 5 Volume 3 Issue 5

whether or not the data gathered is actually used to measure effective‐

ness of training and to identify areas for future improvement. So, at NIST,

we also often conduct an After Action Review of the courses and consider

input from both the students and instructors in identifying opportunities

for change. 

We have been conducting a follow up evaluation of some students to as‐

sess application and impact, and intend to expand this effort in the future. 

Note: ANSI/IACET Section 10, Program Evaluation. Baldrige Category 4,

Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management.

Success means we design for and measure application and impact.

When attending a NIST training course, students are sometimes told, “It

doesn’t matter how much you know if you don’t apply it to your work!”

But, getting participants to apply new learning for effectiveness and im‐

pact takes more than just saying a few words about doing it. Designing

courses so that students get beyond the “knowledge” level on Bloom’s

taxonomy to the “application” (or higher) levels takes effort and time. We

have completely redesigned our OWM laboratory metrology courses with

“application” levels in mind. We have selected course learning objectives

that drive application. We have selected activities that allow practice at

the application level. And, we assess student participation on whether

they have successfully completed course objectives at the application

level. As we begin to assess application, we are moving away from just

automatically granting everyone a certificate of attendance (versus a cer‐

tificate of successful completion). 

For the weights and measures community as a whole, it is up to each in‐

dividual instructor to apply these concepts. Further, each instructor needs

to be willing to assess students at the stated levels. Instructors may not

want to police this aspect of learning, but it’s a responsibility all trainers

should take on. 

Note: ANSI/IACET Sections 4, Learning Event Planning, and 7, Content and

Instructional Methods. Baldrige Section 7, Results.

Success means we gather data on training needs.

We need to have an internal planning process to identify future courses.

This area is one where we have great opportunities for improvement. In

the NIST OWM, we have many channels for input into future training of‐

ferings. These include individual requests, identified needs based on com‐

monly asked questions, new technologies that will require a new training

effort, and new marketplace challenges. Collecting all of this data in a

standardized way to prioritize our efforts relies on the technical expertise

of our staff to filter all of the data and make decisions. However, this is

far from a standardized, documented process.

While we may be doing a good job identifying training needs, we could

do a better job by formalizing how we collect and analyze data on training

needs and use it to prioritize our training efforts. 

Note: ANSI/IACET Section 4, Learning Event Planning. Baldrige Section 6,

Customer Focus.

Success means we have a partnership among the trainer, stuNOTICE

U.S. NATIONAL WORK GROUP ON

TAXIMETERS

A meeting of the U.S. National Work

Group(USNWG) on Taximeters will be held at

NIST, Gaithersburg, Maryland, September 24

to 26, 2012. This USNWG is working to de‐

velop standards and policies related to the

regulation of taximeters in the United States.

This recently formed USNWG held its first

meeting via web‐conference on May 12, 2012.

The initial meeting served as an orientation

for the work group and the group’s objectives

and work plan were presented to members. 

Additional information regarding the Septem‐

ber meeting can be found at the following

URL: http://www.nist.gov/pml/wmd/taxi‐

wrkgrp.cfm. Contact Mr. John Barton at

(301)975‐4002 or at john.barton@nist.gov if

you have an interest in participating in this

USNWG.
W&M Connection 6 Volume 3 Issue 5

dent, and student’s managers.

No matter how good a trainer is in a class and how excited a student is

about gathering and applying new information into their work, no improve‐

ments will be made without the support of the manager back on the job.

This is another area where we all have an opportunity to improve. Engaging

the manager is essential for all aspects of our training cycle: from needs

assessment to establishing learning objectives and from conducting the

training to applying it on the job. We sometimes have requests from man‐

agers after the event on how well their staff performed in the class. But,

rarely do we get questions from the managers ahead of time about what

they could expect from the participant after the training. This is an effort

we are pursuing within OWM. 

Before you schedule training for your organization, think about this part‐

nership as you begin planning the event. Provide your expectations to the

instructor and students ahead of time, including desired learning objec‐

tives. And, if you are a trainer, interact with the manager prior to conduct‐

ing training to make sure the training will meet management’s

expectations. But don’t forget the student’s role in all of this. Both man‐

agers and trainers should communicate the same expectations to the stu‐

dents for maximum effectiveness of training.

Note: ANSI/IACET Sections 4, Learning Event Planning and 8, Assessment

of Learning Outcomes. Baldrige Category 7, Results.

Your Turn!

Training excellence means many things to many people, just as successful

training means different things to everyone. However, by using the bench‐

mark standards we can focus on some uniform factors, assess for compli‐

ance, select areas to highlight for our effectiveness, and select action items

for continual improvement. You’ve read what we’re doing. Now, it’s your

turn. What does training excellence mean to you? How will you assess

training effectiveness for your staff? How will you assess the next training

event in which you participate? Let us know at owm@nist.gov!

NOTICE

U.S. NATIONAL WORK GROUP ON

MEASURING SYSTEMS FOR ELECTRIC

VEHICLE FUELING

A U.S. National Work Group (USNWG) is

forming to develop proposed requirements

for commercial electricity‐measuring devices

(including those used in sub‐metering at res‐

idential and business locations and those

used to measure and sell electricity dis‐

pensed as a vehicle fuel) and to ensure that

the prescribed methodologies and standards

facilitate measurements that are traceable to

the International System of Units (SI). This

work is not intended to address utility me‐

tering in the home or business where the

electricity metered is consumed by the end

purchaser.

The USNWG first web‐meeting was held Au‐

gust 29, 2012. It is not too late to participate

if you have an interest in developing require‐

ments for this ground‐breaking technology.

Please contact Marc Buttler, (301) 975‐4615

or at marc.buttler@nist.gov. Additional in‐

formation is available at

http://www.nist.gov/pml/wmd/evse‐wrk‐

grp.cfm. 

TRAINING - HANDBOOK 133 - CHECKING THE NET

CONTENT OF PACKAGED GOODS

Training focus will be on the requirments and basic test procedures for packages labeled by weight. This will incldue,

but not be limited to a review of U.S. Weights and Measures Law, good quality control processes, sampling, calculating

standard deviation, moisture allowances, inspection reports and calculations, test procedures, tare, relevant court cases,

drained weight, ice‐glazed procedures, and more.

The sessions will include formal lecture, class discussion, exercises, reading assignments, audio‐visual presentations, and

plenty of hands‐on practice. Students must be in attendance for the entire class, successfully complete assignments

and a final exam. Students who do not fulfill those requiremetns will not receive a certificate of completion. We will be

providing each particpation with a DVD that includes the presentation materials for their use in providing training for

other officials. 

Training Dates: Monday, December 10 to Friday, December 14, 2012 Location: Raleigh, NC

Sponsor: NC Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Serivces Class No: 5227

Online Registration URL: https://tsapps.nist.gov/WMD/ Contact: Yvonne Branden, (301) 975‐3272