The basic seminar provides training in mass, length and volumetric determinations. Two of the laboratory personnel have also attended the Intermediate Mass Seminar which is an advanced training class. Maryland s National Type Evaluation Program Laboratory is authorized as one of only four full participating laboratories in the nation. NTEP laboratories are authorized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Meeting the required performance standards and formalized procedures denotes a high degree of technical and professional competence.
Authorization is specific to a type of weighing or measuring device.
Upon successful completion of a general and technical evaluation, the Maryland NTEP laboratory was authorized in fourteen areas of evaluation. The Maryland NTEP laboratory was used by NIST as the model in developing standard operating procedures for all NTEP laboratories. A flowchart template of this process was developed by the Maryland NTEP laboratory and NIST s Office of Weights and Measures. In June 1998, the process was presented at the NTEP laboratories meeting in Sacramento, California. The overall productivity of the field inspection program decreased in 1998, with a slight increase in the percentage of devices found in violation.