ASTM E2653-23 PDF

Overview

ASTM E2653-23: Standard Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study to Determine Precision Estimates for a Test Method with Fewer Than Six Participating Laboratories provides guidance for laboratories and organizations required to estimate the precision of a test method when there is insufficient participation for a full-scale interlaboratory study as specified in ASTM Practice E691. This standard enables users to generate repeatability and reproducibility data using three to five participating laboratories, allowing for the development of meaningful precision statements that comply with ASTM’s requirements.

Key Topics

• Applicability with Limited Laboratories: Designed for situations where fewer than six qualified laboratories are available, making a full E691 protocol unfeasible.
• Estimation of Precision: Focuses on gathering and analyzing data to produce repeatability and reproducibility estimates for test methods.
• Experimental Design: Offers a simplified interlaboratory study (ILS) approach, emphasizing careful experimental planning, execution, and analysis.
• Laboratory Monitor Requirement: Mandates the inclusion of a Laboratory Monitor to ensure quality and protocol adherence in the reduced-laboratory environment.
• Pilot and Full-Scale Runs: Recommends preliminary laboratory evaluation to ensure participating labs can properly execute the method before the main ILS.
• Data Analysis: Employs statistical procedures to estimate within-laboratory (repeatability) and between-laboratory (reproducibility) variability, with guidelines for identifying and addressing outliers.
• Limitations: Precision estimates derived from this practice are less robust compared to those from full-scale studies per E691 due to smaller sample sizes.
• Scope of Use: While issued by ASTM Committee E05 (Fire Standards), the statistical methodology is broadly applicable to any numerical test method.

Applications

ASTM E2653-23 holds practical value in several scenarios:

• Test Method Development: Provides a structured way to obtain required precision data for test methods, especially in specialized fields where limited laboratories are available.
• Fire Testing and Beyond: While originally developed under the purview of fire test methods, its generic statistical approach fits a variety of scientific and industrial domains that require repeatability and reproducibility estimates.
• Supporting Regulatory Compliance: Assists organizations in generating the precision statements demanded by standards bodies and regulatory agencies, even when limited to a smaller number of laboratories.
• Quality Assurance: Helps identify sources of variability and opportunities for improving test method accuracy and consistency.
• Interim Solution: Serves as a temporary approach for producing useful precision data pending the possibility of a full E691-compliant interlaboratory study.

Related Standards

For best practice and comprehensive precision analysis, ASTM E2653-23 should be used alongside related standards:

• ASTM E691: Standard Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study to Determine the Precision of a Test Method (preferred when six or more labs are available)
• ASTM E177: Practice for Use of the Terms Precision and Bias in ASTM Test Methods
• ASTM E178: Practice for Dealing with Outlying Observations
• ASTM E1169: Practice for Conducting Ruggedness Tests
• ASTM E2335: Guide for Laboratory Monitors
• ASTM E176/E456: Terminology standards relevant to fire testing, quality, and statistics

Keywords: interlaboratory study, precision estimates, repeatability, reproducibility, ASTM E2653, test method, laboratory precision, practice E691 alternative, laboratory monitor, statistical analysis, quality assurance

By leveraging ASTM E2653-23, laboratories and testing organizations can ensure reliable estimation of test method precision and maintain compliance, even when resources are limited, thereby strengthening the integrity and credibility of their test results.