MPE stands for maximum permissible error, the plus-or-minus limit on an instrument's error beyond which it no longer conforms, written into a spec, a product standard or weights and measures law. It is the language of legal metrology and of dimensional instrument standards, such as the MPE for length measurement on a CMM or the MPE for each accuracy class of trade weighing instruments. An instrument conforms when its error, judged with the applicable decision rule, stays within ±MPE.
MPE at that load is plus or minus 2 grams and we're seeing 2.6, so the scale fails verification.
Also heard as
- maximum permissible error
- maximum permissible measurement error
Related terms
Tolerance
The allowed deviation from nominal that an item or instrument may show and still be accepted.
Verification
A check that an item is good enough for its stated requirements, usually ending in pass or fail with no full calibration data.
Accuracy
How close a measured value comes to the true value, a qualitative idea rather than a reported number.
Decision rule
The agreed method for factoring measurement uncertainty into a pass or fail call against a spec.