Metrological traceability belongs to a measurement result, not to an instrument or a lab. It holds only when each calibration between the result and its reference is on record with its own uncertainty, so the doubt at the top can be followed all the way down. Claiming it requires certificates at every link, valid uncertainties and competent labs, usually demonstrated by accreditation. A chain with no uncertainty stated at each step does not deliver traceability.
Traceability stops at your torque cell, its cert expired and the vendor's chain has no uncertainties on it.
Also heard as
- metrological traceability
Do not mix it up with
- Calibration: Calibration is one link; traceability is the whole documented chain from your result back to the reference.
Related terms
Traceability chain
The documented sequence of calibrations linking a working instrument back to national or SI-level standards.
Calibration hierarchy
The ranked levels of standards, from primary realizations down to working instruments, through which values flow.
NIST traceable
A common label phrase claiming a measurement links back to US national standards, often used loosely.
Imported uncertainty
The uncertainty carried into a measurement from the calibration certificate of the reference standard used.
SI
International System of Units, the coherent set of seven base units on which all traceable measurement rests.