UK Health and Safety Laboratory samples with Axetris mass flow controllers - Case study

Proficiency testing ensures workplace & consumer safety

The Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) runs a state-of-the-art atmosphere generation system for recreating polluted atmospheres and accurate loading of standards of hazardous materials such as VOCs. These standards are used for conformity testing by participating laboratories as part of proficiency testing schemes. Axetris` mass flow controllers provide the high performance and reliability needed to produce such samples.

HSL: Key contributor to workplace and consumer safety
The Health and Safety Laboratory provides scientific, medical and technical expertise to lead research and support those managing workplace and consumer risk. Key capabilities include occupational health, exposure assessment, major hazards and risk management.

Proficiency Testing Schemes
Analytical service providers follow strict quality assurance and control (QA/QC) procedures to reliably analyze samples and demonstrate this reliability to customers. One of the best forms of QA is to participate in an inter-laboratory proficiency testing (PT) scheme. Candidate laboratories are sent replicate test samples for analysis, as part of their routine workload and the results are reported to the scheme coordinator. The report shows the laboratories how closely their results match the agreed values. HSL supplies the standards for the AIR PT scheme for laboratories wishing to conform to standard methods such as ISO 16017 and EPATO-17.

Measurement and Control Reproducibility a must

HSL produce standards that have market-leading reproducibility and accuracy - with less than 1.5 percent relative standard deviation (RSD) for vapor-phase produced, actively sampled and GCFID analyzed tubes. This remarkably low RSD includes: any variation coming from the atmosphere generation (controlled by closed loop feedback), any variation in sampled volume and any variation during confirmatory analysis. Reliable and accurate mass flow controllers play a fundamental role in this exceptional quality control contributing < 0.25 percent variation to the volume sampled through their mass flow control.