TO 00-20-14 30 SEPTEMBER 2011 - Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

TO 00-20-14 30 September 2011b. Items that have no identifiable part number or manufacture and have been calibrated under the provisions for"Special" calibrations.c. Items from FMS countries.d. Items that do not belong to the Air Force, ANG or AFRC. (Support agreements, NASA, DOE, etc.)e. Locally manufactured items determined to be TMDE. (Reference TO 33K-1-100-1, Section 1)f. Items with Responsibility Determination Exceptions as per 3.1.5.3.3.1.4 AFPSL Requirements. The AFPSL evaluates many first-article items and is responsible for acceptance testing ofcertain new items entering the inventory. This requires some deviation from normal directives since formal 33Kprocedures may not exist for such items. The process for conducting first-article and acceptance testing shall bedocumented.3.1.5 Calibration Responsibility Determinations. TMDE calibration and maintenance responsibility determinations aremanaged by AFMETCAL and are published in CMS TOs and TO 33K-1-100-2.3.1.5.1 Request for Calibration Responsibility Determinations. If the TMDE is not listed in the CMS or TO 33K-1-100-2 as prescribed in TO 33K-1-100-1, the PMEL shall submit an AFTO Form 45, Request for Calibration ResponsibilityDetermination, to AFMETCAL in accordance with instructions in Section 5 of this TO. The PMEL shall assist the userin maintenance and calibration; however, the maintenance and calibration of the equipment shall be the responsibility ofthe user and the procuring agency until the calibration responsibility decision is made. While awaiting the calibrationresponsibility determination, as published in the CMS or 33K-1-100-2, the item may be calibrated using other DoDprocedures or commercial data per the calibration authority precedence in paragraph 3.1.2. If the item is new and wascalibrated by the manufacturer, the PMEL may accept the initial commercial calibration IAW paragraph 4.5.1.2.2.3.1.5.2 Non-Air Force TMDE. Ensure requests for calibration responsibility determinations, AFTO Form 45s, are notsubmitted for equipment owned and used by departments outside the Air Force. Such a customer is responsible to givethe PMEL the capability to support new equipment, if the PMEL does not already have it.3.1.5.3 Responsibility Determination Exceptions. There may be instances where individual MAJCOMS may requireexceptions from the assigned determination because the capability exists in an organization other than a PMEL. Requeststo deviate from the assigned calibration responsibility, by having the calibration performed in an organization other than aPMEL, shall be processed through the MAJCOM PMEL Functional Manager (MFM). If the MFM accepts the request,the request along with supporting comments shall be forwarded to AFMETCAL for review. AFMETCAL’s concurrenceor non-concurrence shall be forwarded to the MFM. If AFMETCAL concurs, the MFM may authorize the PMEL tochange their local -100 via message, letter or email. PMEL shall retain the authorization and make it available uponrequest. Calibration of a USER designated item by a PMEL is not considered an exception to responsibilitydetermination.3.1.6 Calibration Equipment Traceability/Accuracy. The overall program shall be designed and operated to ensuremeasurements are traceable through the AFPSL to NIST or other AFMETCAL approved sources. The equipmentrequired to calibrate TMDE is listed in each calibration TO. Other equipment, which has the necessary functions, rangesand accuracies, may be substituted to perform the calibration even though they may not have all the characteristics of thelisted item. Use TO 33K-1-100-2 to assist in the identification of substitute items. When substituting equipment, anuncertainty ratio of at least 4 to 1 must be maintained unless the equipment specified in the calibration authority has anuncertainty ratio of less than 4 to 1. In that case, substitute equipment shall not lower the uncertainty ratio to less thanthat of the equipment specified. (i.e. If the uncertainty ratio of the equipment specified in the calibration authority isgreater than 4 to 1, the uncertainty ratio of the substituted standard must be at least 4 to 1. If the equipment specified hasan uncertainty ratio accuracy of 2 to 1, the uncertainty ratio of the substituted equipment must be at least 2 to 1). Rounduncertainty ratios to one decimal place; (i.e. 3.94 rounds to 3.9; 3.95 rounds to 4.0). CAUTION: Care must be taken indetermining the accuracy of a given measurement. In many instances, the accuracy of the measurement is not the sum ofaccuracies of the instruments used. Modification of procedural steps is authorized when substitute equipment is used.However, all parameters, ranges and accuracies in Table 1 of the calibration TO shall be met or exceeded. Questionsregarding determination of accuracies shall be directed to the responsible engineer at AFMETCAL. Air Force calibration3-2