Method for estimating the number of calibrations of measuring instruments used in production activities

A method for estimating the number of calibrations of measuring instruments used in production activities on the scale of the state economy is proposed and justified. The method is based on the calculation of the so–called calibration weight – the ratio of the annual turnover of the enterprise to the number of calibrations of measuring instruments performed at the enterprise. The number of calibrations of measuring instruments in the industry is calculated as the ratio of the annual turnover of the industry to the weight of calibration in the industry. Similarly, the number of calibrations is calculated for all sectors of the economy of the Russian Federation. As an example of the implementation of the method, the number of calibrations of measuring instruments in the Russian Federation in 2022 was estimated, which amounted to (96±34) million. The validation of the proposed method was carried out, which consisted in comparing the number of verifications of measuring instruments estimated using the proposed method with the number of verifications calculated based on data from FGIS Arshin. As a result, a match was obtained within the limits of the calculation error, which indicates the validity of the proposed method. It is established that the error is due to two main factors: the forced use of ultra-small samples with a volume of less than 10 when estimating the number of calibrations in groups of the All-Russian Classifier of Types of Economic Activity and the spread of values (variance) of the calibration weight in samples with a volume of more than 10. If we assume that the interval between calibrations is comparable to the verification interval, then according to the developed method for estimating the number of calibrations, the volume of the fleet of calibrated measuring instruments in the Russian Federation can be estimated approximately as 150 million units. Thus, for the first time in the Russian Federation, estimates of the number of annual calibrations, as well as the volume of the fleet of calibrated measuring instruments, were obtained. It is advisable to use the obtained results to assess the state of the country's measurement uniformity system, in the strategic planning of the development of the measurement uniformity system.