Quality Assurance in Analytical Chemistry

The application of Quality Assurance (QA) techniques has led to major improvements in the quality of many products and services. Fortunately these techniques have been well documented in the form of guides and standards and nowhere more so than in the area of measurement and testing, particularly chemical analysis. Training of analysts and potential analysts in quality assurance techniques is a major task for universities and industrial and government laboratories. Re-training is also necessary since the quest for improvements in quality seems to be never ending. The purpose of this book is to provide training material in the convenient form of PowerPoint slides with notes giving further details on the contents of the slides. Experts in the relevant topic, who have direct experience of lecturing on or utilising its contents, have written each chapter. Almost every aspect of QA is covered from basic fundamentals such as statistics, uncertainty and traceability, which are applicable to all types of measurement, through specific guidance on method validation, use of reference materials and control charts. These are all set in the context of total quality management, certification and accreditation. Each chapter is intended to be self-contained and inevitably this leads to some duplication and cross-references are given if there is more detailed treatment in other chapters.