SpecTrack provides a means for instrument specifications, from different manufacturers to be stored in a common format that is linked to other modules within the MudCats suite. These electronic versions of instrument specifications are referred to as specsheets and contain detailed information about the capabilities and specifications of an instrument. Specsheets are fully revision controlled, using a password protected security system and audit log. All previous revisions of a specsheet are retained in the database, and are retreivable for failure analysis or auditing purposes. In addition, 128 bit unique identifiers are associated with every specification entry to ensure that traceability is maintained.

SpecTrack also provides an interface to manage the intelligent units of measure system used in the MudCats suite. The MudCats unit of measure system maintains a database containing the names and symbols of each unit of measure, and the equations needed to perform conversions. These conversions can be performed automatically, as in the Calibration Process Manager, or manually using the Unit of Measure Converter Tool.

Specification Tracking

The instrument specification data stored in the SpecTrack database enables MudCats to assign calibration standards, their related function, range, and accuracy specifications to calibration datasheets at the test point level. This specification data is used to calculate Estimated Measurement Uncertainty (EMU), Test Accuracy Ratio/ Test Uncertainty Ratio (TAR/TUR), and for calibration failure analysis.

When an instrument is calibrated using a MudCats datasheet, detailed information about the standard is primarily linked to the calibration file. For each test point calibrated, a identifier is saved referencing the specification data for each standard used on that test point. Every specification entry in the SpecTrack database has its own unique identifier. Version control unique identifiers are reassigned any time an instrument specification is revised in SpecTrack, which means each test point in a calibration is traceable to the exact calibration standard's specifications used at the time of the calibration.

Unit of Measure System

SpecTrack also manages the units of measure system that is used throughout the suite. MudCats employs an intelligent unit of measure system that understands the relationships between the different units of measure. Unit of measure names and symbols are required to be unique in the system, and the symbols are case sensitive. Every unit of measure used in MudCats has associated conversion rules that control what other units it can be converted to and how the conversion is to be performed. Additional information such as comments, reference information, or if it is an SI unit is also associated with each unit of measure.

Any time a unit of measure is used in a datasheet, MudCats can automatically perform the conversion required for comparing a UUT tolerance stated in one unit of measure to a standard's specification stated in another unit of measure. This means that an accuracy specification for a standard that reads in grams can be used in the calibration of an instrument reading in ounces, and MudCats will perform the conversion automatically to perform range matching or to determine Test Accuracy Ratio/ Test Uncertainty Ratio.

For more detail on SpecTrack and what it can do for your lab, click here.