Within the framework of the Accreditation Service of laboratories, SIT - Servizio di taratura in Italia (Italian Accreditation Service for Calibration Laboratories) continues to perform its activity of granting accreditation to calibration laboratories in Italy and abroad, an activity that began in 1977. SIT operates in compliance with ISO/IEC 17011 and its autonomy from other INRIM activities is stated by the Organization Rules of INRIM, approved by the competent Ministry. After the re-organization completed at the end of 2004, SIT carries out the accreditation of calibration laboratories, for every metrological sector, and its Head issues the accreditation attestations, whatever type of accredited calibrations the laboratories carry out. This activity is notified by the decrees deriving from law no. 273/1991 establishing the National Calibration System (SNT). SIT is accepted in other countries as one of the signatories of EA-MLA and ILAC-MRA agreements on the free acceptance of foreign calibration certificates.

SIT takes part in European and international bodies, such as European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) and International Laboratory Accreditation Co-operation (ILAC). SIT cooperates with both the Italian accreditation bodies SINAL (testing laboratories) and SINCERT (Quality Assurance) and participates in the activity of FIDEA (Federazione Italiana degli Enti di Accreditamento). SIT collaborates in the development of the quality assurance of Italian calibration laboratories, and in the development of quality culture for technicians operating in the laboratories of public and private bodies.

During this year, SIT extended the network of calibration laboratories. In the Mechanical Area SIT accredited 3 new laboratories, extended the accreditation of 15 laboratories, renewed the accreditation for 11 laboratories, and carried out the program of surveillance visits to 25 laboratories. In the Electrical Area SIT accredited a new laboratory, extended the accreditation of 8 laboratories, renewed the accreditation for 10 laboratories, and carried out the program of surveillance visits to 21 laboratories. During the same period 3 laboratories renounced the SIT accreditation.

Several SIT assessors have participated in courses for metrological experts, organized in cooperation with ANGQ (Rome), EMIT LAS (Milan) and Istituto Guglielmo Tagliacarne (Rome). An internal training course for SIT assessors has been carried out, in order to extend the knowledge of the upgraded ISO/IEC 17025:2005, of SIT documentation and in order to prepare new SIT assessors.

The SIT accreditation of a laboratory was extended for flexible scope. For the first time accreditation with flexible scope has been granted in Italy, and for SIT this means attestation of the laboratory's competence for developing research work in a definite metrological field.

SIT performed the review of its documentation in order to achieve compliance with ISO 17011. Updating of the SIT operative documents to the new ISO/IEC 17025:2005 finished in the early months of 2006.

SIT experts participated in the EA LC working group on Interlaboratory Comparison in the field of calibration and in the main EA Committees.
In order to evaluate the calibration capabilities of the calibration laboratories 63 Interlaboratory comparisons (ILC) have been organized grouped as follows:

Lenght	21
Speed	2
Mass and volume	6
Time and frequency	3
High frequency	1
Electrical measurement	8
Temperature and humidity	4
Strength, torque, hardness and pressure	10
Acoustics	7
Chemistry	1

In 2006, SIT granted accreditation to two Italian laboratories for carrying out calibration of speed meters for vehicles. In both cases the reference instruments calculated the speed of a vehicle, through out the measurement of the time interval needed by the vehicle to cover a known distance. For the first laboratory, the experimental assessment was carried out on a track using vehicles suitable to the purpose. For the second, the assessment was conducted using a rail upon which an undercarriage slid and whose speed was controlled by a hydraulic device.

SIT granted accreditation also for the calibration of ultrasonic transducers to a laboratory of underwater acoustics at the institute "O.M. Corbino". It was the first accreditation in Italy for such kind of measurements. It was carried out thanks to the cooperation of a NPL technical expert. SIT provided the quality system auditor and the coordination.

¹ By kind concession of SIT Calibration Centre no. 101.
² By kind concession of SIT Calibration Centre no. 194.