5. Define appropriate inspection intervals

Arbitrary calendar periods have been instituted by legal metrology, whose aim is to guarantee fair trade. Risks are accepted, but they must be identical for both buyer and seller, anywhere in the country. In this context, arbitrary periodicity is understandable. In the event of non-compliance (to the customer's or seller's advantage), the instrument is reconditioned and restarted for another cycle.

In the industrial world, as mentioned in the step "Estimate the impact of non-conformity on products and/or services", the issue is different. The supplier must guarantee functionality, not just loyalty. For this reason, periodicity must be established in such a way as to strike a balance between the direct and indirect costs generated by verification, and the risk of verification leading to non-compliance. In addition, periodicity is logically a function of the "remaining...