Kim H. Esbensen, Ph.D. Dr.(h.c.), professor,
ACABS, Aalborg University Esbjerg, Denmark
(Applied Chemometrics, Analytical
Chemistry, Applied Biotechnology & Sampling Research Group)
Representative sampling forms the critical success
factor for all types of analysis - be it of raw materials, intermediates
or final products - of stationary lots or in/of process streams.
Analytical results with no documented representativity
are unreliable and not fit for decision making. Highly significant
economic losses are incurred due to inferior sampling practices.
Sampling errors are by far the largest contributors
to the overall uncertainty budget for all industrial analytical
methods, at worst the compound sampling error can be up to 50-100+
times the analytical error. Representativity is unfortunately
not a characteristic of the "sample", but can only be ascertained
by focusing on the sampling process itself. Although the Theory
of Sampling (TOS) was formulated ca. 50 years ago, it has largely
been ignored or is only little appreciated in today's process
industries, analytical laboratories, processing and manufacturing
plants, as well as in science and technology. TOS is the only
comprehensive scientific theory available that delineates all
necessary principles involved in a representative sampling process.
There is no easy way out of the need for proper
understanding of the critical sampling issues. The situation cannot
be reduced, far less eliminated by statistics or any other short
cut. TOS is the necessary prerequisite for analysing the entire
sampling-preparation-analysis- decision chain in full. TOS can
be formulated as a complete theoretical as well as practical framework
based on only seven sampling unit operations applying to
all primary (field, industrial), secondary (laboratory)
as well as on-line sampling. Understanding this modest introduction
will allow to avoid most common sampling errors, and will guarantee
awareness of all dangerous sampling issues, sufficient to realise
when further consulting or in-house training is needed.
This workshop gives an overview introduction to
the principles and benefits of - TOS in practice.
The workshop is accompanied by a selected literature package.
Professor Esbensen is head of the ACABS research
group, Aalborg University Esbjerg, Denmark. Professor Esbensen's
C.V. can be found at these home-pages: www.acabs.dk
